nptech.info

pThis one#39;s dedicated to ournbsp;Canadian customers.nbsp; You can now ship your Blackbaud Forms orders via the Unites States Postal Service (USPS). The shipping rates through the USPS are significantly lower than international freight rates; however, we will not be able to offer package tracking or compensation for damages when using the USPS. For more information about this new shipping option,nbsp;call Blackbaud Forms at 866.422.3676. /pimg src="http://forums.blackbaud.com/aggbug.aspx?PostID=146592" width="1" height="1"

pSeveral times a week, we offer free, hour-long web seminars on our website. The seminars usually focus on Blackbaud products or best practices for nonprofits./p pTo register, select a href="http://www.blackbaud.com/events/webseminars.aspx" target="_new"Web Seminars/a from the Events menu on our website, find a seminar you want to attend, and click Register Now. Once you submit the enrollment form, you’ll receive an email with instructions for viewing the online presentation, as well as the telephone access number. If you’d like to enroll for additional seminars, click Continue after you fill out the enrollment form./p pHere are some of the web seminars coming up next week:/p blockquotestrongJune 28:/strongbr /strongAchieve Better Results with Benchmarking, 12:00 p.m. ET:/strong Join us for a discussion about how donorCentrics performance benchmarking services have helped organizations achieve better fundraising results. a href="https://www.livemeeting.com/lrs/1100003672/Registration.aspx?pageName=sqpgbb9sc2rz9lc7" target="_new"Register now/a/blockquote blockquotestrongJune 29:/strongbr /strong2010 Internet Assessment Results, 2:00 p.m. ET:/strong Join us for a review of Blackbaud#39;s 2010 Internet Assessment results to see how your website measures up to other nonprofit organizations. a href="https://www.livemeeting.com/lrs/1100003672/Registration.aspx?pageName=sxhxfnwtrcz6zdkr" target="_new"Register now/a/blockquote blockquotestrongJune 30:/strongbr /strongGetting to Know AuctionMaestro Pro, 2:00 p.m. ET:/strong Learn how AuctionMaestro Pro can help your organization plan, manage, and analyze your benefit auction. a href="https://www.livemeeting.com/lrs/1100003672/Registration.aspx?pageName=zstkq0w9274wg5gg" target="_new"Register now/a/blockquote blockquotestrongJuly 1:/strongbr /strongIntroducing ALTRU! A Clear View, 2:00 p.m. ET:/strong Altru is Blackbaud’s new SaaS platform which helps arts amp; cultural organizations cultivate patrons, sell and schedule programs and manage revenue. a href="https://www.livemeeting.com/lrs/1100003672/Registration.aspx?pageName=p7182j8lg63bkpg6" target="_new"Register now/a/blockquote pExclusive to our a href="http://forums.blackbaud.com/blogs/raisersedge/archive/tags/Blackbaud+Learn/default.aspx" target="_new"Blackbaud Learn/a customers on June 28 at 2:00 p.m. ET, join us for strongEmbracing Technology for Moves Management Success/strong, which covers how a Moves Management program can help your organization with constituent relationship management, solicitation strategy, and strategic analysis./pimg src="http://forums.blackbaud.com/aggbug.aspx?PostID=146742" width="1" height="1"

pHere are the questions we received in yesterday#39;s session of our Support Roundtable a href="http://www.blackbaud.com/support/roundtables/raisersedge.aspx" target="_new"The Raiser’s Edge 7.91 Update: New Features and Frequently Asked Questions/a. If you missed the session, you can still a href="http://www.blackbaud.com/support/roundtables/raisersedge.aspx" target="_new"register for an upcoming session/a./p pstrongQ:/strongDo we need anything else for IATS?br /strongA:/strongNo, this will not affect your IATS account./p pstrongQ:/strongWe are currently on version 7.81 - are there lots of changes in version 7.85?br /strongA:/strongReview the a href="http://www.blackbaud.com/kb/index?page=contentamp;id=BB486926" target="_new"release notes/a for past versions to see what changes have been made to The Raiser#39;s Edge./p pstrongQ:/strongWe currently enter credit card data manually in batch and have no recurring gifts or pledges charged to credit cards. So after updating to 7.91 I assume there is no point entering a full credit card number in batch; we should just enter the last 4 digits, correct?br /strongA:/strongTo enter any credit card information in Batch, you will need a BBPS account. You may enter information in Records without access to BBPS./p pstrongQ:/strongIs there a list of providers available for Canadian organizations other than IVerify?br /strongA:/strongCurrently, we support ICVerify and IATS for all Canadian and US clients./p pstrongQ:/strongWe don#39;t store credit card numbers or use BBPS. Will we still have the ability to mark a gift as paid by credit card and credit card type?br /strongA:/strongYes, you can still enter credit card as the pay method without BBPS./pimg src="http://forums.blackbaud.com/aggbug.aspx?PostID=146607" width="1" height="1"

