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Hierachy of constituent codes

Andrew Jupp

Hi,

Does anyone have a simple solution to set the hierarchy of constituent codes on a constituent record automatically based on the hierarchy in the constituent code table?

I find it crazy that this doesn't happen automatically, and we have to set it manually for each record??

If there is a simple fix, that would be great!!

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Carlene Johnson

If you are aware of the Fix Constituent Codes Sequence Utility and were hoping that was the solution, I'm sorry to say that it is not.

To my knowledge there is no easy way to do this other than using Knowledgebase Solution 46395 which provides instructions on how to clean up via Export/Import.

I'm sure that either @Austen Brown or @Alex Wong (among others!) could give some suggestions utilizing Power Automate.

Joe Moretti

I am curious what purposed that would even serve, since most constituents only have one constituent code (which should be the norm except in certain cases). The actual hierarchy is in the constituency code of the record. Such as if a Board Members was also at a volunteer at one time, Board being the top in the hierarchy, so it would be Board (first row), Volunteer (2nd row). An organization should not have that many constituency codes (best is 10-12), so I do not see why this would matter.

Dariel Dixon

@Andrew Jupp, there is no way to automatically set the hierarchy automatically. TBH, even if there was there would be a lot of exceptions that would have to be modified manually. Do you have a large number of constituents changes regularly? I would not think there would be a whole lot that need updating, as the hierarchy should have been set when those constituent changes were made. This is a recurring task that I have to take a look at periodically.

Austen Brown

This can be done via Power Automate to ensure records (new or recently modified) with 2+ constituent codes always have codes in the right order. Check out AutomateGenius if you're interested in automation without having to learn PA or build it yourself - we've got a great team of experienced RE NXT & PA users that partner with lots of NPs to do just that. We've built for this exact use case before. It can run daily, overnight - correcting the order and handling exceptions to your exact specifications.

For those asking "why" - The custom and native dashboards within NXT depend heavily on "primary" constituent codes. For constituents with one code, not a big deal, for those that have 2+ it makes reporting by constituent code difficult.

Amy Dana

https://community.blackbaud.com/discussion/comment/305530#Comment_305530

This hasn't been my experience at all. A large number of our records have multiple codes and I need to have specific ones as the primary because that's how my web view dashboards are pulled. If you do a global add or import for a new code, it is automatically placed at the bottom of the code list.

Carlene Johnson

https://community.blackbaud.com/discussion/comment/305530#Comment_305530

Gosh, I wish I worked at an org where most constituents only had one Cons Code! Similar to @Amy Dana most of the orgs that I've worked at have records with multiple, active, cons codes. For example, in K-12 and Higher Ed, once could be Alumnus, Parent, Employee, and Board Member all at the same time! That's not even talking about the additional codes that are not "active" because they have start and end dates.

While I agree that one should not have a ridiculous amount of Cons Codes, there are legitimate reasons that a constituent could have multiple active codes that need to be kept in a hierarchy.

Carlene Johnson

https://community.blackbaud.com/discussion/comment/305560#Comment_305560

When using Global Add one can mark a Cons Code as Primary, but like you mentioned, Import adds to the bottom. Wouldn't it be great if, as they create Import for Unified View, BB gave us the ability to make a Cons Code Primary through Import? A gal can dream, right?!?

Amy Dana

https://community.blackbaud.com/discussion/comment/305579#Comment_305579

THIS

Andrew Jupp

https://community.blackbaud.com/discussion/comment/305530#Comment_305530

We are a college, so on one record we could build up a few over time. Student, Alumni, staff, retiree, Board. But you are right. Most of the time, there should and will only be one.

Vered Siegel

Echoing that there's not a native automated way, but long ago a group of us tried out actually numbering our Constituent Codes in the hierarchical order, and it worked out really well - it became super obvious when the numbers were out of order, and anyone who noticed could inform the DBA to get it fixed. And you can fix these with an export/import and sort numerically to clean them up instead of manually manipulating them.

For example:

1 - Board Member
2- Alumni
3 - Parent
4 - … etc

I've heard the argument before that "sometimes the hierarchy means one code is primary and sometimes it's another one, it depends on the constituent" to which I respectfully say: Nope. Reporting on Constituency is predicated on standardization and consistency. Challenge yourself to commit to your hierarchy, ordinally number them, and your reports will come out much cleaner.

Elizabeth Johnson

Lots of echoing of @Amy Dana and @Carlene Johnson. I use a similar method to @Vered Siegel and only trained individuals can add constituent codes. All staff have a one page print out of the hierarchy. @Joe Moretti I'm so jealous :)

Carlene Johnson

@Vered Siegel I love the idea of numbering the Cons Codes. Out of curiosity, do you use start and end dates? And how do you handle the ordering when folks move in and out of related constituency codes such as Parent & Past Parent? Or Trustee and Past Trustee?
Would you and @Elizabeth Johnson each show me what this would look like in numbered order?

Alumni 07/01/1980
Current Parent 07/01/2025
Past Parent 07/01/2023 - 06/30/2025
Current Parent 07/01/2020 - 06/30/2023
Past Trustee 07/01/2004
Trustee 07/01/2000 - 06/30/2004
Student 07/01/1975 - 06/30/1980

Alex Wong

There is no native way to update the constituent codes hierachy, not even with import. The KB article mentioned by Carlene is to export prep a new import file for constituent code, delete what's there, and import to create new codes, not the best option and can be a bad idea if not handled right.

As mentioned by Austen, this can be best achieved by using SKY API and automation as the "editing" of constituent code allows the editing of sequence the code appears in the constituent record. This isn't particularly hard if you have done some SKY API and/or Power Automate previously and can be done in such a way that the "correction" can be nightly OR as constituet code is change (real time) updating of hierachy.

Elizabeth Johnson

I should be doing it later this week (fingers crossed I get to that) as I graduate seniors and make their families past. I will try to get some screenshots as I go to share how I do it. Where as I love Power Automate - not everyone is on board with that yet - so hoping I can be of some help. @Carlene Johnson I don't keep my constituent codes numbered but I do a temporary change that amounts to the same thing. Our hierarchy might not be the same as other schools as what matters to us may not matter to others. I emailed my list to you directly.

Elizabeth Johnson

Oh @Carlene Johnson I forgot to answer yes we use date ranges. . .

This is the order this group you shared would be at my org modified to represent our coding system:

Parent Alumnus/a 07/1/2025 (only used when one is a parent and an AL as PA trumps AL while they are current for solicitations - sometimes for other purposes AL is more critical. - this does not get a former code when they are no longer a PA)
Parent 07/01/2025
Alumnus/a 07/01/1980
Past Trustee 07/01/2004
Past Parent 07/01/2023 (we used to end date past parent if they are once again current - no longer consider this value added)
Trustee 07/01/2000 - 06/30/2004
Parent 07/01/2020 - 06/30/2023
Student 07/01/1975 - 06/30/1980

I'm not suggesting this would work for other orgs - however this works swimmingly for us and our systems.