Save time, simplify everyday tasks, and streamline internal processes. Your Blackbaud® eTapestry® donor management software system can make your life easier. Take advantage of the timesaving potential eTapestry has to offer by implementing the following seven features in your database. Imagine what you could do with a little extra time!

1. Query search and copy

Spend less time building queries.

Most eTapestry databases have hundreds of queries. Some of these queries are standard queries and some of them were built by former and current users of your database. Some of queries probably need to be deleted and reorganized, which you can learn about here, while some may still be valuable.

Instead of continually building new queries from scratch, search for a query before you build a new one. If you find an existing query that is a close match or contains the basic structure of what you need in your new query, copy it and build from there.

Save time by building upon the existing queries already in your database.

2. Search before entering a new account

Spend less time removing duplicate accounts.

Cleaning a mailing list can be time consuming. It is an important task, but the manual process of actually doing it can be wearisome.

Removing duplicates is one step to producing a clean mailing list. Make this process easier by eliminating duplicate accounts at the point of initial data entry.

Do a quick search for an account before you enter it in eTapestry for the first time. You will save yourself the hassle of entering the account if you find a match. You will also save yourself time cleaning mailing lists by not adding a duplicate account to your database.

3. Quick entry defaults

Spend less time on data entry for accounts and gifts.

Getting data into eTapestry takes time. There is no way to remove the time it takes to complete data entry altogether, but it can be significantly reduced.

Use quick entry defaults if you are entering accounts, gifts, or any other record in batch.

Simply enter the data that is uniform across the records in your batch and set the quick entry default. Then continue to enter data with those defaults pre-populated on the record.

Quick entry defaults are useful if you are entering accounts and gifts after a special event or some other activity where the batch of data has similar, pre-set defaults.

4. Data imports

Spend less time entering bulk data!

Imports are an alternative to quick entry defaults. Remove the time spent on manual data entry altogether and import the data in one process.

eTapestry imports are available for certain types of records, so in some cases manual data entry is the only option. But in cases where imports are available, aggregate your data into a single CSV file and format the spreadsheet so that eTapestry will accept it during an import.

5. Dynamic acknowledgement queries

Spend less time running acknowledgement letters every day or week.

Standardizing daily or weekly acknowledgements can save hours of time.

A systematic acknowledgement procedure in eTapestry includes the following:

• Dynamic query that searches for gifts with a specific set of criteria
• Report template for reviewing acknowledgement data prior to running letters
• Letter template with data merge fields
• User guide outlining the step-by-step process for running acknowledgements in eTapestry

Create a separate procedure for each type of acknowledgment your organization sends to donors. For example, create one procedure for standard gifts, tributes, in-kind gifts, major gifts, etc.

The most critical element of this setup is the dynamic acknowledgement query. If you get the query right, you will save your organization hours of time running acknowledgments.

The query should find all gifts of a particular type that haven’t been acknowledged yet. The criteria should be dynamic. For example, all gifts last week or all gifts where a custom user-defined field of “Acknowledged?” is not flagged “Yes.”

Run the acknowledgements on a set schedule and those that have been acknowledged will fall out of your query and those that have yet to be acknowledged will fall into your query. This process will continue over-and-over again each time you run your letters.

The more times you run your specific acknowledgment procedure the more efficient the process will become.

6. Scheduled reports

Spend less time running recurring reports!

Instead of running reports manually, schedule reports that you run consistently.

This feature is great for sending board members their monthly report updates. Just add their email to the eTapestry report scheduler and eTapestry does the rest. The system is completely hands-off.

The eTapestry report scheduler is also great for monthly dashboard reports that measure fundraising performance on a consistent basis.

7. Set up Funds, Campaigns, Approaches, and Goals

Spend less time digging for fundraising performance data.

The three most important fields in eTapestry are Fund, Campaign, and Approach. When those three fields are paired with the Goals feature, eTapestry becomes a hub for fundraising performance data.

Here is why the Fund, Campaign, and Approach field plus the Goals feature will save you time.

• Funds, Campaigns, Approaches, and Goals are all dashboard tiles. You can grab performance data from the home screen without running a single query or report.
• Funds, Campaigns, Approaches, and Goals organize the data for all fundraising efforts categorically so you can always find what you are looking for.
• Fund, Campaign, Approach, and Goal data is available in eTapestry Standard Reports. These reports require no query building. They are ready to run right now!

If set up properly, Funds, Campaigns, Approaches, and Goals are a fundraiser’s best friend. A little time spend setting them up will save you hours of time when it comes time to report on fundraising data.

The benefit of eTapestry donor management software

Using eTapestry donor management software should save you time and make everyday tasks easier. Save time, simplify tasks, and get more from eTapestry so you can reallocate your valuable time to generating more revenue for your organization.