Top of the morning to you...We all know scheduling season is upon us, and while you may have the majority of your schedule setup, I know you have the last minute students/classes to schedule.nbsp;nbsp;If that is your lot, here are some helpful tips:br /br / ol liIf you have a group of students with blank schedules that you would like to schedule quickly: create a a href="http://www.blackbaud.com/kb/index?page=contentamp;id=BB499953"query/a with those students, open the query in Edit Student schedules and use the VCR buttons to move through the students in the query./li liDo you have to create a new class and schedule a group of students in that class? nbsp;You can create the new class through thenbsp;Master Schedule Grid View, after you save the class, you can add students on the classes tab. nbsp;There are multiple ways to add the students in a group (mini-list):/li ol liGrade level/li liQuery/li liHomeroom class/li/ol liIf your students have empty places in their schedule and you would like to fill it with a study hall, you can use the a href="http://www.blackbaud.com/kb/index?page=contentamp;id=BB145934"Generate students schedules wizard/a./li liNeed to schedule your students by grade level in core classes? nbsp;a href="http://www.blackbaud.com/kb/index?page=contentamp;id=BB187107"Use corenbsp;curriculum/a!nbsp;/li/olbr /Of course, if you haven#39;t completed your schedule, Generate Student Schedules is always a great way to schedule your students in a group.nbsp;nbsp;My personal option: scheduling students from the class record through a class query is the easiest/quickest, but don#39;t ask me, I#39;m just the List Lady.br /br /HAPPY SCHEDULING SEASON! img src="http://forums.blackbaud.com/aggbug.aspx?PostID=146444" width="1" height="1"

pHere are the most popular Forums posts as well as unanswered posts and shared client documentsnbsp;from last week:/p pbMost Popular Topics:/b/p ul lia href="http://forums.blackbaud.com/forums/t/15339.aspx" target="_new"Global Change Needed/a/li lia href="http://forums.blackbaud.com/forums/t/14581.aspx" target="_new"Deceased Records/a/li lia href="http://forums.blackbaud.com/forums/t/15359.aspx" target="_new"Cell Phone As Main Phone Number/a/li lia href="http://forums.blackbaud.com/forums/t/15340.aspx" target="_new"Best Practices for entering Prospect info without the Prospect Tab/a/li lia href="http://forums.blackbaud.com/forums/t/15388.aspx" target="_new"How do I create a new Gift Type in Raiser#39;s Edge 7?/a/li lia href="http://forums.blackbaud.com/forums/t/15397.aspx" target="_new"Segmented Direct Mail Runs/a/li lia href="http://forums.blackbaud.com/forums/t/15406.aspx" target="_new"separating out spouses/a/li/ul pbUnanswered Posts:/b/p ul lia href="http://forums.blackbaud.com/forums/t/15363.aspx" target="_new"Using DialVision w-RE/a/li/ul pbShared Client Documents:/b/p ul lia href="http://forums.blackbaud.com/forums/p/15399/146285.aspx#146285" target="_new"Prospect Tab Entry/a/li/ulimg src="http://forums.blackbaud.com/aggbug.aspx?PostID=146497" width="1" height="1"

pDid you know that you can set your Accounts Payable system to prompt you if you have an open credit for a vendor? If you#39;d like to see a prompt to remind you of open credits when you are adding a new invoice for a vendor, the solution is simple. In Configuration, set your Invoice Business Rule for quot;Automatically apply open credit to new invoices?quot; to quot;Ask each time.quot;/p pNow you#39;ll receive a prompt reminding you of open credits every time you are entering a new invoice for a vendor who has unapplied credits. No more forgotten credits! /pimg src="http://forums.blackbaud.com/aggbug.aspx?PostID=146423" width="1" height="1"

If you can answer quot;Yesquot; to both of these questions: Do you have the Volunteer optional module for The Raiser#39;s Edge ? Are you responsible for entering the hours and tasks completed by volunteers at your organization? then the new online, instructor-led Volunteer Time Sheet Batch class is for you. This two-hour class teaches you how to use batch to enter time sheet information in a spreadsheet format in The Raiser#39;s Edge Volunteer optional module. To get the most out of this class...(a href="http://forums.blackbaud.com/blogs/distancelearning/archive/2010/06/22/new-online-instructor-led-class-volunteer-time-sheet-batch.aspx"read more/a)img src="http://forums.blackbaud.com/aggbug.aspx?PostID=146253" width="1" height="1"

p style="TEXT-ALIGN:justify;"span style="FONT-WEIGHT:bold;"Charleston, S.C. (June 22, 2010) /span– Blackbaud, Inc., (Nasdaq: BLKB), the leading global provider of nonprofit software and services, today announced it has opened an office in Hong Kong to better serve its international customers. The decision to open Blackbaud Asia Ltd., a Hong Kong corporation, was customer- and market-focused, as the company has seen an increased demand for services from nonprofit organizations in the Asia-Pacific region. /p p style="TEXT-ALIGN:justify;"“We are very pleased to expand our Asia-Pacific operations and to better serve international nonprofits,” said Marc Chardon, Blackbaud’s president and chief executive officer. “The region is seeing an increase in philanthropic giving and exciting developments in fundraising practices. Blackbaud’s new Hong Kong office will position us to make an impact in this emerging market and reinforce our commitment to being a leading partner in helping nonprofits grow and serve their missions worldwide.”/p p style="TEXT-ALIGN:justify;"The Hong Kong office will focus on providing software and services to help nonprofit organizations located in the Asia-Pacific region achieve their missions and make a difference in their local communities. The office, which will be located at 51/F, Hopewell Centre, 183 Queens Road East, Wan Chai, Hong Kong, will also enable Blackbaud to enhance its corporate initiative in serving international organizations and helping them grow their global brands./p pa class="" href="http://www.blackbaud.com/default.aspx?pgpId=2531amp;PRID=362" target="_blank"Read more/a./pimg src="http://forums.blackbaud.com/aggbug.aspx?PostID=146204" width="1" height="1"

