[lisbett]

Hello!
We are currently not using RE to create our letters. We will in the future but for now we need to track whether a letter got sent out and what date. This means NOT in RE. Anyone have something like this?
I do want to eventually do a data import with this spreadsheet like once a week so it would be nice to have data that RE will understand. So does anyone out there have some type of worksheet template that they are using so the GOs coordinator can update the sheet to tell me when letters have been sent out as well as other users like the VP letters. Point me in the right direction I have not seen anyone else ask this. I hope my question is clear.
Thanks,
Lisbett

[Melissa Siobhan]

Can you explain this further? What do you do in the spreadsheet that you can not do in Raiser's Edge.

Raiser's Edge gift records contain an acknowledged field and a date acknowledged field. When you run acknowledgment letters through Mail it automatically switches them to acknowledged and enters the date the letters were created. We are satisfied with that and leave in that date even if it takes a day to get signed and go out but you could go in and change the date acknowledged on these gifts (either individually or globally by batch number or gift date.

When I then do is get copies of the letters after they are signed and match them up to the documentation of the gift. I could have them put the date mailed on the copy of the letter but it is not something I have been asked to track. The copy is my double check that all gifts were acknowledged - these copies are then filed. I do not keep a spreadsheet. I hope this is helpful.

[Melissa Siobhan]

And one other thing - because our acknowledgments are also our receipts they are all created centrally and not by gift officers. Gift officers cans end their own note of thanks but it would be in addition to the acknowledgment letter. This helps speed up the process and keep acknowledgment letters standardized with the proper language (rather than a GO putting on there something they should not). Receipts are legal documents and errors can have legal consequences.

[lisbett]

Hi Melissa,
Thanks for the response. Right now we DONT have ack letters from RE. We have a system created a while back. In the mean time we had not been keeping track whether a letter was sent out to the person or not, and they would get several letters. The way we are trying to do this with the current solution is when a letter is printed it is given to someone to sign and their admin sends it out. When it is sent out we need to know and bring that information into RE. (This year i will be revamping this by everything going into RE but for now we have to do it this way)
When we send out receipts since we do it in batch we do automatically have those as sent, it is the special letters either from the GO or the VP that are not recorded. Does this explanation help?
Thanks for your time,
Lisbett

[Melissa Siobhan]

I understood that you do not use the ack letters in RE but the fields are still there for you to use - using Ack letters simply makes it easier and I was explaing my system since you said you will be using them in the future. I hope the information was helpful.

I think that the only way for you to import the gift acknowledged and acknowledged date fields from a spreadsheet is to get the constituent ID and gift Import ID out of RE first then import the necessary fields. If you are thinking of importing them somewhere else (you did not specify) like a new action - you still need the constituent ID field and a few other required fields. In my experience importing like this would likely be more work than I would be willing to do. You may see things differently.

When our GOs send out special letters they are responsible for creating an action with an action type of Stewardship to record when they sent out a thank you card. They do it themselves. This works great since in order to get them to change a gift to acknowledged in RE themselves you need to give them full gift editing rights (pretty stupid of BB to do that if you ask me) but if you use actions instead you only need to give them action creation/editing rights. Since the constituents they are mailing to have proposals in the prospect module they also link the action to the proposal - it works great for us.

Hope this is helpful.