[lanibersch]

Hello,
I've never done an import...(I know, its probably RE 101) but nevertheless I have not. I just exported the database to get an NCOA plus CASS update of 6,000 names in our database. I've read the book and played with the test database, but I am not in control of our back up and the thought of messing up is terrifying right now. So, some questions.....

1. How tough is it to import update zipcodes and addresses?
2. How expensive is it to have someone come in to do it?
3. Does anyone know anyone in the Baltimore/DC metro area who does this?

Thanks for your help.

Lani

[Jo Ward]

Lani,

You didn't say who did the NCOA/Cass certification for you. If it was Blackbaud, there is a fairly easy way to update the information in RE. If it was an outside vendor, it is harder, but still doable. I have an import file that I use to import data from an outside vendor and still preserve the old address as a previous address. I also have an import file that worked a couple of years ago with Blackbaud-generated NCOA updates. If you'll send me you email address, I'd be happy to send them to you. You can also call me, and I'll try to answer some of your questions.

Importing can be pretty scary, but once you get the hang of it, it's a little more comfortable.

[asnoah]

Jo, I would be interested in your procedure too. We've tried importing address changes but with out much success. We also want to keep the past address. Our problems were: it lost the shared address link with spouses and it put it in all caps. We prefer initial cap and puntuation. My email address is angela_snyder@wycliffe.org. I currently do imports so I'm familiar with that process.

Thanks.

[Cheryl]

Wow, I'm glad I came on to this website. I have the same exact questions/worries as Lani. I've been trying to research having our RE database NCOA'd & CASS'd, but I don't know if we should do it through Blackbaud or a private vendor. And I'm scared to death of importing because I've never done it, and I also don't have control over our backup of RE. So my questions are as follows:

1. Lani, what book have you read and what "test database" have you played with?

2. Does anyone know who to contact at Blackbaud about "exporting" our file to them and having it cleaned up and then sent back? Or would I be better off going with an outside vendor to do this, and if so, does anyone have any recommendations on an outside vendor? We have a local RE "contractor" who could come in and do the actual importing, but then again my company would probably rather not have to pay somebody to do that if I could learn how to import it. But I'm not even sure what I need to do for the export, I'm feeling very dumb about this.

Any and all suggestions would be most welcome. Thanks much!

Cheryl

[nisaac]

If you go with Blackbaud, it's fairly straight forward. You do everything through the data health center. There are knowledgebase articles that explain the procedure. You can call Blackbaud's Data Enrichment Service department or contact your account manager to get more info. I use Blackbaud for this service, email finder, congressional district finder and I use address validation.

[Melissa Siobhan]

Cheryl,

Depending on your procedures and preferences using an outside vendor can be a real headache not having anything to do with learning to import but some things simply can not be done. Blackbaud has designed the database in such a way where there can be issues with saving the old address and having linked addresses stay linked to the old and not get updated to the new. The blackbaud interface with AddressFinder is really the only way to do it without a lot of manual headache.

I just recently posted my full opinion on this to a thread in Blackbaud's website Importing my NCOA file - Forums and I am sure I have posted here before on NCOA as well.

Good Luck.