Don#39;t forget to register for the a href="https://www124.livemeeting.com/lrs/1100003672/Registration.aspx?pageName=0sv140d28wf7ftxl"General Ledger End-of-Year Support Roundtable/anbsp;this Thursday at 2:00 p.m. ET.nbsp; We#39;ll discuss the GL year-end process, includingspan id="lblEventDesc" class="labelText" closing the fiscal year (pre-close, soft close, and hard close), creating a new fiscal year, creating and importing budgets, and a chance to ask questions after each section. See ya there!/spanspan id="lblEventDesc" class="labelText" p/spanstronga href="https://www.livemeeting.com/lrs/1100003672/Registration.aspx?pageName=0sv140d28wf7ftxl" target="_blank"img border="0" alt="Register today" align="absMiddle" src="http://www.blackbaud.com/images/button_registertoday.jpg" //a/strong /pimg src="http://forums.blackbaud.com/aggbug.aspx?PostID=146099" width="1" height="1"

pDid you know we hold a href="http://www.blackbaud.com/events/usergrp_schedule.aspx"User Groups/a for FundWare?nbsp; If you#39;re regularly checking our Forums, Blogs and Newsletters, you would! I had the unique opportunity to participate and present for the May User Groups in San Francisco and New York City.nbsp; As a support analyst, it was so exciting to speak to you face to face!nbsp; I loved hearing your questions, concerns, and how you use FundWare to best suit your needs./p pFor those of you unable to attend or unfamiliar with User Groups, here are a few basics:nbsp; The purpose of a User Group is so we can get together, face to face, and have a discussion about FundWare and Blackbaud.nbsp; You can meet other FundWare users in your area, ask questions of Blackbaud representatives, and discuss how you use FundWare to meet your specific needs./p pIf you attended the User Group, please leave me a commentnbsp;below about your experience.nbsp; If you were not able to attend, let us know if you#39;re interested and what we can do to make it possible for you to participate.nbsp; You could even host the event!nbsp; Email a href="mailto:usergroups@blackbaud.com"usergroups@blackbaud.com/anbsp; for more information!/pimg src="http://forums.blackbaud.com/aggbug.aspx?PostID=145036" width="1" height="1"

pAre you aware of how you can help your brand engagement simply by creating multiple online touchpoints for your Nonprofit?br /br /There is more to an online presence than simply setting up your website. The more engaging touchpoints you enable, the more likely it is that people will both find and interact with your brand online./p pWith this in mind, here are some ideas to get you started in setting up a variety of touchpoints. Most of the online tools listed below don#39;t require much setup time andnbsp;are free of charge. I#39;ve also listed links to some good commentry on each point so that you can see how to get started quickly and easily./p pSo, in no particular order:/p pstrongCreate a Facebook Page/strong/p pEnsure you set up a a href="http://mashable.com/2009/05/27/facebook-page-vs-group/" target="_blank"Fan Page rather than a Group/a, and follow these a href="http://www.netwitsthinktank.com/site/apps/nlnet/content3.aspx?c=ifINKZOzFmGamp;b=4487123amp;ct=7025457amp;notoc=1" target="_blank"4 Facebook tips for Nonprofits/a./p pYou can even set up a a href="http://thesocialmediaguide.com.au/2009/11/01/setup-custom-landing-page-facebook-page/" target="_blank"customised landing page/a for your brandnbsp;on Facebook.nbsp;nbsp;br /br /strongCreate a Flickr Account/strong/p pa href="http://www.flickr.com/search/groups/?q=nonprofits" target="_blank"Take a look around/a and see a title="http://www.flickr.com/search/groups/?q=nonprofits" target="_blank"how other Nonprofits are using this photo sharing opportunity/a. The best way to learn is often by looking at what others have done!/p pstrongCreate a Twitter Account/strong/p pTake the time to understand what the a href="http://www.netwitsthinktank.com/site/apps/nlnet/content3.aspx?c=ifINKZOzFmGamp;b=4487123amp;ct=7804401" target="_blank"hype is all about/a. Become familiar with a href="http://www.netwitsthinktank.com/site/apps/nlnet/content3.aspx?c=ifINKZOzFmGamp;b=4487123amp;ct=7681885" target="_blank"Twitter Search/a and begin to a href="http://www.netwitsthinktank.com/site/apps/nlnet/content3.aspx?c=ifINKZOzFmGamp;b=4487123amp;ct=6476165" target="_blank"listen/a to what people really think about your work and your brand./p pstrongGet listed and/or referenced on Wikipedia/strong/p pTake a look around at the the largest and a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Main_Page" target="_blank"most popular general reference work online/a. What valuable can your Nonprofit contribute?/p pstrongCreate a Blog/strong/p pIt does#39;t matter whether it#39;s field staff, office staff, your CEO, a persona or someone that you#39;ve helped blogging: just get started!/p pBlogging is the easiest way to create interesting and valuable content for your organisation, and if you do it on a a href="http://wordpress.com/" target="_blank"pre-existingnbsp;platform/a, it can provide another touchpoint./p pTake a look at the a href="http://childfundinternational.wordpress.com/" target="_blank"ChildFund International blog/a to get some inspiration./p pstrongCreate a a href="https://www.google.com/accounts/ServiceLogin?service=profilesamp;continue=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.google.com%2Fprofiles%2Fmeamp;ltmpl=landing" target="_blank"Google Profile/a/strong/p pAnd use it to promote the work of your organisation. Become a champion of your brand!/p pstrongPromote your materials on Slideshare/strong/p pPromote the work of your organisation and your knowledge by a href="http://www.slideshare.net/" target="_blank"sharing/a your professional documents./p pstrongPost your videos on YouTube/strong/p pHave you taken a look at the a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TIdEnSkhA9A" target="_blank"Nonprofit Program/a?br /br /Finally, always ensure that you link everything together! People are looking for a wholistic experience of your brand, and want to find your various touch-points easily, so make sure you make it easy for them./p pCreating multiple touchpoints is a win-win situation, as yournbsp;constituents will engage more with your brand, and you will gain greater branding online and an enhanced search presence.br /br /Jump in and get your hands dirty today!/pimg src="http://forums.blackbaud.com/aggbug.aspx?PostID=146014" width="1" height="1"

