Household Tracking Best Practices
Learn the different strategies for tracking households and individual members of a household (or business) in DonorSnap. We’ll show you the pros and cons of each method and help you decide what is right for your organization. The most important thing to remember is to stay consistent and follow your plan.
Meeting Summary for Household Tracking Best Practices
This training discusses a comprehensive guide on customizing field and screen layouts in an administrative context, with a focus on managing multiple records for individuals and entities, and the importance of donor tracking. The trainer also demonstrated the use of the Persona feature for tracking individual interactions and the functionalities of the contact and persona tabs within their database system. Lastly, the trainer addressed issues related to reporting and site setup, and emphasized the flexibility and customizability of the system.
Customizing Field and Screen Layouts Discussion
Customize your field and screen layouts in an administrative context. Add new fields and adjust the placement of existing fields on the screen. Make fields required or disabled. Adjust your screen layout to meet your preferences.
Managing One Contact Record Per Household
The training discussed the handling of records for multiple individuals acting as an entity. Combining multiple people into one contact record can be beneficial but also requires proper management to avoid confusion. It’s crucial to keep track of who is currently involved and who is not, as individuals’ involvement may change over time.
Maintaining Separate Donor Records for Each Individual
Another option is maintaining separate records for different donors, for example a husband, wife, and the household. This would ensure accurate tracking and avoid errors that could occur from mixing information. One spouse’s record could primarily focus on his volunteer activities while the household record would include all relevant information for the household. If you go this route, it is important to emphasize staff training to handle these separate records effectively.
Every Organization is Unique, So Explore Each Option
There are complexities in managing multiple records for a single household or combining them into one contact record. Separating records for spouses or other members of a household can be a great option when they have distinct memberships or donation histories. Different software programs may handle this issue differently, but the fundamentals remain the same. Come up with a system that makes sense for managing mailings to avoid sending multiple copies to the same household.
Database Management and Customization
The training provides a detailed walkthrough on managing and customizing records in a database system, with a focus on affiliation and contact information. The trainer demonstrated how to link records, customize fields, and handle situations where multiple records share the same contact details. She also discussed the process of loading online donations, the need to manually link certain information, and how to track donations and log interactions. She highlighted the system’s customizability and the ability to record various types of interactions, such as contact addresses, donations, and pledges, for a large number of people.
Persona Feature for More Complex Scenarios
Persona can be enabled for organizations with unique and complex needs. It allows for tracking and reporting on individual interactions and volunteer hours in a more detailed manner. The Persona tab allows for separate recording of interactions with each household member, which can be useful for donor tracking and customizing records for individual children within a household. You could also input comprehensive information about each child, including allergies, pediatrician’s name, musical instrument, phone number, and email. With the greater complexity of Persona, it provides a few challenges for some tools such as Responsive Forms and Mass Email Campaigns.
Database System Features and Staff Training
The trainer discussed the functionalities of the contact and persona tabs within their database system, highlighting their benefits and limitations. She stressed the importance of proper training for staff to utilize the search function effectively and differentiate between records when generating reports. The trainer also indicated that persona data isn’t compatible with online forms and recommended contacting Donor Snap for further assistance in this matter. She advised that the persona feature can be activated or deactivated as needed.
Most Organizations Track Households in One Combined Record
The training discussed reporting and site setup, while recommending the use of a combined household contact record for most situations and the possibility of splitting records for a few couples.