I Volunteer as Tribute!
(Look, we know it’s trite, but we couldn’t pass up the Hunger Games reference.)
That’s right, this release includes our new tribute functionality! This is a big step-up from our existing Tribute field on Gifts, with the ability to standardize data for more accurate reporting and even connect to existing records in Virtuous.
Tributes must be created separately, and then can be added to any gift. To create a new Tribute, look for the new Tributes option under Data Management.
There, you’ll find the option to create a new Tribute in the Actions menu in the upper right. When creating a new Tribute, you’ll need to select whether this Tribute is “In memory of” or “In honor of” someone. Then, you’ll have two options: you can select an existing Individual in your database as the Tributee (that’s a word, right?) or you can simply type in the First Name and Last name, and optionally add an address, for the Tributee. This means that if you are receiving gifts in memory of someone who is not already in your database, you won’t be forced to add a deceased Individual just to track that tribute giving accurately.
You can also set a default acknowledgee (that’s probably not a word, but we’re gonna make it one). The acknowledge should be the next of kin, or closest relative, of a deceased Individual, or anyone who should receive a card or notification of tribute gifts.
Once you’ve created a Tribute, you’ll be able to view it from the Tributes page and see how many gifts have been received for that particular Individual. You can even click the magnifying glass to view the actual Gifts.
“But wait,” you’re thinking, “how do Gifts get applied to Tributes?”
Well, we’re so glad you hypothetically asked that!
When entering Gifts in the Gift & Contact Import tool, you’ll be able to search for an existing Tribute to apply a Gift toward it.
No Tribute? No problem!
You can even create a new Tribute when entering a Gift, just like creating a new Contact while processing Gifts.
Each Gift can have a separate Acknowledgee (we’re making that word HAPPEN, people) or the Default Acknowledgee from the selected Tribute will be used.
But wait… (we love this) ...THERE’S MORE!
Now, you can add new Tribute fields to any Virtuous Giving form! In the Virtuous form builder, just look for the new “Tribute Dedication field and add it to your form.
This will add a new option to your form where a donor can choose to give In honor of or In memory of someone, and then provide a Tributee name. Donors will have the option to provide a City and State for the Tributee, and even specify an Acknowledgee (there it is again!) for their Gift. You can even provide an option for donors to share a note or dedication with their Tribute Gift.
If you are already using the existing Tribute field in your giving forms, don’t worry; that form will still be available, it’s just been renamed “Simple Tribute.”
Wanna learn more about working with Tributes? Of course you do! You can take a gander at our support articles all about working with Tributes; we’d suggest starting with this one.
Wonder Twin Powers, Activate!
Sorting through and merging duplicate Contacts is never fun. But that doesn’t mean we can’t make it better!
Have a lot of potential duplicates flagged for review? Well now, we’ve added filters so you can sort through and prioritize the records you’d like to tackle. You can even filter based on Match Date and Match Qualifier, if, for example, you want to start with all of the potential duplicates, based on matching addresses, identified in the last 30 days.
And THAT’S NOT ALL!
Now, we’ve added an option to download records flagged as duplicates, so you can review the data in a spreadsheet, and even upload a file to bulk merge Contacts!
Bulk merging should be done only by admin users, as there is no easy way to UNDO merges. Once that toothpaste is out of the tube, it’s awfully hard to put it back in.
All of these new features should make it faster and easier to review and correct duplicate data and keep your data clean and up-to-date, so you can rely on it to power automations and other features.
And You Were There, And You Were There…
We’ve been thinking a lot about events here lately, and now that things are opening back up, we know you are too. So we decided to make it a little easier to manage Event Attendee details.
Now, when editing an Event Attendee record, you’ll be able to track whether they were invited, whether they have attended, or whether they have RSVP’d. And…
*DRUMROLL PLEASE*
You can not only mark that someone has RSVP'd but whether they have Confirmed or declined!
*THE BAND BEGINS TO PLAY A LIVELY TUNE*
Flagging RSVP status AND response is something that we know many of you have asked for, and we’re excited to be able to add it!
And guess what?
THAT'S NOT ALL!
You can also edit the RSVP status, response, Invited, and Attended status IN BULK for attendees, right from the Event record.
And as if bulk editing wasn’t enough, we’ve even added the ability to customize the columns view for Event Attendees, so you can see data the way you want. Have it your way! (Wait, that sounds familiar...)
...And the Rest
As with every release, this month's update also includes a number of other fixes, tweaks, minor modifications, and assorted nudges. Among this month's assorted fixes:
- Have you ever wished there was an easy way to update your design settings and have them apply to your Donor Portal and all of your Virtuous Forms? Because if so, you are going to be VERY excited! (You also need to make some more exciting wishes, sheesh!) Now, you’ll be able to set design settings in Virtuous Marketing that can apply colors and styling to your Donor Portal and for your giving forms. You can even define the button radius for forms, without having to mess with CSS classes on your site!
- When manually creating a new Contact , now you’ll have the option to add Tags to the Contact from the new Contact form. We don;t really have a joke here, this just seemed like a really good idea, so we did it. Efficiency!
- We’ve added the “Noncash Gift Type” and “Noncash Gift Description” fields to Gift queries, because it’s high time we stop discriminating against Noncash Gifts. Gifts-in-kind deserve just as much love as cash Gifts!
- Some users reported that sending test emails when setting up Split tests (that’s a lotta testing going on) were not showing the correct from name or email. We’ve made sure that all senders are correctly listed now on all tests, even...split test tests.
- If you have used Virtuous Giving forms for international giving, you’ll like this one! We’ve added support for customizing the “State” field options based on the selected Country. And to make that selected Country easier, you can now set a default Country, and even set a list of allowable countries for any international form. How very cosmopolitan!
- Admin users will now receive an email notification when a new user has accepted their invite to Virtuous. No more wondering, “will they join our merry band????”
- We squashed a bug affecting some Receipts on Demand templates, so now your receipts can flow smoothly, like a crystal-clear mountain spring.
- We hate to say it, but sometimes, queries time out. Now, at least, you’ll see some clearer messaging if they do, and even some advice on making your query more efficient. As much fun as it was to wonder what sort of “unspecified error” may have occurred, this seems a lot more helpful.
And that's the list! As always, if you have any questions about these or other features, feel free to contact our team using the support widget in Virtuous.
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