Smart Fields for Giving in Prior Calendar Years

Alison Long

Is anyone willing to share their approach to smart fields for calendar year giving?  I'm taking a cautious approach because I know they can be difficult to unwind once they're used in queries.  How have you used smart fields for giving in each of the past few calendar years?  I'm considering two options. 

1.    Static smart fields for each year 2017, 2018, 2019
2.    Smart fields for 'prior year', 'two years ago', and 'three years ago' - and modify the date range each January

Thanks for sharing your expertise!

Chrissy Haskell

Good morning Alison,


I used to do static calendar years for cumulative giving in Smart Fields. This Knowledgebase article would lead you through that - #7 under Step 1 is where you can see to define your time range. https://kb.blackbaud.com/articles/Knowledge/67437?_ga=2.190134370.83154556.1584368308-519948673.1574871289&_gac=1.138226948.1583865179.EAIaIQobChMI682FycWQ6AIVxMDACh1CJQxpEAAYASAAEgK2EfD_BwE

Alison Long

Thanks Chrissy - it's good to know there's a track record for this.  You said you 'used to do' these smart fields.  Was there any issue with setting them up this way, or did it work pretty smoothly to have one set up for each historical year of giving?  Appreciate your thoughts!