Great New Post On Raiser's Edge Training

Good afternoon everyone!

Please take a look at this great new post on Raiser's Edge training from one of our Senior Consultants!

http://www.resolutionstech.com/petersblog/

Have a great day.

Robin

That's A Lot Of Data Exhaust! Need A Data Emissions Test?

That's A Lot Of Data Exhaust!  Need A Data Emissions Test?

Imagine if you were able to gauge your donors mood or sentiment to help determine the best time to solicit them for a gift?  An increasing number of companies are buying access to the social network fire hose which gives them access to every post made.  With this example of data exhaust, there are an incredible number of measures possible including sentiment.

Data exhaust is simply the data generated about us and not by us or in other words the data we commonly leave behind and do not keep or maintain in our Raiser's Edge database.  Are you aware of what data exhaust is being generated on the constituents in your Raiser's Edge?  Here are a few examples that you have access to now in varying degrees if you want.

Email - Good ability to access and make use of:
Delivered, Bounced, Undelivered, Opt-Outs, Unique Viewers, Social Viewers, Click-Throughs, Social Shares, Forwards, Response Times, Consecutive Actions, and then who is not is any of these groups.

Internet - Good ability to access but difficult to tie to specific individual:
Visits, Length on Page, Network Visiting, Browser Used, City, Country, Operating System, New vs. Returning, Frequency & Recency, Engagement, Mobile Device Used, Source, Pages Visited, Searches Done, Google Alerts, and then who is not falling into one of these groups.

Social Networks - Difficult to access and make use of on a large scale:
Likes, Comments, Shares, Posts, Tags, Mood, Relationships, Interests, Professions, Intelligence, and a lot more.

Mobile Apps - Impossible to access and make use of UNLESS you have your own app collecting the data exhaust for you:
Geo Tagging, Contacts, Calendars, Reminders, Photos, and a lot more.

I think what is most important for any charitable organization is to try to be more aware of what data exhaust they may be generating and to use it where ever you can.  Direct your constituents to online sources that you own or control to increase your access to this data.  A lot more is on the way.  The race is on to see who can make the best possible use of this form of big data called data exhaust!  :)

Here are some links that may assist:
1) SmogFarm - http://www.resolutionstech.com/365/dataexhaust/smogfarm.html
2) gShiftLabs - http://www.resolutionstech.com/365/dataexhaust/gshift.html
3) MailChimp - http://www.resolutionstech.com/365/dataexhaust/mailchimp.html
4) Chimpegration - http://www.resolutionstech.com/365/dataexhaust/chimpegration.html
5) App Data Privacy - http://www.resolutionstech.com/365/dataexhaust/appdataprivacy.html
6) RETweet - http://www.resolutionstech.com/365/dataexhaust/retweet.html

Robin
http://www.resolutionstech.com

Best Mobile Apps For A Fundraiser

Best Mobile Appeal For a Fundraiser

Good morning everyone!  Just thought that it would be nice to share with you some great mobile apps that you might find useful as a Fundraiser or for one that uses Raiser's Edge regularly.  Hope you have a fantastic weekend!

1) RE Mobile - Access Raiser's Edge from your mobile device and EASILY add the touch points you make with constituents.
2) Evernote - Get organized and easily remember everything across all devices.
3) Skitch - Communicate feedback and ideas instantly.
4) Docusign Ink - Sign documents directly from your mobile device without needing a printer.
5) Calendar (synched with RE Actions) - Access your calendar that aligns with Actions in RE from where ever you are.
6) SimpleMind+ - Brainstorm, idea, and thought structuring tool.
7) GoToMeeting - Connect remotely with donors and colleagues.
8) GoToMyPC - Connect to your office or home computer from your device.
9) Skype - Call or video conference from your device at a reasonable cost.
10) LinkedIn Premium - Stay connected with professional contacts and see who is showing interest in you or organization.
11) Jive - Enterprise collaboration - Collaborate with other staff or volunteers in your organization.
12) Dropbox - Bring all your photots, videos, and docs with you where ever you are and share them easily.
13) Documents To Go Premium - Access all your Microsoft Office documents at any time.
14) Pages - Create beautiful documents directly from your mobile device.
15) Scanner Pro - Easily scan documents, white, boards, etc. using your mobile device.
16) Facetime - Easily connect face to face with other mobile users.
17) PDF Expert - Create, edit, and mark up PDF's easily from your mobile device.
18) Google Now - Your own personal assistant that learns from your actions and recommends better ways of doing things.
19) Blogger - Work on blog posts for your organization easily from your mobile device.
20) HooteSuite for Twitter and Facebook - Manage all your social media within on app from where ever you are.

Sincerely,

Robin
http://www.resolutionstech.com

Personalize Donor Acknowledgements Even More In Raiser's Edge Using If/Then/Else Statements

Personalize Donor Acknowledgements Even More In Raiser's Edge Using If/Then/Else Statements

Most organizations either spend far too much time manually personalizing each donor acknowledgement letter to then not be able to capture how the letter was personalized as a permanent record within RE or then do not personalize the letter as much as they should.  By using if/then/else functionality within your Raiser's Edge donor acknowledgements letters this helps solve the problem!