pWe#39;ve just updated the a class="" href="http://forums.blackbaud.com/"Forums/a Shortcuts to make it easier for you to access popular areas, such as a class="" href="http://www.blackbaud.com/support/forums/forumshelp.aspx"Forums Help/a, a class="" href="http://forums.blackbaud.com/forums/ForumSubscriptions.aspx"forum subscriptions/a, and your a class="" href="http://forums.blackbaud.com/user/EditProfile.aspx"forums profile/a. When logged in, you#39;ll see the following Shortcutsnbsp;links on the right side of forums pages:/p pimg title="Forums Shortcuts" style="WIDTH:202px;HEIGHT:156px;" height="156" alt="Forums Shortcuts" src="http://www.blackbaud.com/images/blogs/websitings/shortcuts.jpg" width="202" //p pOur forums are publicly available so anyone can view posts; a login is required only to write new posts or reply to existing posts. We also encourage you to log in so you can a class="" href="http://www.blackbaud.com/support/forums/personalize.aspx"personalize your forums experience/a. /p pWe hope you find the new shortcuts helpful! Please let us know if you have suggestions for how we can continue improving the forums or other areas of our website by adding an idea to the a class="" href="http://bbwebsite.uservoice.com/forums/56738-blackbaud-com-idea-bank"Blackbaud.com Idea Bank/a./pimg src="http://forums.blackbaud.com/aggbug.aspx?PostID=145638" width="1" height="1"

pThis is an exciting week.nbsp; Of course, a lot of that has to do with the fact that the a class="" href="http://www.fifa.com/"World Cup/a in going on in a class="" href="http://www.southafrica.net/sat/content/en/us/home"South Africa/a.nbsp; And, for all those people who say soccer doesn#39;t have any action, how about the last 15 minutes of the a class="" href="http://www.fifa.com/worldcup/matches/round=249722/match=300061463/index.html#bradley+completes+us+fightback"USA vs. Slovenia match today/a?nbsp; Do I wish that last goal had been allowed?nbsp; Yes.nbsp; But a 2-2 tie is better than an 0-2 loss, which is where we were standing at the half./p pAnyway, in addition to being excited about the World Cup and the chance to see so many great players in action, I#39;m also completely jazzed by a class="" href="http://www.postandcourier.com/news/2010/jun/16/charleston-county-now-accepting-all-plastics-recyc/"a recent announcement/a made by a class="" href="http://www.charlestoncounty.org/"Charleston County/a dramatically expanding what we can recycle.nbsp;nbsp;Maybe I#39;m just unsually interested in things like recycling and how individual people can do small things that drive sustainability (guilty as charged), but I don#39;t think I#39;m alone./p pInstead of limiting our recycling to containers labeled with #1s or #2s, residents can now recycle all plastics except plastic wrap, plastic bags and a class="" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Styrofoam"Styrofoam/a.nbsp; Yep, that means anything from a class="" href="http://www.greenlivingtips.com/articles/187/1/Recycling-by-the-numbers.html"#1 to #7/a.nbsp; I can#39;t tell you how many times I have lamented that the yogurt container I was throwing away was a #5 and how we needed to expand what we could recycle.nbsp; In fact, I was stomping around my kitchen on Tuesday saying exactly that.nbsp; Charleston County Council must have heard me!/p pActually, I#39;m sure I#39;m not the only one who has wanted an expanded effort, and it#39;s nice to live in a place that cares enough to make the investment required to handle this change./p pThe other really cool piece of news is that, in addition to being able to recycle more at home, Blackbaud#39;s 1,100 employees who work out of the Charleston-based headquarters are also able to join in the effort.nbsp; We#39;ve long had a commitment to recycling, and this just makes it better.nbsp; I remember, back in 1992 when I joined the company, being presented with cardboard recycling bin for my workspace.nbsp; Now I#39;ll be able to recycle all those yogurt containers I bring to work.nbsp; /p pYep - within a few hours of the county#39;s announcement, my colleagues in facilities had already confirmed that the new policy applied to us and that we#39;d be adding a second recycing pick up each week innbsp;order to handle the increased volume./p pAlthough recycling the yogurt container that sits on my desk right now won#39;t exactly compare to seeing a class="" href="http://www.landondonovan.com/donovan/index"Landon Donovan/a put the ball in the back of the net, it is important and satisfying.nbsp; Instead of creating more garbage for a landfill, my colleagues and I will be sending these plastics back into a system aimed at reuse./p pThat, as a class="" href="http://www.marthastewart.com/"Martha Stewart/a would say, quot;is a good thing.quot;/pimg src="http://forums.blackbaud.com/aggbug.aspx?PostID=145634" width="1" height="1"

