July 2008
Just when you thought your week couldn't get any better, The User's Edge has arrived to put a smile on your face and jump start your weekend! In this month's edition, we take a closer look at three time-saving reports and congratulate recent winners of our User Guides Survey, Annual Satisfaction Survey, and Customer Support's MVP Award. Have a suggestion for a future issue? Let us know by emailing usersedge@blackbaud.com.
New Donors Report: More than Meets the Eye
The New Donors Report stays true to its name in that you can easily generate a report of all constituents who gave for the first time in a certain date range. However, it can also take on more complex reporting functions. For instance, if you need to find everyone who made their first Annual Fund pledge last year, you can specify your date range, set a filter for the Annual Fund, and limit the Gift Types to pledges. This will enable you to consider constituents who may not technically be "new donors" (i.e., if they previously gave a cash gift to the Annual Fund), but who meet your criteria of being first-time "pledgers" to the fund. Read more.
Breaking Down Your Donor Categories
If you need to classify your donors into giving levels, let The Raiser's Edge do the work for you by running the Donor Category Report. The report groups donors based on the giving levels you define in Configuration, Tables, Donor Categories. For example, if cumulative giving of £100+ constitutes a Donor and cumulative giving of £250+ defines a Friend, you can set up corresponding table entries for Donor and Friend with minimum giving amounts of $100 and £250, respectively. When you run the report (within Analytical Reports), it will automatically tally constituents' total giving based on the report filters you specify and break donors into the appropriate categories for their giving levels. Read more.
Show Variance Between Time Periods with the Comparisons and Summaries Report
If you need to identify giving trends, the Comparisons and Summaries Report can expedite the process of determining the variance between time periods. Located within Demographic and Statistical Reports, the Comparisons and Summaries Report enables you to compare two date ranges (using the Comparisons report type) or up to five time periods (with the Summary report type). You can also base the report on a particular field, such as constituency code, to focus on a particular aspect of your donors and their giving history. Read more.
Updating The Raiser's Edge with Blackbaud NetCommunity
We are looking forward to the release of The Raiser's Edge 7.85 next week. Before updating, check the system recommendations to ensure your version of Blackbaud NetCommunity is compatible with the latest version. If your updates are not successful, you won't be able to connect to Blackbaud NetCommunity.
After updating The Raiser's Edge database server, remember to also update your RE7Service Web Server. For instructions, review What needs to be updated in Blackbaud NetCommunity after updating The Raiser's Edge? (BB295412).
From the Forums: Security Request Form
Do you have a security request form users can fill out to request more rights within The Raiser's Edge? Christine Adams of the University of Hartford in West Hartford, Connecticut, posted a request on The Raiser's Edge Forum for a sample form.
If you have a form you're willing to share, reply to Christine and attach the form to your post:
- On the Options tab, click Add/Update under File Attachment.
- Browse to the location of the attachment and click Save.
- Add the client document tag to your reply and click Post.
Recent Popular Forum Discussions
The following topics sparked recent discussion among forum participants. Visit the forums to post a question or share your thoughts with other members of the nonprofit community.
- Importing New Constituents with possibility of some already being in RE database
- Audit trail of marking constituents as Deceased
- Importing my NCOA file
Answers to June's FAQs
The articles we include in The User's Edge each month are in Knowledgebase and in The Raiser's Edge FAQs, both of which you can access from the Support menu on our website. The FAQs page has been redesigned based on your feedback to include only the most frequently asked questions. Thanks to everyone who submitted their feedback. Here are the questions you asked most frequently in June:
- How to install or update The Raiser's Edge: BB202814
- How to import constituent name, address, and phone numbers including multiple phone numbers and email addresses (includes sample data file): BB5765
- How to prepare donor acknowledgement letters (thank you letters): BB519
- How to import in The Raiser's Edge - The Basics of Importing: BB58904
- How to create a query in The Raiser's Edge: BB19082
Add New Website Users
Site administrators can add users to our records and invite users to access the numerous secure resources on our website. Your site administrators are listed at the bottom of the Default Organization section in your profile.
To invite a new user, a site administrator clicks his name at the top right of any Blackbaud web page to view his profile, clicks Invite User in the left navigation bar, and then enters the user's first and last name, email address, and main role. The new user receives an invitation email, which will allow her to create a new web profile.
You can find this information in the Knowledgebase when searching by How to add a new user on Blackbaud's website (BB51116).
The MVP WinnersWe're pleased to announce the winner of Customer Support MVP Award for January through June: >>Anne-Marie Daly Has someone in Customer Support been extremely helpful? Express your appreciation by voting in our MVP contest.
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'08 Blackbaud ConferenceMark your calendars now for the Conference for Nonprofits, 20-21 October in The Victoria Park Plaza, Londonfor more information email us at conference@blackbaud.co.uk. We hope to see you there! |
User CommunityForums
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AddressAccelerator Updates ReleasedThe AddressAccelerator June/July updates are now available for download.For more information about these services, review What is AddressAccelerator and how to use it (BB81717) |
TrainingA well-trained staff is your organisation’s greatest asset. For one affordable annual fee, the Blackbaud Training Pass will provide everyone in your organisation access to Unlimited : |
Web SeminarsWe will be running a new series of Blackbaud webinars in the coming months - please check Web Seminars regularly for further details. If you have any suggestions for webinar topics, please email solutions@blackbaud.co.uk |
User GroupsBlackbaud will be hosting a series of sector specific user groups throughout the year, across the UK and Ireland. Please check back regularly to find the group most relevant, and most local, to you. |
Brain BusterRobert Hernandez donates money every year to many of the causes supported by Philanthropy, Inc. This year, he wasn't sure how much he should donate to each fund, so he concocted his own formula to determine what amounts to give. So far, he has donated £35 to the Library Fund, £40 to the Building Fund, £30 to the Annual Fund, and £50 to the Membership Fund. Based on Robert's formula, how much would you expect him to give to the Acquisition Fund?Find the answer on The User's Edge Blog. |