Bulk editing DM deceased and gone aways

Paul Nichol

We have a large number of deceased and gone away’s (at least 2,000) to mark from a recent DM appeal and I have been asked to find the quickest way to do this.

 

Currently we are accessing each record one-by-one, manually searching through by postcode (due to the lack of Cons ID on the letter) and updating deceased and address attributes.

 

I would follow the instructions here - https://community.blackbaud.com/forums/viewtopic/160/15900?post_id=50334#p50334, however the responses we have received back do not have the constituent ID on them.

 

Can anyone recommend a quicker way to do this? I was thinking through either batches or import, however I am new to Raiser’s Edge so some guidance would be gratefully received!

 

JoAnn Strommen

What format do you have the list of names?  If Excel, I would export from RE the list used for DM including constituent ID.  Then comparing the two lists, add/edit data as needed and import back into RE.  It will still be manual but faster than opening every record for sure.  Import can be tricky but it's a huge time saver in many situations.  Heed the warnings and be sure to back up your database before attempting.



If you just have a list of names, not Excel, and no options for import and you have groups of records getting the same updates/changes you could try a global add.  Do a constit query > Constit info > Spec record one of... hit F7 and look up name.  Tab and F7 can help you create a list fairly quickly though I've never had to do one for anywhere near 2000.  Then take query to global add function.



A good example why it's always a good idea to export constit IDs for mailings.  We've all learned things the hard way.



It can't be done through batches as batch only handles new records/gifts. 

Keri Eadie

In order to do an update through import you need to have either the import ID, constituent ID or the social insurance number (which you will have had to have already recorded in Raiser's Edge).  So it looks like this will be a manual process this time.  Next mailing I strongly encourage you to have the constituent ID or import ID recorded on the mailing.  It makes data entry of the gifts faster and any bulk updates possible.

Christine Robertson

In order to do a group change like this, you would really have to have a data file.  It may save some time to have someone create a .csv of all of the changes that need to happen from this mailing.  You can include fields for marking an individual as deceased, changing the solicit code, etc. and you can also create an attribute and/or a note that indicates when and why this coding was added (please do document when and why you make these changes!!).



If you also include the names and addresses of the individuals, you very well might be able to use the VLOOKUP function in Excel to map the Constituent IDs to the records you've created in this file (you will have to save it as an .xlsx to do this, but it will have to be converted to a .csv in order to do an import).  This will require you to pull records with names, addresses and account #'s out of RE and it very well may not match all constituents (for example, if something has changed in RE since your original data pull), but I have been able to use this function for similar situations.



As a side note, I strongly urge all non-profits to include the constituent ID # on all mailings.  You can do this by personalizing the return piece and listing it as the Donor ID#.  By doing this, you really will make your data entry and clean up TONS easier.