p style="MARGIN-TOP:0px;"This one#39;s dedicated to ournbsp;Canadian customers.nbsp; You can now ship your Blackbaud Forms orders via the Unites States Postal Service (USPS). The shipping rates through the USPS are significantly lower than international freight rates; however, we will not be able to offer package tracking or compensation for damages when using the USPS. For more information about this new shipping option,nbsp;call Blackbaud Forms at 866.422.3676. /pimg src="http://forums.blackbaud.com/aggbug.aspx?PostID=145006" width="1" height="1"

pSeveral times a week, we offer free, hour-long web seminars on our website. The seminars usually focus on Blackbaud products or best practices for nonprofits./p pTo register, select a href="http://www.blackbaud.com/events/webseminars.aspx" target="_new"Web Seminars/a from the Events menu on our website, find a seminar you want to attend, and click Register Now. Once you submit the enrollment form, you’ll receive an email with instructions for viewing the online presentation, as well as the telephone access number. If you’d like to enroll for additional seminars, click Continue after you fill out the enrollment form./p pHere are some of the web seminars coming up next week:/p blockquotestrongJune 22:/strongbr /strongBlackbaud Application Hosting: Meet Your Data Security Enforcer, 2:00 p.m. ET:/strong Join us to learn how hosting your Blackbaud applications will protect your data. a href="https://www124.livemeeting.com/lrs/1100003672/Registration.aspx?pageName=2sk8zzf9xpghg5fs" target="_new"Register now/a/blockquote blockquotestrongJune 23:/strongbr /strongIntroducing ALTRU! A Clear View, 2:00 p.m. ET:/strong Altru is Blackbaud’s new SaaS platform which helps arts amp; cultural organizations cultivate patrons, sell and schedule programs and manage revenue. a href="https://www.livemeeting.com/lrs/1100003672/Registration.aspx?pageName=p7182j8lg63bkpg6" target="_new"Register now/a/blockquote blockquotestrongJune 24:/strongbr /strongIgnite your website with Blackbaud NetCommunity Spark, 2:00 p.m. ET:/strong Join us to learn how Blackbaud NetCommunity Spark can help you complement or expand your current online strategies. a href="https://www.livemeeting.com/lrs/1100003672/Registration.aspx?pageName=041kshjcct1mxlqx" target="_new"Register now/a/blockquote pThe answer to the Brain Buster in this month#39;s edition of a href="http://www.blackbaud.com/files/support/newsletters/usersedge/ue0610.htm" target="_new"The User#39;s Edge/a is that the lily pad was half the size of the pond on Day 59./pimg src="http://forums.blackbaud.com/aggbug.aspx?PostID=145587" width="1" height="1"

pBy a href="http://www.blackbaud.com/company/experts/susan-mclaughlin.aspx"Susan McLaughlin/a, Principal Consultant, Blackbaud, Inc./p pimg style="WIDTH:234px;HEIGHT:158px;" hspace="5" align="right" src="http://www.blackbaud.com/images/pageheaders08/iph_events_conferences_industryevents.jpg" width="234" height="158" alt="" /We have all had the experience of being in a meeting or having a discussion around a conference table when a well-meaning volunteer or board member suggests holding a new event to raise funds. The suggestion is usually prefaced with quot;I went to...,quot; or quot;The nonprofit down the street had success with...quot; and is usually followed by quot;I think we should try it.quot; /p pBefore agreeing, you need to consider whether your organization needs or can afford another special event. Special events have a place in every fundraising program. But nonprofits must evaluate the goals and objectives of each event to determine its value. /p pI took an informal survey of nonprofits recently and asked how the economy has affected fundraising performance. The biggest impact was decreased revenue and participation at events. In a tough economy, budgets get tighter and expendable items are cut. Businesses and individuals consider special events to be a luxury, not a necessity. Nonprofits should consider special events as a luxury and not a necessity as well. /p pNo organization should rely on net proceeds from special events as a primary funding source. Without that pressure, you can truly analyze the value of special events. /p pstrongquot;Friend-Raisingquot; Events/strong /p pYou may use the term quot;friend-raiserquot; to describe events. Events provide the opportunity for nonprofits to raise awareness and engage new constituents as well as raise money. Every special event is a friend-raiser. However, this philosophy fails when there is no follow-up strategy to continue to engage those new friends after the event ends. /p pAfter the event, dollars are counted, thank-you notes are sent, and staff members begin to focus on the next task. The friends you just raised are forgotten until next year when it#39;s time to start planning for the event again. /p pPart of every pre-event process should be to identify key participants on the attendance list and develop a strategy of engagement. Your post-event process should be to follow through with that strategy and begin to engage these new friends in a way that raises their interest and inclination to give to your organization. /p pWithout a strategy of engagement, your event could become simply a line item in a personal or corporate budget. Sure, you may meet your net revenue goal for the event, but you might be missing out on a much larger gift. /p pstrongCan You Afford another Special Event?/strong/p pWhen you tally expenses, you include catering, linens, rentals, etc. But let#39;s consider the true cost. How much staff time are you investing and is it worth it? /p pEvent activities may start as early as a year in advance. To truly evaluate the success of your event, you must analyze the number of hours spent by staff and the total pay attributed to those hours. You may find that the true cost of the event causes you to lose money. But, will you be able to make up that loss with a well-planned strategy of engagement that leads to a major gift? /p pIn a tough economy, you must evaluate every event and determine whether that friend-raiser will meet your fundraising goals. /pimg src="http://forums.blackbaud.com/aggbug.aspx?PostID=145374" width="1" height="1"

