Creating a First Time Donor List that includes first time soft credit recipients

Loraine Przybylski

Hi all, I'm struggling with being able to pull a first time donor list for 2014 that also looks at whether the soft credit recipient is a first time donor or not. It would include the following: -First time hard credit donors in 2014; except those with a soft credit recipient that is a former donor -First time soft credit recipients in 2014; hard credit could be a former donor or new donor in 2014 Any suggestions? Thanks much! Loraine

JoAnn Strommen

Loraine Przybylski:
Hi all, I'm struggling with being able to pull a first time donor list for 2014 that also looks at whether the soft credit recipient is a first time donor or not. It would include the following: -First time hard credit donors in 2014; except those with a soft credit recipient that is a former donor -First time soft credit recipients in 2014; hard credit could be a former donor or new donor in 2014 Any suggestions? Thanks much! Loraine

 Loraine - Not trying to duck your question - but just been in similar situation trying to get "new donor" numbers for annual reports.  I did chat support and phone calls with support.  Ended up manually removing gifts written off (they still pull on reports) and removing most gifts with SC. 

For me it boiled down to RE not being able to pull what I wanted: a list of new donors that did not have spouses that had given before (SC).

Christine Cooke 2

Loraine Przybylski:
Hi all, I'm struggling with being able to pull a first time donor list for 2014 that also looks at whether the soft credit recipient is a first time donor or not. It would include the following: -First time hard credit donors in 2014; except those with a soft credit recipient that is a former donor -First time soft credit recipients in 2014; hard credit could be a former donor or new donor in 2014 Any suggestions? Thanks much! Loraine

 Hey All -- Have you tried utilizing the New Donors Report under Analytical Reports?  you could use it to filter out the soft credits or include them, you can also filter out write offs.  The Report allows for creating an output query -- so then you could take that query and pull it through Export to get the fields you need to look at.

JoAnn Strommen

Christine Cooke:

 Hey All -- Have you tried utilizing the New Donors Report under Analytical Reports?  you could use it to filter out the soft credits or include them, you can also filter out write offs.  The Report allows for creating an output query -- so then you could take that query and pull it through Export to get the fields you need to look at.

 Yes.

It doesn't address the issue I was dealing with and support could not manipulate it to do so either.  Not sure if Loraine was trying for same thing but sounded like it.  I needed new donors to annual campaign.  Yes, can run first gift query or new donor report.  However, both include write-offs.  Checking box to use balance instead of gift amount removes write-offs BUT also removes all donors who paid full pledge.  As to definition of who is new donor, YUSA does not want Spouse A counted if Spouse B has given before.  New donor report does not provide for excluding these type of 'new donors' either.  

Wish it was that easy....

Christine Cooke 2

JoAnn Strommen:

 Yes.

It doesn't address the issue I was dealing with and support could not manipulate it to do so either.  Not sure if Loraine was trying for same thing but sounded like it.  I needed new donors to annual campaign.  Yes, can run first gift query or new donor report.  However, both include write-offs.  Checking box to use balance instead of gift amount removes write-offs BUT also removes all donors who paid full pledge.  As to definition of who is new donor, YUSA does not want Spouse A counted if Spouse B has given before.  New donor report does not provide for excluding these type of 'new donors' either.  

Wish it was that easy....

 there are a couple of consistency items that should be addressed in your data entry, if it has not already. 

1.  Have a policy on who is the HoH if your database establishes each person in a couple with their own Constit record.  That way your soft credits do not get so messy.

2.  I would say 90% of the time, when looking at analytical info, you report on cash and full pledge amount (because that is what finance counts), not the pledge payments whether full or partial.  That would take care of the write offs

3. In the New Donors Report I mentioned, You have the choice, under the Gift Type tab to exclude Write Offs.  I would also make sure you exclude Inkind Gifts, as those make things very messy also and should be reported separately.

4. Are your spouses soft credited for each others contributions?  If so, then you exclude soft crediting from the report. no?

JoAnn Strommen

Christine Cooke:

 there are a couple of consistency items that should be addressed in your data entry, if it has not already. 

1.  Have a policy on who is the HoH if your database establishes each person in a couple with their own Constit record.  That way your soft credits do not get so messy.

2.  I would say 90% of the time, when looking at analytical info, you report on cash and full pledge amount (because that is what finance counts), not the pledge payments whether full or partial.  That would take care of the write offs

3. In the New Donors Report I mentioned, You have the choice, under the Gift Type tab to exclude Write Offs.  I would also make sure you exclude Inkind Gifts, as those make things very messy also and should be reported separately.

4. Are your spouses soft credited for each others contributions?  If so, then you exclude soft crediting from the report. no?

1.  We do have a policy - when both spouses have records, HOH is spouse with greater relationship to the Y.  But, we have many situations where both spouses have made gifts.  We record gift on record of who signed check - I know we could put them all on one record but feel that check signer gives a more accurate record of each spouses support.  A number of spouses have their own accounts.

 2.  Yes, for accounting reports may be on cash and pledge amount.  What we are looking for is # of new donors.  Scenario: a pledge gets turned in by a solicitor, no payment is made after repeated reminders and pledge is written off.  We do not want this person counted in the report as a new donor until $ is actually received. 

3. You don't really have the choice in New Donors report to 'exclude' write-off.  Just can not 'include' them but because record has a pledge on it the record still pulls in the report.  

4.  Yes, spouses are soft-credited.  Excluding soft-credits from the report does not work either to get list I need. If spouse A is 'new donor' the report does not look at a SC from spouses gift two years ago.

Spent over an hour with several support people at BB.  Not possible to pull in the report exactly what we wanted. 

Jean McCoy

JoAnn Strommen:

Christine Cooke:

 Hey All -- Have you tried utilizing the New Donors Report under Analytical Reports?  you could use it to filter out the soft credits or include them, you can also filter out write offs.  The Report allows for creating an output query -- so then you could take that query and pull it through Export to get the fields you need to look at.

Hi Christine Cooke,

How do you filter out the soft credits?  I see you can filter out Write offs but I don't wee what you mean about soft credits?

 Yes.

It doesn't address the issue I was dealing with and support could not manipulate it to do so either.  Not sure if Loraine was trying for same thing but sounded like it.  I needed new donors to annual campaign.  Yes, can run first gift query or new donor report.  However, both include write-offs.  Checking box to use balance instead of gift amount removes write-offs BUT also removes all donors who paid full pledge.  As to definition of who is new donor, YUSA does not want Spouse A counted if Spouse B has given before.  New donor report does not provide for excluding these type of 'new donors' either.  

Wish it was that easy....