How to Handle Data Requests in Altru: Guest Post from Kristina Gerard

Throughout the day I get requests from staff about everything Altru. These requests range from helping someone update a constituent’s address, to larger requests like pulling a list of active members who have given $X amount or more to a specific designation and also attended a specific event, and the output needs to include 2 different name formats and their primary address and email (whew!).

In order to assist staff with making these requests I have come up with a way to streamline the process (and keep my sanity). I have put together procedural and request documents for the requests I get on a consistent basis. Below is a list of some of these documents:

• 
  
• Altru Account Request For - When someone new is starting and needs an Altru account.
  
• Altru Record Update Form - When there is new/updated information to add to a record in Altru and it is more than what a staff member’s security role allows them to do.
  
• Decease-Inactive Record Form - This one is self-explanatory.
  
• Duplicate Record Form - When someone finds a duplicate record that needs to be merged.
  
• List Request Procedures; List Request Form - Whenever someone needs a list of records (this lets me know exactly how I need to build my query).
  
• Scheduled Program Set up Procedures; Scheduled Program Request Form - When someone has a scheduled program they need set up in Altru.
  
• Special Event Set up Procedures; Special Event Request Form - When someone has a special event they need set up in Altru.
  
• Web Forms Procedures; Web Forms Request Form - If a program or event is going to be sold online.
  
• Event-Program Cancellation Procedures - If an event or program is cancelled, they need to do a few things in Altru so everyone can see it is cancelled.
  

You can access my List Request Procedures/List Request Form and Scheduled Program Set up Procedures/Scheduled Program Request Form documents here, as these are the most used. If you are interested in any of the other documents, I can send them to you.

Once I have fulfilled a Request, I add a checkmark to the form and add the date it was finished. I keep it in a file for afew months before I get rid of it, because a lot of the time someone will have a similar request not long after they made their first request, but they won’t remember what exactly they asked the first time. So I give them original request form to help them make the new request.

To keep up with my theme of “streamlining,” I have taken all of these documents and added them to a share folder that all staff has access to. The share folder also includes training guides and other operations documents. Here is the break-down of the share folder:

• 
  
• Altru Training and User Guides
  
  • 
    
  • Training Guides – these are the 2-3 page getting started guides from Altru
    
  • User Guides – these are the larger system guides from Altru
    
  
  
  
• Speed Museum Operations in Altru
  

Overall Speed Operations in Altru

• 
  
• Museum Operations Guide – overall configuration information for how we do stuff in Altru
  
• Style and Cleanliness Guide – how I keep Altru clean, and the do’s and don’ts of doing things in Altru (Stephanie Henke’s blog helped me put this document together!)
  

• 
  
• Procedures – this section includes the Procedure documents listed above
  
• Forms - this section includes the Request Form documents listed above
  

And the final piece to the Data Request puzzle: An Altru Inbox. Basically, it is a 3-section hanging file folder. The top folder is my Request form Inbox. That is where staff turn in all Request forms. This way, no one leaves a form “on my desk,” where it can get lost in the paperwork that already litters it, and I have a visual on if there is anything in queue that needs to be done. The middle folder holds hard copies of the Request forms and the bottom folder contains hard copies of the Procedure forms. This way, everything is all in one place. Below is a picture of this Inbox. It’s not fancy, but it does the trick!