Out Of Sight…Out of Mind…

The flow chart above is hilarious! Unfortunately, the feedback we have received over the years is that this, although funny,  accurately reflects the current flow of an email received from Innovation Technology and Education (ITE) or Systems Education and Analysis (SEA).

We recognize that numerous emails can be a time drain that deter you from “important” work; however, it is critical that you are able to recognize the emails from your inbox that will assist you with that “important work”.

ITE and SEA use email as one way to share timely and “important” system information such as the roll out of new programs, enhancements and modifications to existing programs, and critical information related to network security.

Can we get a “WOOHOO!!”?

Public Reports: FS Giving

Colleges often request reports to monitor their faculty and staff giving to their college (and sometimes beyond). These reports often support college or department specific initiatives, such as event invitations, announcements and updates through college or department newsletters, promotion of giving campaigns, or simply distribution of end-of-year stewardship pieces.

Regardless of purpose,     you have a helpful template at your fingertips?

You can reference your college’s Faculty/Staff Donor reports via the “Faculty/Staff Giving” Public Reports subfolder in CDIStiller. This allows you to monitor your faculty/staff giving to your college or unit as needed, as these reports are refreshed daily. You can also use this report as a template for communications and/or deeper dives into your colleges giving data (for example, at the department level). On the other hand, you can broaden this template to look at your college’s faculty/staff giving to the university as a whole.

Reminders:

• If you are planning to communicate from this report, you must change your report purpose to the applicable communication type.
• This report does not include emeritus faculty or retired staff. Please contact ADV Request if you’d like these included and a custom report will be generated.
• If you do not want revocable commitments included, you can change this giving criteria to “no”.
• This is anchored to the current fiscal year. If referencing this report after the completion of this fiscal year, you will need to adjust your giving date range appropriately.
• If you want to narrow by department (giving and/or employment), make sure to add this in both sections of criteria where applicable.

If you need any assistance adjusting these reports, please contact ADV Request.

*If you have the need for any other automated reports, please let us know! We’re always looking for ways to provide the resources you need in a way that is accessible and digestible.*

Linda Paule

The Missing Link

Have you ever deleted an Ad-Hoc report on a whim without realizing it was the foundation for another report? This is quite common when getting into complex reporting, as you’re often linking various reports through report interactions to test the impact of including or excluding various populations or feverishly attempting to reach an entity count without completely disrupting your original list criteria. Regardless of reason, it’s easy to forget a report was a piece of the larger puzzle.

Sometimes it seems impractical to review all of your Ad-Hoc reports to verify whether or not something is safe to delete, and as you know, once a report has been deleted, there is no way of restoring it.

 there’s a quick one-click method to verify if report interactions are at play. By simply right-clicking on your report title and selecting Export, you can reference the “Dependencies” section at the bottom of the export screen.

The Dependencies section will outline the Type of report interaction, List name, report Owner, report Status, last Date Run, and last report Count. In the example below, we can see that this report is feeding three other reports, two of which are in my report folder, and one which is in the [Public] report folder. Knowing who the report owner is can be particularly helpful when several people within your user group have access to reports. I can also easily see that one of my reports has archived, which means it is not excluding the population as intended through my CANNOT report interaction (archived reports do not hold any data, despite displaying the count).

(NOTE: If no report dependencies are present, this will be noted as “No dependencies” under the header)

It is important to understand that this function only displays which reports are linking TO this report. This does not illustrate what report interactions are present within this report under your report Settings. For example, I have my criteria checking for overlap across 5 reports under my report settings:

But since this report is not being linked TO by another report, it is showing there are no dependencies:

Another practical use for the Dependencies functionality is for refreshing a system of reports. For example, by reviewing the dependencies of a particular report, I can see it is feeding three other reports as seen in the first example. This means I need to refresh this report prior to refreshing the others that are dependent upon it having the most up-to-date data. By refreshing these out of order, you can greatly affect your outcome or perhaps result in no outcome at all if all the linked reports have archived.

