Zucchini, Flour, And Constituent Records

Melissa Rancour Blackbaud Employee

August 2017 in Blackbaud Raiser's Edge NXT® Blog

The end of summer is one of my favorite times of year thanks to the fresh produce and the cooler temps which make for perfect baking weather. On my kitchen counter, I happen to have a huge zucchini that would be perfect for zucchini bread. However, I’ve run out of one of my staple ingredients—flour. I’ve visited the store three times in the last week without realizing my need for flour.


I also needed to write this blog about constituent records. As I brainstormed creative ways to discuss this topic, I realized that flour and constituent records have a lot in common. Flour is a foundational ingredient in most baking recipes; and constituent records are the foundation of almost everything in Raiser’s Edge NXT.


With my craving for zucchini bread I decided to get creative with what I had on hand. But every recipe either needed flour or some other ingredient I lacked. This same thing happens when I try to work with Raiser’s Edge NXT without involving constituent records. I can’t enter gifts without linking them to a constituent record, and I can’t send a mailing without an address from a constituent record. Constituent records are a Raiser’s Edge NXT key ingredient.


There are numerous things I can create with flour when it comes to baking. Similarly, there are numerous things I can do with constituent records in Raiser’s Edge NXT, such as:  

• Follow a prospect through the moves management cycle
• Build a relationship through interactions tracked as action records
• Record the information learned about prospects and supporters, using tools such as notes, attributes, and opportunities

I’m a creative baker but if I want to create something delicious (and not end up with a baked item so dense it could be used as a paperweight), I need to follow the rules of baking. The same holds true for constituent records. I need to follow my organization’s policies and procedures when I create and maintain our constituent records—otherwise, those constituent records can get stale and become about as useful as a baked paperweight.


I must confess I am addicted to cooking shows, blogs, and tutorials. I love learning about all the new ways I can use flour and zucchini to make delicious creations. You can learn more about using constituent records in standard and creative ways by talking with other Blackbaud users here in the Blackbaud Community or in a Blackbaud University course. If you want to learn more about constituent records during any time of day, you can view our new on-demand eLearning course Raiser’s Edge NXT: Basics of Constituent Records. Hmm… this would be a perfect activity while waiting for your delicious zucchini bread to bake.  


Happy baking and happy constituent records learning!

 

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