Best Practice when receiving information from Clearinghouse or Alumni Finder etc...

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Sherry Aldrich
Sherry Aldrich ✭
Ninth Anniversary Facilitator 1 Name Dropper Photogenic
in Blackbaud Raiser's Edge NXT®: General Discussion
Hi everyone

We are working on data mapping for data we will be recieving from other sources so we can keep track of our constituents, alumni etc.  


I was wondering if others have worked on this process in RE before and looking for some best practice guidance as we move forward. One question I have is what field(s) are you using to for the ID number of the source you're receiving the information? I belive on the backend of the college tab there is a "numeric value" field that is not on the data entry side. Have others used this field to create the relationship?  


What other best practices in creating / maintaining  this process have others learned and are willing to share.


Thanks everyone,

Sherry


 
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  • Faith Murray
    Faith Murray ✭
    Ninth Anniversary Facilitator 4 Name Dropper Photogenic
    Hi, Sherry. We use different fields for tracking different types of data sources.


    For the original source of our Constituent, I created a "Donor Source" Constituent Attribute with a drop-down table. This way we can tell how we first obtained a donor. This is a single-use Attribute that can only be entered once per record. For donors acquired through a rental list, the code number of the rental list is included in the Attribute Comments.


    For the Address, we use the Info Source table on the Address record, to tell us if the current address was obtained via AddressFinder, NCOA processing, email from Constituent, Alumni information sheet, appeal response card, online donation form, etc.


    For updates via AgeFinder or similar services, which have no Info Source fields in the Bio record, I keep an Attribute on those records called "AgeFinder" and including whether we accepted the data (Yes/No Description field); the date it was obtained (Date); and what data we received (Comments).


    For Phones and Emails, I have appropriated the Comments field on the Phone info, which you will have if you are on version 7.95.
  • Sherry Aldrich
    Sherry Aldrich ✭
    Ninth Anniversary Facilitator 1 Name Dropper Photogenic

    Faith Murray:

    Hi, Sherry. We use different fields for tracking different types of data sources.


    For the original source of our Constituent, I created a "Donor Source" Constituent Attribute with a drop-down table. This way we can tell how we first obtained a donor. This is a single-use Attribute that can only be entered once per record. For donors acquired through a rental list, the code number of the rental list is included in the Attribute Comments.


    For the Address, we use the Info Source table on the Address record, to tell us if the current address was obtained via AddressFinder, NCOA processing, email from Constituent, Alumni information sheet, appeal response card, online donation form, etc.


    For updates via AgeFinder or similar services, which have no Info Source fields in the Bio record, I keep an Attribute on those records called "AgeFinder" and including whether we accepted the data (Yes/No Description field); the date it was obtained (Date); and what data we received (Comments).


    For Phones and Emails, I have appropriated the Comments field on the Phone info, which you will have if you are on version 7.95.

    Hi Faith,


    This is great information. Do you also recieve updates about jobs that consitiuents (alum in my scenario) or other colleges / majors that they have?  


    Thanks so much for your input!


    Sherry

  • Faith Murray
    Faith Murray ✭
    Ninth Anniversary Facilitator 4 Name Dropper Photogenic
    Unfortunately, we don't receive much information of that kind, unless an alumnus writes to let us know. If we did, the information itself would have to be kept in a Business or Education relationship record, but for tracking the source of the info, the only available field to track it would, again, be an "Info source" attribute. But you would have the option of keeping the attribute either on the Constituent record, like the AgeFinder info (since a degree is something he keeps all his life); or as an attribute on the relationship record itself (since, like an address, he may have multiple degrees/careers, and each time the info may have a different source).


    Hypothetically, if an attribute didn't appeal to you, you could re-name one of the already-existing fields in the Business or Education boxes, if you don't use them already. For instance, you could re-name the "Frat/Sorority" box in Education or the "Profession" drop-down table under Business. That would give you a dedicated field which could be easily Queried. However, I would only do this if you are sure you will never use the original field names. 

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