Cookie Cutter Chronicles
Published
To offset the summer heat and doldrums that are moving in, I’m already thinking about the winter holiday season.
Every year, my family rebels against consumerism and we exchange homemade gifts. Our gifts are typically very modest. We’re not out here making each other iPhones or Furbys, but we do try to make things we think everyone will enjoy. The gifts are usually food-based, but they don’t have to be.
Some of my favorite gifts have been simple: a moisturizing lotion, little bottles of homebrewed beer and hot sauce (separate bottles, not mixed together, why would you think that?), and my all-time favorite, a mason jar full of honey from my beekeeper uncle. As someone who uses honey on any socially acceptable foods (and some that really might not be), it was the best thing ever.
I always felt the gifts I made were subpar. So, last year I decided I would try to up my game. I was going to make cookies for everyone. But not just any cookies. Cookies that looked exactly like the person I was giving them to.
My arrogance led me to believe that I could just simply mold the cookie dough into the person, you know, because I just assumed it would be as easy as Play-Doh. No need for guidance, no need for a cookie cutter, I was going to do this with my own hands and it was going to be magical.
After a few Failure Batches (which is a great name for a metal band), I decided to swallow my pride and purchase a generic human-shaped cookie cutter. Thankfully, this meant I could get creative with my icing skills (which are still poor, but much better than my shaping skills). And I didn’t need to worry about the shape of my cookie family. I was able to focus on what mattered—getting delicious personally stylized cookies to my relatives.
The cookie-cutter concept won’t work for everything in our lives, but it can make things easier in a lot of ways.
Especially for things like sending emailed and printed correspondence to our grant seekers.
Luckily, Blackbaud Grantmaking™ has the Document Template Manager, where we can create, edit, and customize our cookie-cutter templates, so we can make generating correspondence for our grantees as easy as pie … I mean, cookies.
How can you learn more about the Document Template Manager and the correspondence options in Blackbaud Grantmaking? By signing up for our latest 90-minute course, Blackbaud Grantmaking: Creating Correspondence Templates.
In class, you’ll learn about navigating the Document Template Manager, creating and updating correspondence for various record types, and you’ll even discover some system management tools you may not know about.
Quick Tip: When generating correspondence using an email template, you can have the Organization and Contact records updated with that email, automatically, by checking the Create activity record checkbox.
So, make some time, be sure you bring a snack (maybe even some human-shaped cookies) and join us in class!
This course is included in your Learn More and Learn Everything training subscriptions. Not a subscriber? Find out how a Blackbaud Learn® subscription can help develop your efficiency and ongoing skills.
Every year, my family rebels against consumerism and we exchange homemade gifts. Our gifts are typically very modest. We’re not out here making each other iPhones or Furbys, but we do try to make things we think everyone will enjoy. The gifts are usually food-based, but they don’t have to be.
Some of my favorite gifts have been simple: a moisturizing lotion, little bottles of homebrewed beer and hot sauce (separate bottles, not mixed together, why would you think that?), and my all-time favorite, a mason jar full of honey from my beekeeper uncle. As someone who uses honey on any socially acceptable foods (and some that really might not be), it was the best thing ever.
I always felt the gifts I made were subpar. So, last year I decided I would try to up my game. I was going to make cookies for everyone. But not just any cookies. Cookies that looked exactly like the person I was giving them to.
My arrogance led me to believe that I could just simply mold the cookie dough into the person, you know, because I just assumed it would be as easy as Play-Doh. No need for guidance, no need for a cookie cutter, I was going to do this with my own hands and it was going to be magical.
After a few Failure Batches (which is a great name for a metal band), I decided to swallow my pride and purchase a generic human-shaped cookie cutter. Thankfully, this meant I could get creative with my icing skills (which are still poor, but much better than my shaping skills). And I didn’t need to worry about the shape of my cookie family. I was able to focus on what mattered—getting delicious personally stylized cookies to my relatives.
The cookie-cutter concept won’t work for everything in our lives, but it can make things easier in a lot of ways.
Especially for things like sending emailed and printed correspondence to our grant seekers.
Luckily, Blackbaud Grantmaking™ has the Document Template Manager, where we can create, edit, and customize our cookie-cutter templates, so we can make generating correspondence for our grantees as easy as pie … I mean, cookies.
How can you learn more about the Document Template Manager and the correspondence options in Blackbaud Grantmaking? By signing up for our latest 90-minute course, Blackbaud Grantmaking: Creating Correspondence Templates.
In class, you’ll learn about navigating the Document Template Manager, creating and updating correspondence for various record types, and you’ll even discover some system management tools you may not know about.
Quick Tip: When generating correspondence using an email template, you can have the Organization and Contact records updated with that email, automatically, by checking the Create activity record checkbox.
So, make some time, be sure you bring a snack (maybe even some human-shaped cookies) and join us in class!
This course is included in your Learn More and Learn Everything training subscriptions. Not a subscriber? Find out how a Blackbaud Learn® subscription can help develop your efficiency and ongoing skills.
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ARCHIVED | Blackbaud Grantmaking™ Tips and Tricks
06/17/2021 6:00pm EDT
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