Best Practices for Tributes

Dodie Stogner

So I just wanted to get some best practices/feedback on how you all record your tributees.  We have the tribute module and most of the time it is used for "In Memory Of" tributes.  Now we record every tributee - meaning that we enter them all into the system as new constituents and then they are marked as deceased and enter the tribute on their record and are able to record relationships and so on.  My question is ......we have just started the public phase of a Hospice capital campaign so we are receiving ALOT of gifts in memory of people that aren't in are system, we don't know when they passed and alot of times are not given a name or relationship to send an acknowledgement letter.  Is it best practices or worth the time to research each of these and try to find out of the information or do you think it is better to enter the tribute on the donor file and in the description tell who the tribute is?????

Melissa Farrell

Dodie Stogner:

So I just wanted to get some best practices/feedback on how you all record your tributees.  We have the tribute module and most of the time it is used for "In Memory Of" tributes.  Now we record every tributee - meaning that we enter them all into the system as new constituents and then they are marked as deceased and enter the tribute on their record and are able to record relationships and so on.  My question is ......we have just started the public phase of a Hospice capital campaign so we are receiving ALOT of gifts in memory of people that aren't in are system, we don't know when they passed and alot of times are not given a name or relationship to send an acknowledgement letter.  Is it best practices or worth the time to research each of these and try to find out of the information or do you think it is better to enter the tribute on the donor file and in the description tell who the tribute is?????

Hi, Dodie. 

 We get a lot of tributes as well, primarily for deceased people.  In the past, the practice was to create a new constituent record for the person being remembered.  Just this month my supervisor and I talked it over and decided to create a record to use for all such memorials.  It take time to set up the record and research for DOD, and the record serves no purpose as far as prospective donors; and our acknowledgement letters are not generated from RE.  In order to have a specific record of the people remembered, I type the name in the Reference column of the batch.  We do, however, open records for the donors, if they are not already have one.

 Melissa 

Nina Williams

Dodie Stogner:

So I just wanted to get some best practices/feedback on how you all record your tributees.  We have the tribute module and most of the time it is used for "In Memory Of" tributes.  Now we record every tributee - meaning that we enter them all into the system as new constituents and then they are marked as deceased and enter the tribute on their record and are able to record relationships and so on.  My question is ......we have just started the public phase of a Hospice capital campaign so we are receiving ALOT of gifts in memory of people that aren't in are system, we don't know when they passed and alot of times are not given a name or relationship to send an acknowledgement letter.  Is it best practices or worth the time to research each of these and try to find out of the information or do you think it is better to enter the tribute on the donor file and in the description tell who the tribute is?????

 We have quite a few tribute gifts for people who are not in our system.  One family in particular give to a scholarship fund for every friend, family members birthday, anniversary, Bar Mitvah etc. and for any death of friends or family.  We have a record for the donor(s) and add each tribute on their record :   Type = in memory (honor) of, description + person's name.  We do not have to create new constituents for these deceased people, but the names get pulled for the Annual Report lists.  I have to move them to alpha order on the recognition list and  I do have to handle their acknowledgements a little more personally than some, but as they keep giving it is worth the time.  Melissa mentioned creating a record for "In Memory of" and attaching the tributes to that record.  This would work the same way, so to me it sounds like a good idea.