pspan style="FONT-WEIGHT:bold;"Charleston, S.C. (June 17, 2010)/span – Blackbaud, Inc. (Nasdaq: a class="tracked" href="http://phx.corporate-ir.net/phoenix.zhtml?c=176673amp;p=irol-irhome"font color="#3d9fc8"BLKB/font/a) today announced new releases of Blackbaud® Sphere and Blackbaud NetCommunity™ — two of the key applications in Blackbaud’s suite of a class="tracked" href="http://www.blackbaud.com/internetsolutions"font color="#3d9fc8"Internet solutions for nonprofits/font/a. The latest releases bring one-of-a-kind advancements to website management that have yet to be seen in the nonprofit market./p p“The Internet is reshaping the way nonprofits are interacting with their audiences, and Blackbaud is putting considerable research and development into making sure our products can help lead their efforts,” said Steve MacLaughlin, director of Internet solutions. “Each of these new releases not only brings significant new technology to the nonprofit marketplace, but also demonstrates Blackbaud’s commitment to support the more than 4600 customers using our Internet solutions.”/p pThe new versions of Blackbaud Sphere and Blackbaud NetCommunity represent Blackbaud’s ongoing investment in helping nonprofits reach, engage, and acquire supporters through online channels. /p pa class="" href="http://www.blackbaud.com/default.aspx?pgpId=2531amp;PRID=361" target="_blank"Read more/a./pimg src="http://forums.blackbaud.com/aggbug.aspx?PostID=145369" width="1" height="1"