These quick references are great tools to expedite your reporting processes so you’re not left with a missing link! Please reach out to ADV Request with any questions as you begin working with this functionality.

Linda Paule

HOUSEHOLD – Are you IN or OUT?

  that one of our most frequently asked questions for mail files is, “What is the actual count of the mail file we are sending so we can identify printing and postage costs?” Sometimes it can be tricky to come up with an accurate number due to householding rules and whether or not you wish to include spouses in your mail file. Based on these criteria, see the FAQ’s below that will help you in deciding if spouses are in or out.

How do I see the household count of my report? Why does this matter?

Entity reports will display the total number of entities on a report, but this isn’t always helpful when planning any type of mail communication if two members of a household may be addressed jointly in a single mail piece.

The easiest way to gather an accurate count of households is to simply right-click on your report title and select “Export”. You can see the Household Count is addressed on the “Last Run” line.

Make sure to combine couples into a single record when creating your mail file!

 
How do I ensure both spouses will appear on the mail label if only one qualifies based on my ad hoc criteria?
You have the ability to “auto-include” spouses by using any of the following variables (based on your desired outcome):

• Living spouses;
• Alumni spouses;
• Non-Alumni spouses;
• All spouses (Note: this will include all deceased spouses as well)

Where are these variables located?

You can find these variables in two areas: Settings Level and Criteria Level

• Settings Level: Under your report settings → More Settings → Automatic Inclusions, select which auto-include you would like to apply. If applying at the Settings level, this will auto-include this type for all qualifying entities on your list.
• Criteria Level: In situations where you only want to automatically include spouses for a certain criteria (for example, you may want to auto-include all living spouses of donors to a certain area, but not auto-include spouses of alumni with a particular degree), you can find Automatic Inclusions at the bottom of the Variable menu.

You can also auto-include spouses in exclusionary situations. For example, if you want to exclude all alumni households, but several qualifying non-alumni entities have alumni spouses that are not on your list,  you can use this function to auto-include all alumni spouses using your CANNOT criteria.

For more information or assistance using these variables, please contact Talent Management, Training and Support via ADV Request.

Linda Paule

Don’t Forget to Log In

Congratulations! UA Communications has approved your email and it has been sent out to your constituents. You’ve just spent weeks on content, graphics, and building the perfect mailing list for your email solicitation, newsletter, event invitation or announcement. Now it’s time to kick your feet up and relax… well… not yet!

 Sending your email is only half of the communication process. The other half lives in analyzing the success of each mailing and using that data to inform your future communication strategy. We have made the second half of this process easy by providing you with access to the Mailing Log. To access the Mailing Log, go to the CDIStributor pushpin, then select Mailing Log.  From there, you have the option to filter by author/owner/group/letter type/dates, etc. to select the mailings you wish to review.  Often, people will pull by the fiscal or calendar year.

Once in the mailing log, you will see an overview of what many consider the very basics of email marketing analytics. Your first column will show what your constituents will see, including the subject, sender, and the type/group. The second column shows the internal Advance classification of the data, including the Mailing Title, Author/Group, Scheduled Date and Duration, and the ad hoc list it references.

The next set of columns really dive into the success of your mailing. At the bottom of the screen you’ll see a color-coded legend that provides national statistics around defining success of a mailing. You’ll notice your mailing will be color coded based on the national standards for Sent, Open, Clicked, Opted Out, and Bounce rates. If you hover over the number, you’ll also see the percentage.  The $$ column will show any money your email brought in if it was a solicitation and had the appeal code attached.

You are probably familiar with open rates, but the click rate may be most important for email analytics. This tells you what percentage of your audience opened and clicked through the content of your email. Please note, our clicks are exactly that – one person could click more than once, and account for more than one click. So, it’s not 2,726 people who clicked, it’s simply 2,726 clicks.

You should consistently be checking the success of your mailing by referencing the numbers in the log. Those numbers can help you determine the return on investment for each email.

