Working with constituent records
In this article:
Introduction
LGL offers three different views of a constituent record: The abbreviated Constituent view, the Constituent Details view, and the Edit Constituent view. This article highlights these views and explains what information can be seen and which actions can be taken in each.
Abbreviated Constituent view
When you perform a search for a constituent on the All Constituents page, whether by using the Simple Name search functionality or the Advanced Search functionality, the results of that search will appear in the results pane below the Advanced Search box.
Note that the information presented in this abbreviated view is not affected by the search you run (except, of course, whether the constituent shows up in the results or not). In other words, even if you search for "giving this fiscal year" you will still see a lifetime gift summary data for the constituent within the results pane versus giving just for this fiscal year.
Three (3) columns of data are returned for each constituent in this abbreviated view. The columns provide the following information:
- Name and Contact Information: The first column includes Last name, First name, Employer, Address, Phone, Email, Last contact report (date and type), Last mail/email (date, type, and status of mailings or emails sent via LGL), Next task (date and type) and Related to (number of related records).
- Categories: The middle column presents data pertaining to both default categories or ones you've enabled in the Settings area, including the following: Mailchimp or Constant Contact Status (and assigned lists if using Constant Contact), Class Years and Memberships (if enabled), Stewards, Contact Type, Groups, Capacity, and Interest. NOTE: You can manage what categories display in the middle column by customizing your constituent menu items. For more information, please see Customizing the order and display of constituent menu items.
- Giving Summary: The last column provides a quick look into a constituent's giving to your organization, including Gifts (number of gifts/total amount given), Pledges (number of pledges/pledge total with the pledge balance remaining showing in parentheses), and Last Gift (amount and date).
The purpose of this abbreviated view is two-fold: First, it allows you to quickly view some primary data fields to ensure that your search has returned the correct search result before taking your next action; second, once you've confirmed you have the correct record/s, you can take actions directly from this view without having to open the full Constituent Details page.
To see all the possible actions that can be taken with a record, select the Actions button next to the applicable constituent. The optional actions available from here include:
- Edit constituent
- Add gift
- Add goal
- Add task
- Add contact rpt.
- Add note
- Add volunteering
- Add to event
- Add to appeal
- Edit relationships
- Find duplicates
- Clone constituent
- Delete constituent
Constituent Details page view
The Constituent Details page provides a window into your organization's complete history with a person or institution. The Constituent Details page for a constituent can be accessed by clicking on the name of the constituent within the results pane on the All Constituents page:
The Constituent Details page contains two major sections: The Individual details section and the Related activity section. The Individual details section of the record displays at the top of the record and contains these sub-sections on the left:
- Name Information
- Spouse/Partner Information (if data is present)
- Related Constituents (if data is present)
- Mailchimp or Constant Contact information (if an integration is set up between LGL and an account with either provider)
- Acknowledgment Preference (if set up for the record)
- Categories
- Related Information
- General Information
It also contains these sub-sections on the right:
- Giving Summary
- Volunteering
- Contact Information
For a complete review of the types of information that can be stored in a constituent profile, please see the article: What kinds of information can I store about a constituent?
At the top of the page above the Giving Summary section, several buttons represent actions that can be taken for the record, including:
- Send mail - Allows you to set up a mailing for just this constituent
- Send email - Enables you to send a one-off email to this constituent using LGL Email
- More actions - Lets you select one of the following actions: Add gift, Add task, Add contact rpt., Find duplicates, Clone constituent, or generate an export of the record in a Summary profile or Detailed profile PDF report
- Edit - Brings you to the Edit Constituent view where you can edit any or all of the fields in the constituent record in a single page view
- Delete - Allows you to delete this constituent record entirely from your database (NOTE: This action deletes the constituent and any related activity, including gifts they gave, mailings they received, contacts you've had with them, etc.)
The Related activity section in the bottom half of the Constituent Details page provides a chronological listing of all activities taken with the constituent over time. Please see this article for a more complete description of the Related activity section: Constituent Activity
Edit Constituent view
The Edit Constituent view can be accessed in one of two ways: by selecting it from the Actions button in the Abbreviated Constituent view, or by selecting the Edit button in the top right corner of the Constituent Details page. This view allows you to make edits to one or more fields within the Individual details section of the constituent record.
A few fields (outlined in red in the image above) can be seen/selected or edited only in this view. A few notes about this:
- Use the checkbox "This constituent is an organization or company" to change the record from an individual to an organization type record or vice versa. This is possible only in Edit Constituent view.
- Use the Update names button to automatically re-generate the Addressee, Salutation, and Annual Report name fields according to the constituent name options you selected on the Settings > Subscription settings > General page.
- Marital Status: This field can be populated, and is visible, only in this view. Additional values can be added in the Menu items area in the Settings tab.
- Birthday: This field is viewable in the Constituent Details page and the abbreviated view, but can be added/edited only in this view.
- Deceased? Check this box to indicate that the constituent listed in the record is deceased. Fill in the Deceased Date information if so desired/known. Both of these options can be selected only in this view; however, the fact that a record is marked as Deceased can be viewed in both the Abbreviated Constituent view and the Constituent Details view.
NOTE: If a constituent is deceased and their record contains their birth date, their age will not display in search results. - External ID: By default, this field can be populated, and is visible, only in this view. But it is possible to request that it be exposed in the other two views by contacting our Support team (to contact Support, please click the Help link, available from the upper right of any page in your LGL account, and complete the fields to submit your question).
- Maiden name: By default, this field can be populated, and is visible, only in this view, but it is possible to request that it be exposed in the other two views by contacting our Support team (to contact Support, please click the Help link, available from the upper right of any page in your LGL account, and complete the fields to submit your request).