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I am running a report (measurable outcomes) that takes all gifts for the year and manipulates them in order to find giving percentages of trustees, parents, alums, etc. When we do this the numbers are off and we think it may be because it pulls folks with multiple constituents codes in the wrong way. How is it determined which constituent code takes precedence? It is just the way they are listed in a record? Is there a default hierarchy? We want the program to group folks based on Trustee, alum and then parent. Any insights?
P.S. This export runs thru a crystal report that we cannot decipher. Could the problem be there?
Hierarchies in reports are done by the visual/physical order of the constituent code. For example, if a constituent is an Alum, Trustee and a Parent, in that order, then the report will count the constituent as an Alum.
So, if you want your reports to count constituents in a certain hierarchical way, you will need to re-arrange them on the actual records.
Not good news for you, I'm sure, but as BB loves to state.....The report is working as it was programmed too (or something like those words!!!)
__________________ Barbara A. Schlichter Technical Project Coordinator Burlington, MA www.lahey.org
There are actually two different hierarchies for constituent codes. The order on the constituent record and the order in the table in Config. Different reports have different options for determining the hierarchy. Unless the report lets you select the hierarchy, assume that is based upon the record. Also, in reports, check the Format Tab --> Details for additional options- sometimes it's there depending on the results.
Do a search in knowledgebase "What is the constituent code hierarchy." This will give some additional information that is more specific, especially to certain reports.
__________________ Sean Seabrook Blackbaud Implementation Specialist Make-A-Wish Foundation of America
A thought toward your issue...and I'm not sure this will affect what you are trying to report...but, once I was trying to do a report on gifts given and I ran several of the canned reports in RE to find a suitable one to meet my needs. I knew one constituent should show on a report and but didn't. I compared his records with what I wanted in my report and found that the constituent code listed in the Miscellaneous Tab under Gifts did not show the constituency code that would attach the donor to that gift (example: gift given as a Board Member vs gift given as a physician). So I now make sure that in that Miscellaneous Tab as I enter gifts that a constituent code shows and is the correct one to associate it with the gift. Like I said, not sure this even comes near to what you are looking for, but a thought in making sure that the constituent code is correct w/the gift entered. h
I've had the same situation as Helen, and now make sure the Misc. tab has the correct Con. Code for the gift. It's probably my favorite way to pull reports - by Con. Code on the gift instead of Con. Code on the Constituent. In my case, the Con. Codes were very random and inappropriately applied when I started in this position, but the gifts were on mark about 90% of the time, so it was something I could pretty much trust. It's all about the data entry.
__________________ Sage Evans
Advancement Database and Records Manager
Grand View University www.grandview.edu
Heirarchy for Constituents codes 
Linear Mode
