What is an Origin Segment Code and How Do I Use It?

The Origin Segment Code is stored on the Contact level and is used to track where a Contact record initially came from. In Virtuous, Segments are typically used to define a group of Contacts or the total number of gifts resulting from a specific ask. An Origin Segment code follows those same lines with a specific use case that defines this selection of Segment Codes as different from a typical Campaign Segment. 

To learn more about the structure of a Campaign, check out this Support Article. 

On a Form 

Using a Form to automatically append an Origin Segment Code to new records is the easiest way to track where people are coming from. When creating any Form type aside from a Giving Form, you can set a specific code as the "Origin Segment Code". Having a Segment Code in this field means any Contacts that initially come into the CRM from the Form will have the specified Segment Code appended as the record's Origin Segment Code. 

On a Contact Record 

While there are many avenues to get an Origin Segment Code automatically appended to a Contact record, you may find that you need to add an Origin Segment Code to a Contact you are manually creating. To do this, navigate to the specific Contact record. Then, select the edit icon in the Contact window. 

In the pop-out window, scroll down to the Reporting & Tracking section and locate the "Origin Segment Code" field. 

In the Origin Segment Code field, start typing the Segment Code you would like to associate with this Contact record. Note that the Segment must exist already. After selecting the correct Segment Code, select "Save Contact" to complete the update. 

Origin Segment Code vs First Gift Segment 

With the Origin Segment Code being stored on the Contact rather than on a Gift from a Contact, that means a record can have an Origin Segment Code attributed without any Gifts on file.

A Contact's Origin Segment Code and First Segment code may be the same Code! As an example, if someone who does not currently exist in your database sends in their first donation, meaning their Contact record AND first Gift record are being created at the same time, the Origin Segment Code and First Gift Segment Code will be the same. 

As an example, Howard Brewer has an Origin Segment Code of "DE1120OT" which is associated with a specific Campaign Segment. That means Howard filled out a Lead Form online that had this specific Segment Code set as the Origin Segment Code.

This value can be used to evaluate Contact record acquisition efforts. 

Note: The Origin Segment Code is stored on the Contact Overview page.

Note: There is no specific formatting needed on the Segment level for it to be a valid Origin Segment Code. 

A Contact's "First Segment Code" is the Segment Code associated with the first gift received from the Contact, based on their giving history. This will be the gift with the earliest gift date in their history.

This value can be used to evaluate donor acquisition efforts.

In the example below, we can see the Holloway family gave their first gift in 2021 in response to a specific email delivered as a part of the "Winter Healthy Kids USA" Campaign.