Hi everyone:

I feel like I've been living on this forum the last couple of weeks.  My next question is about Action Tracks.  I'm trying to decide if they would be a useful tool for my organization, but now I remember why I gave up trying to learn about them a year ago-- they seem more involved and rigid than they are worth. 

I understand it is useful to devise a step-by-step plan for your donors and prospects and then have the system do the work reminding you of those steps.  My question is in the mechanics.  For instance, the creation of an action in a track is based on the completion of the previous action.  So you can set conditions.  Got it.  But let's say your first action is a phone call to set up a meeting to discuss a possible major gift.  You make the phone call, and if they agree to a meeting, the meeting itself is the next action.  If the meeting is successful, your next action is a solicitation letter.  If the letter is successful and they send a gift, your next action is an acknowledgement, and so on.

My question is, how do you communicate to the system that your previous action was successful?  Right now, I see the option of setting conditions based on an action query(for instance, if action is marked as completed, if action status is closed, etc.), but just because a phone call was made or a meeting was had, does not qualify it as successful.

Maybe I am missing a step.  Maybe we would need to set up action attributes for "successful, unsuccessful" or additional action statuses and then use those in our action query.  

But overall it doesn't seem worth it to me.  Maybe someone who is using the tracks successfully can provide another point of view.

Thanks very much,

Keith Tramantano 

Hi Keith.

 We used Action Tracks for a campaign and appeal a few years ago. Send me an email and I'll forward my procedures for our action track.

Karen

Hi Karen,

I was reading Keith's request  and I am in the same boat.  We are starting a campaign and have done RE for 14 years now but really had no part of doing Action Tracks, tracking donors, etc.  I would greatly appreciate what ever you can send me to help me get started.  My email address is wcason@arboracres.org.  Again, many thanks.

Wendy

 Hi Karen,

I wonder if we can also take advantage of your generous offer. We are trying to determine best ways to track prospects for campaign, annual giving and planned giving activity without going beyond RE7.91 and purchasing additional modules. 

If you have any information you can share it would be appreciated greatly.

Thanks,

Scott Westlake

swestlake@ashbury.ca

Ashbury College

Ottawa, Ontario