pWelcome to the final installment of the a href="http://forums.blackbaud.com/blogs/financialedge/archive/tags/integrated+nonprofit+solution/default.aspx"Get an Integrated Nonprofit Solution/a series. To learn about the benefits of integration, how to link your RE and FE databases, and how to post to GL check out the first three blogs in the series. Today, we#39;ll talk about the top five common issues you may encounter and how to fix them. Normally, I like you guys to read my entire blog, but since you may be looking for a specific error or question, I#39;ve listed each issuenbsp;separately so you can just jump to what you need.nbsp;Let#39;s get started.. /p ol style="LIST-STYLE-TYPE:upper-roman;" listrongError: Invalid GL Account Number when posting to General Ledger or running the prepost report/strong (a href="http://www.blackbaud.com/kb/index?page=contentamp;id=BB51709"BB51709/a) p style="MARGIN-TOP:0px;"This error can be received when posting to GL or running the pre-post report and be caused by a number of things, including:/p ul liThe credit and debit account number for that particular gift type are blank or invalid on the GL Distributions tab of the fund. /li liOn the gift, a Gift subtype was selected that is not set up on the fund under the Gift type selected on the gift./li liThe gift was committed with the incorrect gift type, which is not associated with GL account numbers./li/ul pSince there are several causes of the error, there are several possible resolutions. Try each of the following steps in order until the issue is resolved:/p ol liVerify the correct, valid a href="http://www.blackbaud.com/kb/index?page=contentamp;id=BB9395"GL accounts are assigned on the fund/a, and GL Gift Types. /li liCheck to see if any gifts have a gift subtype. If so, verify the a href="http://www.blackbaud.com/kb/index?page=contentamp;id=BB83954"Gift subtype is set up on the fund/a. /li liVerify gifts were created with the correct Gift type. If you find the incorrect Gift type is defined, mark the gift causing the exception as Do Not Post, a href="http://www.blackbaud.com/kb/index?page=contentamp;id=bb22915"delete the gift/a, and a href="http://www.blackbaud.com/kb/index?page=contentamp;id=BB74037"recreate the gift/a selecting the correct gift type and gift subtype.br /br //li/ol/li listrongError: Unable to connect to Blackbaud General Ledger. Please make sure the General Ledger settings in Configuration are correct when viewing the GL Distribution tab on a fund and posting to General Ledger/strong (a href="http://www.blackbaud.com/kb/index?page=contentamp;id=BB252554"BB252554/a) p style="MARGIN-TOP:0px;"You may see this error when viewing the GL Distribution tab on a fund, or when posting to GL. br / ol liIf establishing the connection between The Raiser#39;s Edge and General Ledger for the first time, verify the user logged in is a a href="http://www.blackbaud.com/kb/index?page=contentamp;id=BB10978"local administrator/a in order to create the connection./li liVerify The Financial Edge database a href="http://www.blackbaud.com/kb/index?page=contentamp;id=BB146981"SQL Server instance is running on the server/a./li liVerify The Financial Edge software is installed on the same workstation as The Raiser#39;s Edge. Both products must be installed on the same workstation in order for the integration to operate./li liAttempt the process logged in as a different user. If it works, a href="http://www.blackbaud.com/kb/index?page=contentamp;id=BB138504"recreate the user name/a and try again./li liRemove the integration options and re-add them. /li liSpecify TCP/IP as the protocol./li lia href="http://www.blackbaud.com/kb/index?page=contentamp;id=BB65421"Modify the Registry permissions/a to all read permissions to the HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\ODBC\ODBC.INI\RE7_GL key /li liCheck the Registry keys for correct values./li lia href="http://www.blackbaud.com/kb/index?page=contentamp;id=BB520566"Export/a the HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\ODBC\ODBC.INI\RE7_GL key from a workstation not experiencing the issue and a href="http://www.blackbaud.com/kb/index?page=contentamp;id=BB520566"import/a it into the problem workstation. nbsp;br /br //li/ol/li listrongHow to change the post status on gifts to Posted, Not Posted, or Do Not Post/strong (a href="http://www.blackbaud.com/kb/index?page=contentamp;id=BB87050"BB87050/a) p style="MARGIN-TOP:0px;MARGIN-BOTTOM:0px;"br /To change one gift at a time:/p ul style="LIST-STYLE-TYPE:disc;MARGIN-TOP:0px;" liGifts emnot/em marked as Posted: ol style="LIST-STYLE-TYPE:decimal;MARGIN-TOP:0pt;" liIn Records, Gifts, click Open a Gift and search for the gift to update./li liOn the Miscellaneous tab in the GL post status drop-down, select the appropriate status./li liClick Save and Close./li/ol/li liGifts marked as Posted: ol style="LIST-STYLE-TYPE:decimal;" lia href="http://www.blackbaud.com/kb/index?page=contentamp;id=BB4698"Adjust the gift/a./li/olOr ol style="LIST-STYLE-TYPE:decimal;" lia href="http://www.blackbaud.com/kb/index?page=contentamp;id=BB22915"Delete the gift/a./li lia href="http://www.blackbaud.com/kb/index?page=contentamp;id=BB74037"Re-enter the gift/a./li/ol/li/ul p style="MARGIN-BOTTOM:0px;"To globally change a group of gifts:/p ul style="LIST-STYLE-TYPE:disc;MARGIN-TOP:0px;MARGIN-BOTTOM:0px;" liGifts emnot/em marked as Posted: ol style="LIST-STYLE-TYPE:decimal;MARGIN-TOP:0pt;" lia href="http://www.blackbaud.com/kb/index?page=contentamp;id=BB94455"Backup/a your Raiser#39;s Edge database because global changes can only be reversed by manually correcting each record or by restoring to a backup. /li lia href="http://www.blackbaud.com/kb/index?page=contentamp;id=BB72413"Create a gift query/a of the gifts to be changed./li liIn Administration, Globally Change Records, select Gift for the Gift Category and click New Change./li liOn the Global Change - Gift screen, click Include, Selected Gifts and select the query created in step 2./li liIn the Available Fields frame, select Gifts, Post Status./li liOn the Edit Change Parameters screen in the Operation drop-down, select Replace./li liIn the Replace drop-down, select the old value./li liIn the With drop-down, select the new value./li liClick OK and then Change Now./li/ol/li liGifts marked as posted: br /I do not recommend globally changing the status using the Unpost Gifts plug-in because it can result duplicate gifts posting to General Ledger, which will cause reconciliation issues. br /br //li/ul/li listrongError: No records processed when posting to General Ledger /strong(a href="http://www.blackbaud.com/kb/index?page=contentamp;id=BB39733"BB39733/a) p style="MARGIN-TOP:0px;MARGIN-BOTTOM:0px;"This error can be received when posting to GL and be caused by a number of things, including:br //p ul style="LIST-STYLE-TYPE:disc;MARGIN-TOP:0px;" liThe fund does not have valid credit and debit account numbers. /li liPosting to a closed accounting period. /li liThe gifts are marked as Posted or Do Not Post. /li liNo unposted gifts meet the criteria on the Gifts tab. /li/ul p style="MARGIN-BOTTOM:0px;"Since there are several causes of the error, there are several possible resolutions. Try each of the following steps in order until the issue is resolved:/p ol style="LIST-STYLE-TYPE:decimal;MARGIN-TOP:0px;" liVerify the missing gift is on the Constituent Record. If not, a href="http://www.blackbaud.com/kb/index?page=contentamp;id=BB74037"add the gift/a. /li lia href="http://www.blackbaud.com/kb/index?page=contentamp;id=BB2936"Enter valid GL debit and credit account numbers/a for each gift type on each fund. /li lia href="http://www.blackbaud.com/kb/index?page=contentamp;id=BB87050"Change the post status on the gift to Not Posted/a. /li liIn General Ledger, verify the a href="http://www.blackbaud.com/kb/index?page=contentamp;id=BB75700"fiscal year is set up in Configuration/a. /li liVerify the gift#39;s GL post date is within a valid, open accounting period as defined in General Ledger Configuration. /li liEnsure the missing gift meets the criteria selected on the Gifts tab of the Post to General Ledger screen./li lia href="http://www.blackbaud.com/kb/index?page=contentamp;id=BB22915"Delete/a and a href="http://www.blackbaud.com/kb/index?page=contentamp;id=BB74037"recreate/a the gift. br /br //li/ol/li listrongError: Zero dollar amounts are not allowed when posting/strong (a href="http://www.blackbaud.com/kb/index?page=contentamp;id=BB73743"BB73743/a) p style="MARGIN-TOP:0px;MARGIN-BOTTOM:0px;"This error is received when posting zero dollar transactions to GL and the GL Business Rules are set to now allow zero dollar transactions to be posted. To resolve the error, either:br //p/li ul style="LIST-STYLE-TYPE:disc;" liChange the post status of the zero dollar transactions to Do Not Post./libr /Orbr /br / liAdjust the Business Rules: /li ol style="LIST-STYLE-TYPE:decimal;" liIn General Ledger, Configuration, click Business Rules./li liHighlight Transaction and unmark the Do not allow zero amount ($0 or 0%) transactions to be posted checkbox.nbsp;/li/ol/ul/ol pI hope you#39;ve enjoyed the a href="http://forums.blackbaud.com/blogs/financialedge/archive/tags/integrated+nonprofit+solution/default.aspx"Get an Integrated Nonprofit Solution/a series. Leave a comment if you have any questions about integration or if you have suggestions for future blogs. Talk to you soon!/pimg src="http://forums.blackbaud.com/aggbug.aspx?PostID=126538" width="1" height="1"

