Adding New Raiser’s Edge Constituents

Prior to adding a new constituent, please carefully search the database to confirm that the
constituent is not already on the RE database. While duplicate constituents can be
periodically cleaned up, all measures to avoid their creation should be attempted. New
constituents should be added from the Constituent search screen below by selecting the
“Add New” button.

A prompt will ask for a choice between Individual and Organization.

Adding New Individuals

Selecting Individual will produce a blank Bio1 screen:

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While only “Last name:” is a required field on Bio 1, this screen should be filled out as
completely as possible. Capitalization is important in all fields that have free entry.
Below are some tips regarding Bio 1 entry fields:

• Last name: - correct spacing is important. Only use spaces within the name when
required (e.g. “de los Santos”). Most other surnames should be kept as one word
(e.g. “MacDougall” and “DeLaura”).
• First name: - While there are some records in the database that have two names in
this field (e.g. “Bob and Lisa”), the recommended procedure would be to enter
“Bob” in First name and add Lisa through the “Spou/Part” tab if they are a
married couple. “Bob and Lisa” is permissible if their relationship is unclear;
perhaps they are brother and sister or father and daughter.
• Middle name: - should be spelled out if known. The formatting of the name on
the Title Bar is controlled through the Addressees/Salutations Tab. For
individuals that use their maiden name in their preferred name (e.g. Sally Smith
Jones), enter the maiden name here as well.
• Titles: - Raiser’s Edge allows for up to two titles. The most commonly used titles
are at the top of the dropdown menu (Mr., Mrs., Ms., Miss, Dr.); the remaining
options follow alphabetically. There are some title options that converted from
the old database that should not be used. The preferred usage for Advancement
Services is to use “and” instead of “&” (Dr. and Mrs. John Smith instead of Dr. &
Mrs. John Smith).
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• Suffixes: - Two suffix fields can accommodate people such as “John T. Smith, Jr.,
Esq.” For most professional suffixes (Esq., M.D., Ph.D., etc.), the title becomes
redundant (e.g. Dr. John Smith, M.D.) and should not be used.
• Nickname: - This field is optional, but very useful (how does “Richard” prefer to
be addressed). Discretion should be used in the case of some old fraternity
nicknames.
• ID: - generated by the system after the constituent has been saved.
• Gender: - enter if known.
• SSN: - Social Security Number is an important reference for prospect research,
Alumni Finder, confirming deaths, etc. For security purposes, most RE users do
not have permission to view social security numbers.
• Birth date: - The exact date should be entered if known. However, values for
month and year (10/1958) or year of birth only are permissible.
• Age: - Do not enter a value here. Age is system calculated based on entry in the
Birth date field. For deceased individuals, age at death will be system calculated
if both Birth date and Deceased date have values.
• Deceased: - Mark the checkbox if the constituent is deceased. In Configuration –
Business Rules, you can set the system to automatically stop mailings, change the
constituent code, and make the spouse a constituent among others. (See also
Deceased Constituents section.)
• Deceased date: - The exact date should be entered if known. However, values for
month and year (07/2006) or year of death only are permissible.
• Marital status: - enter if known.
• Spouse button: - will prompt for spouse information entry. See Adding Spouses
and Other Relationships.
• Solicit code: - a variety of codes exist for solicitations and other contact options:
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Solicit codes must be moved from the “Available” column to the “Selected” column to
become effective. The “Do Not Solicit” code will override the other more specific “do
not solicit” codes.
• Preferred Address information should be added as completely as possible.
Unless otherwise specified, the preferred address is the home address for
individuals. An individual can only have one preferred address. The Home
Address Updates section contains guidelines for entry in the address and
Phones/E-mail/Links areas as well as a discussion on business preferred and
seasonal addresses.
• The “This constituent” section has a series of checkboxes that default to
unmarked when a new record is created. The checkboxes have powerful results
and are used throughout the system (Query Tab, Export Tab, Mail Tab). “Is
inactive” generally eliminates constituents from Raiser’s Edge mailings. Three
groups where this box is frequently checked are current students, graduate
parents who do not donate to Hobart and William Smith Colleges and non-
graduates who do not wish to remain in contact with HWS. The “Has no valid
address” box can be checked to maintain the last known valid address while
eliminating the constituent from future mailings until a new correct address is
obtained.

