You Don’t Have To Pick A Side

Bedlam. In our house, Bedlam is when University of Oklahoma plays Oklahoma State University. It’s one of the biggest football games of the season. We won’t discuss the high-stress, nail-biting, torment my husband puts himself through. Instead let’s talk about how sports critics spend time discussing each team and ultimately picking one they think will win the matchup. To come up with their predictions the critics look through statistics, previous game history, game location, players, and coaches. Then they dive in and pick their favorite.

Often, when working in Altru, selecting between a report and a query can feel a lot like a sports matchup. Just as a sports critic would, you should look at the features within each tool to determine which one best meets your needs. Let’s do a quick overview of reports and queries to get things started for you.

In Altru, reports are analysis tools. They’re designed to look at the data and draw some standard conclusions. Reports can display giving history, membership statistics, and revenue numbers.

Query in Altru is a grouping tool. It is designed to find records that have something in common and put them into a group. For example, Query could group together all memberships that renewed this month, or all constituents who live in a specific area.

Knowing the difference between Reports and Query can help you work smarter—not harder. Many users struggle with understanding queries and selections in Altru. Getting a clear picture of how to use them will help you succeed in Altru.

If you need to brush up on your query skills, or learn more about what a query is, check out Blackbaud University’s newest eLearning course, Altru: Basics of Query. This amazing Blackbaud University eLearning course is included in your Altru subscription—so, no need to wait, go learn more about Query today!

We won’t discuss the outcome of the Bedlam game in our house this past year. It was not the one my husband was hoping for. Instead we will look forward to Bedlam 2018.