Logging Email and Phone Actions Initiated Outside of NXT

Karintha Marshall

Hi all,

We are looking to utilize actions records more than we currently are.

If a solicitor is using GMail in web view, the Blackbaud for Gmail add-on in Chrome provides a relatively easy way to add an email action record directly to constituent's record. There's similar functionality in place if a person taps the phone number or email of a prospect/donor on their record in NXT - NXT will ask if they want to make an action record for this engagement, and if they click Yes NXT at least sets up the shell of the action record.

Our challenge is two-fold:

• Our solicitors are engaging with donors they have longstanding relationships with or engage with directly multiple times a year. So in many cases, our solicitors just pull up a phone number from the contacts on their phone vs. looking them up in NXT, which bypasses the action record setup prompt. Has anyone found a way to consistently collect calls by their solicitors made through their personal device? Right now all I can think to propose is that the solicitors keep a log of names and phone numbers. My team would then match the phone numbers provided to the constituents and bulk import action records for them.
• We are a Google organization. The Blackbaud for GMail add-in works well but many of our solicitors don't use the GMail mobile app, nor Gmail on the Chrome browser. The majority if not all solicitors use Apple devices, so they use the native Mail app instead. This poses a similar problem to the phone numbers; solicitors are initiating actions in an app that doesn't support creating action records in NXT. My only brainstorm here was the same solution as the phone numbers - log them and we'll import actions in bulk for those entries vs the solicitors going back in and entering the actions one by one later. has anyone else found a better systemic approach to this scenario?

Lee Grisham

@Karintha Marshall I think you're on the right track. From an IT perspective, they need to respect your technology investment and utilize the tools you have for doing the work, especially if the devices are provided or a portion/all paid by the org. If not, it is up to them to complete their work however they see fit. It should not all fall on the database team to input their actions.

On the other side, I think there are some tools in the Marketplace that can help with keeping them working within the “BB environment” when they are using a personal phone. Try looking there. I think a tool like Gravyty can do something like that.

Dariel Dixon

@Karintha Marshall Regardless of how easy or simple you make the process, the onus is on the fundraiser to do the action. Where they get the number or how they initiate the action, it needs to be mandated from management to see some improvement in this area.

I've tried a bunch of tools, but the only method that had any significant success is when leadership stated that these actions need to be entered.

Karintha Marshall

Thanks @Lee Grisham @Dariel Dixon