This first screen of the Mailing Log is considered the very basic level of email marketing analytics, but here at CSU, we are known to go beyond the basics! To really look at the specific types of information that reflect how your audience interact with your emails, click on the name of your email and open the CDIStributor Template.

A pie chart will show you the overall performance based on open, opt-out, click through, bounce, and sent (or unopened) rates.
You’ll see other interesting statistics like the open domain, but most importantly, you’ll see where your constituents clicked based on embedded URLS that will help you identify what your constituent are interested in. You can use the data to inform future communication content to increase click through rates and ultimately the ROI on your communications. For example, if you have a very low click rate on a link to an article, you may consider not including such articles in the future. Or, if you have a high click rate to a specific online giving page, you may consider soliciting to that page more frequently.

You’ll also have access to other useful information, such as Bounces, Opt-Outs, and Opt-Out comments. CSU is automatically notified of the opt-outs and which are applied to entities records, but as the communicator, it is important to understand which area(s) people are opting out of and why (sometimes you’ll see opt-out comments that explain why).

If you are part of a college, you’ll see the number of people on your list who are affiliated vs. those who are not. It is important to monitor your list’s affiliation to make sure the email is being sent to the appropriate audience. We’ve found that if there is a high un-affiliation rate, there is also a high opt-out rate. At the bottom of this report, you’ll also have access to the email, both with and without HTML reader.

While it is always an accomplishment to send out an email, we really want to stress quality over quantity. Be sure to always check the success of your emails by referencing the Mailing Log. Best practice is to meet with your team regularly to discuss a communication plan based on the success of past emails, which can be seen through the Mailing Log.

As always if you have any questions, please reach out to Talent Management, Training & Support!

Shay Galto

Tributes in ADVANCE

when building an online giving page, one important question to ask is:

Will donors more likely give to your cause if offered the ability to customize a tribute like “Sponsored/On Behalf Of”, “In Honor Of”, and/or “In Memory Of” a person, or in special instances, an animal?

We call these “recognition credit” or “soft credit” options and they are selectable attributes available to you every time you request the creation of an online giving page. In addition, you not only have the option to add a general tributes section to your OGP (where the donor can add the tribute), but you can actually dedicate an entire page to one specific entity. (Note: Animals do not have entity records in ADVANCE so soft credit is not given in these instances even though the dedication can be made.)

However, with the many requests for new online giving pages that I receive, I have noticed that many have opted to skip this option. I would like to take this opportunity to define these dedications a bit more for your understanding, as well as educate you on how gift credit is recorded. I will be using ‘tributes’ and ‘dedications’ interchangeably.

In the ADVANCE system they are defined as:

Sponsored/On Behalf Of: This option is used for gifts paid by one entity on behalf of another entity (i.e. Individuals may use their “owned” company to make a gift on their behalf). You may see this type of tribute identified for gifts that come in through donor advised funds (DAF). Dedicated individuals will receive “soft credit” on their giving record for the total amount of the gift.

In Honor Of: We use this option to honor a living entity or animal as an expression of gratitude. You will usually find this on online giving pages that are soliciting gifts to a fund that is named after the person you wish to honor. We also offer this type of tribute to honor faculty and staff (i.e. Health and Human Sciences Legacy pages) or prospective donors may wish to give a gift “in honor” of their living pet (i.e. to a CVMBS fund). The “honoree” will not receive credit on the gift, but will be associated with it.

In Memory Of: We use this option in remembrance of an individual or animal who has passed. The decedent will not receive credit on the gift, but will be associated with it (e.g. for memorial reports).

So, if this is “soft” credit, who is getting the “hard” or legal credit for these types gifts?  GREAT QUESTION!

After the determination of the “legal” donor (one making the gift) is identified, they will receive “hard” credit and be receipted as such. Recognition “soft” credit donors will be recognized in other types or reports or publications, such as donor honor rolls, giving societies, event invitations, or membership listings.

Got it?  Let’s see….    

