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I am absolutely green when it comes to RE and I'm not even sure what to search the forums for.
I am trying to replace our fearless leader P.G. (better known as Blackbus's: 'The Bus Driver') here at NAIT in Edmonton, Canada as the Records & Systems Coordinator. What made me think I could do that????
We need to determine "of the number of individual donors who have previously given in past years, what % of these individual donors made a gift in 2007/2008".
I could probably come up with the answer if I moved directly to the backend and used SQL to query the database but I MUST get used to using the RE interface. Any help/suggestions/pity/encouragement and even mercy would be appreciated.
You have big...uhm...shoes, yeah shoes, to fill (I did not say mouth, Peter!!)
I would do a constituent query with Gift/gift date greater than or equal to what ever date you want to start with. this will give you total donors. Then do another query with the gift date of this year. Use these figures to get your percentage.
__________________ Michael J. Sherman
Database Administrator Sarasota Orchestra (name change 9/3/08)
The new Florida West Coast Symphony
Now I'm questioning whether this was a correct response or not? (Sorry) I'm getting the impression and maybe I will have to clarify this, that my boss would like to see of the donors that have given in the past, what percentage of these same donors gave in 2007/2008. I think this would somehow require a comparison based on the constituen record ID???
Thanks Again,
Mike
I like to train RE users to think using the 5W's and 1H approach to queries:
Who - All constituents? Excluding anyone? Including only specific constituent codes?
What - Gifts of a particular type? Including and Excluding ?
When - Are these cumulative? Is it based on a single gift? Specific Date range ?
Where - Is this for gifts from a specific fund? or campaign ?
Why - Think about the output and what is the purpose of this query.
How - Does it matter what appeal? How the gift was solicited?
Try going through these types of questions BEFORE you begin building the query. Especially think about what you want to do with the output, and the type of output you are looking for before you even begin building any query. Better yet - train your Development Officers to think about what they want in this way. You will spend a lot less time going back and forth running queries and giving them sample results.
Hope this helps someone out there!
__________________ Lisa Lane Kasperzak
Founder, Cygnet Consulting Group www.cygnetgroup.com
Now I'm questioning whether this was a correct response or not? (Sorry) I'm getting the impression and maybe I will have to clarify this, that my boss would like to see of the donors that have given in the past, what percentage of these same donors gave in 2007/2008. I think this would somehow require a comparison based on the constituen record ID???
Thanks Again,
Mike
Sorry, Mike, I forgot to say to do the second query based on the first query.
1. do the first query and save it.
2. do the second query but click on Tools/Query Options/Record Processing/Select from query/ then select the first query.
__________________ Michael J. Sherman
Database Administrator Sarasota Orchestra (name change 9/3/08)
The new Florida West Coast Symphony
Thanks again Michael! That's exactly what I was looking for. I knew it would involve a subquery but I just wasn't sure how to perorm it with RE. PERFECT!
Part of the reason Patrick thinks I was so "good" at my job was my reliance on the folks in this community. On my own, I don't really know all that much.
Stick around - you'll make great things happen at NAIT.
__________________ Peter Gulka
Chief Bus Driver
Blackbaud User Society www.blackbus.org
Amen! This group makes us all appear to our colleagues as if we have
all the answers. Collectively we almost have ALL the answers!
Melissa S. Graves
Director of Development Services
The Village for Families and Children
The mission of the Village for Families and Children is to build a
community of strong, healthy families who protect and nurture children.
"You cannot motivate people; they are already motivated, and your job is
to find out what motivates them and construct the right environment in
which their motivation will flourish." Kay Sprinkel Grace.
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