If the constituent is married, add the spouse by selecting the Spou/Part button. Refer to
Adding Spouses and Other Relationships.

The next step is entry on the Bio 2 tab:

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Advancement Services does not maintain many of the fields on the Bio 2 tab, including
Target, Income, Birthplace, Religion, and credit cards. Ethnicity is usually relevant only
for HWS students. Most new constituents will only require one entry under
“Description” in the Constituent Codes window.

Advancement Services requires entry in the Addressees/Salutations tab:

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“Primary addressee” dictates the format of the name displayed on the Title Bar. Making
“Primary salutation” a required field ensures that all constituents have at least one
salutation option for mailings generated through Raiser’s Edge. Other addresses and
salutations may also be added in the “Additional Addressees and Salutations” area if the
new constituent is a student, parent, friend of the HWS president, etc. (see Additional
Addresses and Salutations).

Addressees and salutations are derived from tables built in Configuration –

Addressees/Salutations that can be applied to any constituent name. Specialized
addressees and salutations that do not appear in the tables can be tweaked by checking
the Editable? box. An unlimited number of Additional Addresses and Salutations can be
added for customized applications – formal vs. informal, etc.

Business information should be added according to the procedures described in Business

Address Updates. The new constituent should be linked to other individuals and
organizations as described in Adding Spouses and Other Relationships. The new
constituent may also require entry on other tabs such as Attributes, Notes, or Events.

Adding New Organizations

Selecting Organization from the Add New button will produce a blank Org1 screen:
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While only “Org name:” is a required field on Org 1, this screen should be filled out as
completely as possible. Many of the tables for entry are the same as the Bio 1 tab.
Below are some tips regarding Org 1 field entry:

• Org Name: - While the number of spaces available is large, the name may be
truncated in mailings and reports, so should generally be limited to 30 characters.
A backslash (\) can be used immediately before the name to aid in searching. For
example in “The\Xerox Foundation”, Raiser’s Edge will replace the “\” with a
space for all listings in reports. However, this will be searchable under “x” for
“Xerox”.
• Aliases – This button can be used to create an unlimited number of alternate ways
to search for the organization name. For example, for the Robert Wood Johnson
Foundation people might think to search under “Wood” or “Johnson”. Since
Johnson is a common name, another alias to consider would be “Johnson
Foundation”.
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• ID: - generated by the system after the constituent has been saved.
• The organization’s preferred address and phones should be added. Alternate
addresses can be added on the Addresses tab.
• Solicit code: - a variety of codes exist for solicitations and other contact
options.
• Matching gift fields are on the right side of the Org 2 tab. Refer to Gift
Processing – Matching Gifts for directions on entry in these fields.

The next step is entry on the Org 2 tab:

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In most cases, only a Constituent Code needs to be selected from the Description
dropdown menu. The organization type chosen is important for the VSE Report (see
Reporting and Analysis section) and other internal and external reports. The organization
type most commonly used is “Corporation”; it can be used for major corporations as well
as very small business enterprises.

The “Parent corp:” field can be used to link two organizations as parent and subsidiary.
However, this link is NOT a relationship. Advancement Services policy is to create
relationships between parent and subsidiary corporations. Relationships should also be
created to link companies and company foundations for companies that match gifts
through their foundations.

The new organization may also require entry on other tabs such as Attributes, Notes, or
Events.

New Scholarships and Prizes

Scholarships and prizes are tracked on Raiser’s Edge as organizational constituents. For
the proper setup procedures, refer to the New Scholarship and Prize Procedures section.