What is everyone's recommendation for constituency codes? I think that everyone should only be allowed to have one, but I have see other places allow more than one.

Thanks

Kristen Cooper
MN Zoo Foundation
[Email Removed]

Kristen, We use only one constituency per record. These being Individual, Corporation, Foundation, Corporate/Foundation, Family Foundation, Estates, Community Organizations. I feel all else can be handled through an Attribute. Liz Curnett Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center 513-636-4484

We have many constituency codes. The codes are for the records' relationship to the company. For instance, we have codes of: Current Board Member, Employee, Development Council, Friend, Foundation, etc. We don't use the code to specify if they are an individual or business because Raiser's Edge already does that by having individual and organization records. Kamong Riddick Data Coordinator Easter Seals Arkansas [Email Removed]

It's a nice theory, but hard to implement in a real world situation. Because of the ease of including/excluding "groups" in query, mail & export we find it necessary to use constituents codes for this purpose. We have about 20 different codes; of which about 8 are "primary" constituencies. Our average donor has only one code, but board & others "close" to our org (that belong to multiple groups) may have 4 or 5. There are definitely two distinct schools of thought on the subject. I find it all depends on how you've structured your database, the complexity of your org, level of skill of users, etc - you have to find what works for you! Tracie Cassidy Database Coordinator Seattle Children's Hospital Foundation (206) 987-6833 [Email Removed]

Donors can be one of many constituencies to your organization. Multiple constituency codes can help with queries, reporting, mailings, etc. The first constituency line is your primary and Query has a feature for Primary Constitueny and General Constituencies which would be all others under the primary. I don't think you can go wrong either way. Darrel C. Spacone Development Services Manager LifePath Hospice and Palliative Care 12973 Telecom Parkway, Suite 100 Temple Terrace, FL 33637 813-871-8413 813-871-8473 FAX 813-395-1199 CELL [Email Removed]

Would anyone be willing to share their policies/procedures on this one? I'm currently looking at the way we are using our constituency codes, and colleagues here are somewhat reluctant to change, but I would like to start using multiple constituent codes, and also the date ranges which we do not currently use.

Shannon Moon
[Email Removed]
Associate Director - Advancement Services
Branksome Hall School

--- Edited at 2/19/2007 3:01:54 PM by Shannon Moon

I'd suggest you check the archives on this - It's been discussed tons of times and you'll probably get some great answers. *** I can spell, I just can't type. Where is spell check? Melissa S. Graves Manager, Development Database & Direct Mail Planned Parenthood of Connecticut [Email Removed] 203-752-2804

Thank you, I did look there although nothing there (or in the user guides) that explains exactly how the date ranges work, and where the code order applies, and a good way to sort the codes in constituent records en masse. Sorry if these things have been covered as of late, but I have been unable to find them and just recently returned from a maternity leave, so am a little (a lot) rusty. Shannon Moon Associate Director - Advancement Services Branksome Hall School

Check out the Constituent Data Entry Guide page 32 for general information on entering constituency codes. Also see solution numbers: BB288908, BB21218, 21437 (No BB). Lots of others in the KB. As for date ranges, their purpose is to indicate when a person had the constituency code. If you use Con. codes to group board members, their terms most likely expire. A date range would retain the information for prior board members and provide a means to query based on dates. As for globally sorting, check out BB13063. Filed as a suggestion. Kim Gajewski Wisconsin Lutheran High School [Email Removed]

I am new to the forums and am hunting for lists of examples of Cons. codes from other orgs., foundations, businesses, etc. to get a general idea of how its done so we can update/add to our database. (I have already searched the forum archives and came up with only a few lists.) Does anyone know where I could find some or would anybody be willing to share theirs? Any help on this subject would be much appreciated. Samantha Victory In Grace Ministries [Email Removed]

I am new to the forum myself, and also interested in any ideas for constituency codes, we are currently in the process of cleaning up the database and one of the issues is the constituency codes.

Teresa - I've always considered constituency codes as representative of the primary relationship to the organization. I am currently using School, Foundation, Organization (excludes Foundation but does include for instance the Kiwanis), Individual, and Corporation. I am aware however of others using more specific codes such as board member, or former/current employee. It all comes down to organization-specific information. What I mean to say is that an arts organization may or may not use the same codes as a hospital. Hope this helps. Lucile Barbati Donor Services Coordinator West Valley Fine Arts 525 N. Central Ave. Avondale, AZ 85323

Thanks,So I'm on the right path, because I wanted to structure the information as you mentioned: Board, Individual, Corporation, etc... Thanks [i]--- Edited at 2/27/2007 4:04:18 PM by Tessa Young[/i]

I too am in the process of revamping my organization's constituency codes. Our situation ia a bit unique in that we have been affiliated with a hospital but are in the process of becoming independent so I have the need to be able to easily identify and distinguish between hospital and foundation donors. I think a good rule of thumb is to think about how people ask you for data for mailings, reports, etc and code accordingly. I also think it helps to think about how to simplify things, regardless of the size of your organization. It is, in my experience, much easier to track things such as board membership, committees, source, etc using attributes and these are just as if not more easy to include/exclude from reports, queries, etc. Paul E. Mulligan Donor Support Specialist LMC Community Foundation 6870 West 52nd Avenue Ste 103 Arvada, CO 80002 720.898.5918 direct 720.898.5901 fax [Email Removed] www.lmccf.org

I agree. I also put what I consider "secondary relationships" in Attributes because it does make it easier to run more accurate reports too. Paul, have you considered including in the beginning of each code the initials of the foundation vs. the hospital? Just a thought... Lucile Barbati Donor Services Coordinator West Valley Fine Arts 525 N. Central Ave. Avondale, AZ 85323