pa href="http://farm1.static.flickr.com/72/186052071_7e7152631f.jpg" target="_blank"img style="WIDTH:375px;HEIGHT:500px;" alt="briefhistory" hspace="50" src="http://farm1.static.flickr.com/72/186052071_7e7152631f.jpg" align="right" border="0" //a/p pA a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pupu_platter" target="_new"Pu pu platter/a gives you the chance to start your meal by sampling a number of tasty appetizers. While The Raiser#39;s Edge can#39;t offer you delicious snacks, it does offer samples you can use to make getting started easier./p pIn The Raiser#39;s Edge, samples are working queries, exports, reports, custom views, business rules, and letters that have been pre-loaded in The Raiser#39;s Edge and can be used with your live database. Some of these will save you the time it takes to create them yourself, while others may just be a good starting point for you to get what you need./p pHere are just a few of the samples that you can install:/p pstrongExport:/strong/p ul liDonors with Latest Gift Information - A Constituent Export with latest gift information for each donor./li liDonors with Total Amount Given this Year - A Constituent Export with donors and the total amount they have given this year./li liDonors with Total Amount Pledged this Year - A Constituent Export with donors and the total amount pledged and their total pledge balance this year./li/ul pstrongQuery:/strong/p ul liDonor Giving Summary for #39;This Weekquot;, #39;This Month#39;, and #39;This Year#39; - Three separate Constituent Queries that includes all constituents who have given during the current week/month/year. The output includes the total amount given, total amount pledged and total recurring gifts for each donor./li liConstituent Code = lt;askgt; - Constituent Query with criteria for Constituent Code set to lt;askgt; so that you can enter your desired criteria at run-time./li liInactive and Lost Constituents - Constituent Query including constituents who are marked as #39;Inactive#39; or #39;No valid addresses#39;./li/ul pstrongReports:/strong/p ul liCustom Gift Detail Report - A custom Crystal Report that mimics the Standard Gift Detail Report. You can modify information in the export to modify the results of this report./li liFund breakdown for gifts this year - A Pivot Report that pulls from the Gifts for This Year query and breaks the totals down by month./li liConstituent Information Report - Another custom Crystal Report that includes biographical and action and gift summaries. You can modify information in the export to modify the results of this report./li/ul pInstalling the smaples is easy. To do so, select Tools, Install Samples from the menu bar, then mark the checkbox in the Install? column for each sample to install. To make sifting through your options easier, the grid can be filtered using the Category and Version drop-down menus. Once you#39;ve made your selections, click Install Now, then click Yes to proceed and click Close when the installation is finished. /p pThe samples are listed on the corresponding category page. For example, query samples are listed on the Query page and exports are listed on the Export page. You can also find these steps in Knowledgebase solution a href="http://www.blackbaud.com/kb/index?page=contentamp;id=BB98090" target="_new"BB98090/a./p pHave you installed these samples or modified them to suit your purposes? Let us know down in the comments section!/pimg src="http://forums.blackbaud.com/aggbug.aspx?PostID=145212" width="1" height="1"

pHere are the most popular Forums posts and unanswered posts from last week:/p pbMost Popular Topics:/b/p ul lia href="http://forums.blackbaud.com/forums/t/15314.aspx" target="_new"Query on donors giving 7 out of 10 years/a/li lia href="http://forums.blackbaud.com/forums/t/15339.aspx" target="_new"Global Change Needed/a/li lia href="http://forums.blackbaud.com/forums/t/15310.aspx" target="_new"Sub levels in Gift Summary Report?/a/li lia href="http://forums.blackbaud.com/forums/t/15226.aspx" target="_new"Linking constituents who serve on the same Boards/a/li lia href="http://forums.blackbaud.com/forums/t/9027.aspx" target="_new"Constituency codes/a/li lia href="http://forums.blackbaud.com/forums/t/14581.aspx" target="_new"Deceased Records/a/li/ul pbUnanswered Posts:/b/p ul lia href="http://forums.blackbaud.com/forums/t/15325.aspx" target="_new"Text to Donate - does anyone use it and import donor information into Raisers Edge?/a/li lia href="http://forums.blackbaud.com/forums/t/15313.aspx" target="_new"Action summary report - crediting faculties when solicitor is unaffiliated/a/li lia href="http://forums.blackbaud.com/forums/t/15327.aspx" target="_new"Excel doesn#39;t open automatically/a/li lia href="http://forums.blackbaud.com/forums/t/15289.aspx" target="_new"CounterPoint Integration - REintregrate/a/li lia href="http://forums.blackbaud.com/forums/t/15319.aspx" target="_new"Membership Module/a/li/ulimg src="http://forums.blackbaud.com/aggbug.aspx?PostID=145197" width="1" height="1"