Addressee/Salutation - Combine identical last names

Aidan Lambert
Aidan Lambert
Third Anniversary Kudos 1 Name Dropper Participant
in Blackbaud Raiser's Edge NXT®: General Discussions

So with there being tons of married couples out there with a variety of naming structures (couples who use the same last name vs couples who maintain their original names), has anyone found a way to tell an adr/sal configuration to only use one last name if both the constituent and their spouse have their last name (i.e. last name = spouse last name) but still use both last names if they're different (last name ≠ spouse last name).

For example:

If Bob Smith and Betty Jackson
then output Smith and Jackson, Bob and Betty

If Bob and Betty Jackson
then output Jackson, Bob and Betty

Thanks for any help or ideas!

EDIT: This idea has been added to the “Ideas” section of the Raiser's Edge Forum. Please vote on it here:

Comments

  • Austen Brown
    Austen Brown Community All-Star
    Ninth Anniversary Kudos 5 PowerUp Challenge: Product Update Briefing Feedback Task 3 bbcon 2025 Attendee Badge

    Hi @Aidan Lambert - I have never found a way to accomplish what you are looking for. I have always had two formulas for spouse add/sal - one that included the husband's last name and then a separate one that included both spouses last names. If you haven't already, I would recommend that you check the RE NXT Idea Bank and make sure this idea is listed.

  • Amy Dana
    Amy Dana Community All-Star
    Tenth Anniversary Kudos 5 Raiser's Edge NXT Fall 2025 Product Update Briefing Badge Name Dropper

    Well, this is something I didn't know I needed until just now. I second adding it to the idea bank, plus posting the link to your suggestion here so we can vote on it!

  • Aidan Lambert
    Aidan Lambert
    Third Anniversary Kudos 1 Name Dropper Participant

    Austen Brown:

    Hi @Aidan Lambert - I have never found a way to accomplish what you are looking for. I have always had two formulas for spouse add/sal - one that included the husband's last name and then a separate one that included both spouses last names. If you haven't already, I would recommend that you check the RE NXT Idea Bank and make sure this idea is listed.

    Do you manually sort through which couples to use which salutation for? I have over 160 constituents that need a receipt, and I would hate to have to go through them all individually. I guess I could make sub queries that check if last name == spouse last name?

  • Austen Brown
    Austen Brown Community All-Star
    Ninth Anniversary Kudos 5 PowerUp Challenge: Product Update Briefing Feedback Task 3 bbcon 2025 Attendee Badge

    @Aidan Lambert - Short answer, yes. Once you have the constituents identified, you can update the add/sal en masse through the import feature.

  • JoAnn Strommen
    JoAnn Strommen Community All-Star
    Tenth Anniversary Kudos 5 Raiser's Edge NXT Fall 2025 Product Update Briefing Badge First Reply

    To add to what @Austen Brown replied. When you are running your receipts it should be an automated process. Each record should have the addressee/salutation set on the record.

    I like to have both formal and informal add/sal for each constituent. (It is getting harder to have accurate titles so I see less use of formal as we go.) In the add/sal listing, I have formats for those with same name are first: Mr. and Mrs. Sam Smith / Mr. & Mrs. Smith. Then a section break noting “different last names" and the formats to pull " Mr. Sam Smith and Mrs. Jane Jones" / Mr. Smith and Mrs. Jones. When setting the add/sal on Sam or Jane's record for informal combined data entry person chooses format for Sam and Jane Smith or format for Sam Smith and Jane Jones.

    Then with letters and receipts you just chose add/sal formats for 'joint/couple/combined addressee or whatever you name it. The receipts will pull the format you have on the record.

    Import as Austen mentioned is a great way to add that different last name format. It can also be done thru global add.

    Does that make sense? It all comes from your addressee/set up and then data entered on the record.

  • Dariel Dixon
    Dariel Dixon Community All-Star
    Seventh Anniversary Kudos 5 First Reply PowerUp Challenge #3 Gift Management

    Are these addressees not correct when the records are being created or updated? I don't know if an automated process would help in this situation. Somewhere in gift entry is anyone checking to verify the data is correct? If so, I would imagine that correcting addressees would be part of that process.

  • Aldera Chisholm
    Aldera Chisholm Community All-Star
    Sixth Anniversary Kudos 5 Raiser's Edge NXT Fall 2025 Product Update Briefing Badge First Reply

    I see where you are going with this. When you are manually picking the add/sal during gift entry, it's fine, but I do have vast majority of my new constituents are being added by OLX or NXT online transactions which means assigning all those by the default rules, and there isn't a way to have one set up that has an if/then to make the add/sal perfect. So, I do have to run a search periodically to clean up my Bob Smith and Mary Smith to make them Bob and Mary Smith.

  • Dariel Dixon
    Dariel Dixon Community All-Star
    Seventh Anniversary Kudos 5 First Reply PowerUp Challenge #3 Gift Management

    Aldera Chisholm:

    I see where you are going with this. When you are manually picking the add/sal during gift entry, it's fine, but I do have vast majority of my new constituents are being added by OLX or NXT online transactions which means assigning all those by the default rules, and there isn't a way to have one set up that has an if/then to make the add/sal perfect. So, I do have to run a search periodically to clean up my Bob Smith and Mary Smith to make them Bob and Mary Smith.

    Exactly this! I thought that there would be a response like this. Default sets are great, but never designed to be foolproof or even close to perfect. I think it's worth investing the time to create queries of new records for issues just like this. There is no way that you'll ever have everything exactly when you are using an automated process, and you should have a method to verify the automation. They should be run every so often just so that if there are errors, it won't be so time consuming and taxing to correct.

    Also, the limitations of an if/then in creating the record is what I'm questioning in the original idea. It would be wonderful if that could work, but I don't know if it is actually possible.

  • Aldera Chisholm
    Aldera Chisholm Community All-Star
    Sixth Anniversary Kudos 5 Raiser's Edge NXT Fall 2025 Product Update Briefing Badge First Reply

    I agree. I love the idea of the perfect add/sal format, but I feel it will never hit exactly what we need, so we made the call of a default set that is “least offensive” and then a regular cleanup to adjust as needed. This way if one slips through without cleanup, it looks awkward, but likely no one is going to get that mail and feel truly offended that we messed up their chosen name. For cleanup, I generally have a few queries based on add/sal type, and then I use import to tidy up changes. I have them scheduled for monthly, but realistically, I do a big clean-up in the month leading up to each direct mail campaign.

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