Given the four scenarios below, see if you can identify the “hard (legal) credit” and “recognition/soft credit” donors! (Answers provided below…)

Scenario #1
A donor maintains a “DAF” with the Denver Foundation, a community foundation. All gifts received from this fund are drawn on Denver Foundation checks. Should the individual donor or the Denver Foundation be shown as the legal donor of the gift?

Scenario #2
A donor who does not have a checking account gives cash to a friend. The friend writes a check to the University, and asks us to credit the gift to the person from whom the cash was received. Which of these people should be shown as the legal donor?

Scenario #3
Several people pool their money, giving that money to a person who writes a check to the University. Are the people who contributed money legal donors, or is the writer of the check the legal donor?

Scenario #4
A donor and his wife send in a gift and advise that they want the gift to be from both parties.  Who is the donor and who gets credit?

ANSWERS
Scenario #1
The Denver Foundation is the legal donor. The individual donor may (and should) be given recognition credit (i.e. on behalf of) for the gift, but should not be recorded as the legal donor.

Scenario #2
The person who wrote the check was the legal owner of the money at the time the gift was made; hence, the check writer, and not the person who provided the money, is recorded as the legal donor. The person who provided the money may (and should) be acknowledged with recognition credit.

Scenario #3
The gift will be recorded in the name of the person who wrote the check, and not in the name of each person who provided money for the gift. The legal donor can choose to split recognition credit between the pool of individuals if proper documentation has been provided.

Scenario #4
The legal donors are the husband and wife; they both will receive legal credit for 50% of the gift unless they indicate a different allocation.  The husband and wife will also receive recognition credit for the spouse’s portion, but the couple will never receive more than the total amount of the gift.   If you look at the “CSU Giving Summary” on CDIS, you will see that the household amount will equal the total amount of the gifts from the couple.

How did you do?

Please research and review your online giving pages to see if adding ‘tributes’ would be a good option!

Our desired outcome for offering customized online giving pages is ultimately…

Donor-Centric Communications – Anchors Away!

 Technology can be a huge help for systematizing mass amounts of data, especially when communicating with thousands of loyal alumni, donors and friends. But how do you add a personal touch when a system is following a structured set of rules that determine name order? First, let’s look at what rules are currently in place.

Standard Name Order
Alumni make up a vast portion of our constituency, so they naturally have the spotlight, thus falling first in the name order on joint mailings and salutations. But what happens when both heads of household are alumni? Or, when neither are alumni? There are some automated rules that make decisions based on other factors such as employment. Reference the flow chart for the formal hierarchy of rules.

Overrides
We understand there is not a one-size-fits-all solution when automating mass amounts of data, so a series of overrides, or “anchors” have been created to allow you more control over name ordering.

Name order can be based on the following categories:

• Degree Department: Alumnus/a graduating department
• Degree Division: Alumnus/a graduating division

These can be beneficial when communicating from a specific division/department and desiring relevant graduating alumnus/a to appear first in the name/salutation order when both spouses are alumni.

• Employment Department: Faculty/Staff departmental place of work
• Employment Division: Faculty/Staff division place of work

These can be beneficial when communicating to a specific division/department’s faculty/staff to override standard alumni name ordering rules, or to appeal to faculty/staff when both are employed by CSU.

• Override: This overrides all standard hierarchy rules along with degree and employment anchors. This is managed through an ad hoc report of Advance IDs that should always appear first in name order.

How are these applied?
The standard rules outlined in the flow chart above are automatically applied. However, anchors must be applied on each ad hoc communication report to ensure it is applied. Anchors can be applied by going to your report Settings > More Settings > Settings – General:

Upon selecting your anchor, you will be prompted to select the applicable department/division, or search for the override ad hoc list in your report folder. Once applied, your report output will take into account all rules and anchors for a donor-centric communication approach.

If selecting both degree and employment anchors, and the household has both a graduate and faculty member in the same division or department, the graduate will take precedence in name order. Any circumstances warranting further adjustment will need to be managed via the Override anchor.

Linda Paule