Best Practices Question: Dashboards

Stacie Dennis · May 2015

Good Morning All,

Would you mind sharing some suggestions or ideas for helpful dashboards you use (or even ones you many not use currently but would love to eventully get up and running)?

To get the conversation started, I'm hoping to get a birthday dashboard up and running so that I can keep track of donors' birthdays based on constituency code. I'm also wanting to put together a dashboard that keeps track of solicitor actions. And as the DBA, I'd really love to learn if there is a dashboard I could create to keep track of who is entering data and/or updating records (if you know how to do this, I'd love to hear how)!

Now share yours! And if you wouldn't mind going a step further and sharing how you put it together, that would be most helpful!

THANKS!

Valerie Weddell · May 2015

I don't have an aswer, but I do have this exact question "And as the DBA, I'd really love to learn if there is a dashboard I could create to keep track of who is entering data and/or updating records (if you know how to do this, I'd love to hear how)!"

John Heizer · May 2015

Valerie Weddell:

I don't have an aswer, but I do have this exact question "And as the DBA, I'd really love to learn if there is a dashboard I could create to keep track of who is entering data and/or updating records (if you know how to do this, I'd love to hear how)!"

I don't have a Dashboard, but I am working on creating a Custom Report that can be run periodically that will provide this information an highlight in red anything that seems like "unhealthy data."

Gina Gerhard · May 2015

It's not a dashboard, but I have a query that I run monthly that shows me:

All records created within the last month (constituent date added equals last month)
In Output, you can include any fields that you want to check - to make sure critical data has been entered correctly.
- Sometimes I'll then click into the full record to check other fields as well.
- If I find patterns of incorrect data entry, I'll reach out to that staff person for a 'teaching moment'.

I put this query in the Favorites area of my home page = so it's kind of like a dashboard.

Unfortunately, finding records edited by people is not so easy as RE doesn't really have a robust audit trail that can pinpoint what is being changed by whom. So I only look at newly created records.

Unknown · May 2015

We've only been using the Raiser's Edge for four months, but a few of the Dashboards I've built for folks include:

Deceased List -> Solicitor Query -> Deceased Date equals This calendar yr

Gifts over $1,000 -> Gift Query -> Gift Amount greater than or equal to $1,000

Recently Modified Constituents -> Solicitor Query -> Constituent Date Last Changes equals This Month (similar to Gina's)

Brian Davies · May 2015

I setup dashboards to help development officers track their proposals and profolios as well as see recent gifts that have been recevied by those in their porfolio. I have also setup a dashboard that has our year to date money raised. Earlier this week in fact I setup a Birthday dashboard so our admin can prepare cards and enter actions to remind development officers for their birthday assignments.

I find the canned dashboard reports to be too limiting, so I typically write a querry with the outputs I am looking for and use that to power the dashboard report. I also setup a dashboard that we use at pipeline meetings which shows the status of open proposals by DO. I find dashboards do a good job at answering the quick questions that I would get from DOs like where are we at or did you get a gift from...

Nicole S · May 2015

It's kind of burried, but you can set up a constituent query as a "solicitor" dashboard. So if you made a query of recently changed constituent records and added output fields for date changed and changed by, you should be able to see that info. Probably could figure out a similar set up for gifts and other records.

I agree with others -- as a DBA I run data audit queries instead of dashboards most of the time. Dashboards are great, but for what you are looking for it's usually something better viewed in a query. Plus most of the time you have to set the query up AND the dashboard (if what you are looking for is even available). DOuble work.

There are some old posts about "data audit" queries and schedules that a lot of people use.

Sharla Donohue · May 2015

Our gift officers use a Recent Gifts dashboard so they can stay on top of all of the gifts as they come in.

We also use Appeal Summary and Appeal Package Response dashboards quite a bit. I create panels for all of the direct mail appeals in the fiscal year to provide a quick snapshot of how the appeals are performing year over year, as well as the overall performance towards goal.

Madhu Vishnu · May 2015

I have one for gifts over $1000. sometimes it trigers a good prospect who is not on the radar.

Jacki Balon · June 2015

We've set up dashboards for each of our Development Managers so they can manage their portfolios. Each dashboard has 2 panels. The top panel shows the constituent ID & name, proposal name and proposal status, and dates & amounts asked, expected & funded... including the rating. The seond panel has the same info but just lists their top 20.

Have also set up a dashboard for each faculty (our Development Managers are organised by faculty), showing funds received YTD.

As well, we have a giving dashboard - that shows all gifts over $1000 received - 4 panels - this week, this month, this quarter & YTD.

I've also created a series of data audit dashboards to help me keep an eye on the actions and updates to proposal records.

Love a good dashboard, so finding this conversation interesting.

Jacki

Heather MacKenzie · June 2015

We are just starting to really get into dashboards in my office, so I am following this discussion with great interest! I hope to be able to grab some good ideas from you all that are really already working with them. Thanks for sharing, everyone!

Nicole S · June 2015

I use them to keep up with RSVPs. We are always getting asked who responded or did so and so respond yet... SO for each event we make a dashboard. THen they can sit there and hit refresh all day long and get the most current info.

That's actually a good thought... Any questions that you are getting asked all the time, see if you can set up a dashboard to pull info. THen people with get the info they need but will also find the dashboard really useful and they will use it and RE more instead of spreadsheets!

Erin Fleischmann · June 2015

I have created dashboards for all of our Gift officers with the birthdays this month and next month of everyone in their portfolios.

I also have one for each of them on their open actions and proposals, as well as gifts received from those in their portfolios. Then we have a donor giving club and they have their own dashboard I created with members, member giving, new members, upgrades, downgrades, lapses, etc. I also created one with those who are close to obtaining a level so the manager can contact them and encourage another gift to get to the next level. Then there are the ones for the person in charge of the gifts officers, to see who is completing their actions, funding proposals, people in the different levels of the pipeline, etc. Then there are the ones for our AF director, events team, foundations, etc.

Sunshine Reinken Watson · June 2015

Giving at a Glace - Includes panels for recent gifts, an appeal query for this fiscal year, and the Donor Giving Analysis

Grants - Gift query panels for this FY and last FY, expected proposals, and appeal summaries

Event dashboards for our various events using canned event panels, a recent gift panel, and appeal panels

If I have a query that I would like to quickly copy and paste into an email on a regular basis, I create a dashboard for it.

Nicole S · June 2015

Very good point. Dashboards are easy to copy and paste.

Michelle Vieira · January 2016

I am looking to create a Birthday Dashboard. For those that have done it. Can you send me the "how to"?

Best Practices Question: Dashboards

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