Remember these important rules when creating any letter you are sending from your organization.

1) All letters should be generated from within Raiser's Edge.
2) A permanent record of the content of every letter sent should be kept within Raiser's Edge.
3) Each constituent should have record of all letters sent to them, when they were sent, and their response.

For help with the rules above and with improving your personalized letters to donors using if/then/else, please email me at rporter@resolutionstech.com to ask for assistance.

Also ask me to give you more information on our new program to give you more measurable results.

Have an excellent day!

Robin
http://www.resolutionstech.com

Raiser's Edge Reports That Write Themselves

Raiser's Edge Reports That Write Themselves

Often, organizations contact me looking for ideas for improved reporting as they are not certain what might be best for them.  I first ask them for the key areas they feel they need new reporting, then ask them for the questions they are trying to answer in those areas, and finally provide some ideas as to what reporting in these areas might look like.

You can then use these reporting ideas, a report that you already have, or a report that you have in mind to come up with improved iterations of these reports by taking a closer look at your data.

Here are some of the areas to look at in your data when coming up with how a report could morph into something new and exciting for your organization.

1) Active data - What data is moving in Raiser's Edge in terms of recently being added or updated?
2) Problem data - What problems exist in your data that are creating issues within your reports?
3) Variance data - How do the actual values compare to goals specified within Raiser's Edge?
4) New data - What new data is there to report on?
5) Comparison data - How does your data compare to other similar data of yours or others?
6) Triggered data - What new actions are needed if certain triggers are met?
7) Suggested data - What new data should you be capturing or maintaining within Raiser's Edge?
8) Alert data - What key events occurring within your data do you need to be notified of ASAP?
9) Stagnant data - What data is becoming stagnant due to lack of use?
10) Pivot data - Is there anything new and of value found when cross referencing multiple data points together?

Anything is possible with reporting so please do not limit yourself in any way!  Happy exploring!

Robin
http://www.resolutionstech.com

Integrating Creative Ideas Into Your Raiser's Edge

Integrating Creative Ideas Into Your Raiser's Edge

How often do you test new and creative ideas for Raiser's Edge that could possibly benefit your organization?  I think that it is important to setup a monthly meeting where new ideas are mentioned and discussed that could be very different from how you are currently using Raiser's Edge.  No idea should be discouraged no matter how big or how small.  Consider the use of all of them and look at pros and cons of each.  Once your team discusses, present the idea to an expert and ask for their opinion.  I would be happy to provide my feedback on any of your ideas, so please do not hesitate to pass them along to me and I will get back to you asap.

Here are a few examples to start you off.

1) Create every record type as it's own constituent record.
2) Records that clean themselves.
3) Data tells you when to contact a constituent.
4) Reading and reporting on backend Raiser's Edge data.
5) Alternatives to current duplicate clean-up process where records are not merged.
6) Record more targets and goals within Raiser's Edge.
7) Have constituents manage their own records in Raiser's Edge.
8) Colour coding of data.
9) Other methods for hunting for new relationships to build in Raiser's Edge.
10) Automated tips to engage constituent.
11) Reports that have an analysis section which identifies errors.
12) Training sessions on new things found in your data.
13) Benchmarking against similar organizations that are not competing.
14) Self generating action tracks.
15) Post event review of events based on comparison with other events.
16) Staff focus on people while technology handles all required tasks within database.
17) Auto recording of actions based on calendar.
18) Reporting that suggests your priorities for day.
19) Function that allows you to ask "why" for anything you see in Raiser's Edge.
20) Automated table coding recommendations.

Please let me know what you think of the above ideas.  Let me know what new ideas you can come up with as I look forward to providing you with my opinion on them.

Have a great day!

Robin
http://www.resolutionstech.com

Is Your Data A Dump?

Is Your Data A Dump?

After assisting organizations with thousands of requests to clean up their data over the past number of years, I have realized that no matter the size of organization or the resources committed to cleaning up data – there is always still more garbage to clean-up.  So what becomes important is to structure your Raiser’s Edge database in a way where this does not affect the accuracy of your reporting and where your Raiser’s Edge database helps you identify newly entered garbage data to clean-up.

Here are a few tips that should help an organization reduce, reuse, and recycle their data to help keep your Raiser’s Edge data organized in the best possible way, get rid of all garbage, and make sure you have the most accurate reporting.

1)  Monthly table scan

2) Weekly query data entry review

3) Monthly Reconciliation reports

4) Weekly duplicate reporting

5) Monthly active/inactive constituent review

It is critical that you create a schedule just like you have at home for your garbage collection to keep your Raiser’s Edge clean and tidy.  Let’s all work to prevent future mountains of data that have no use to your organization.

Please let me know if you are interested in having us assist with this regular clean-up of your data.  Our team at RESolutionsTECH would be happy to start assisting you right away.

Robin

http://www.resolutionstech.com

Raiser's Edge Annual Physical

Please be sure that you are part of our Raiser's Edge Annual Physical series as they provide our tips and suggestions on how to improve your use of Raiser's Edge.  If you are interested, please contact us and we would be happy to include you.

Have a great day!

Robin Porter
President and CEO
RESolutionsTECH Inc.