LGL Certification Training Guide
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The document provides an overview of how to use the new Little Green Light (LGL) constituent database system. It discusses the goals of using LGL, highlights of the new categorization system including different category types, how to create and effectively use lists, case studies on categorizing constituents and using lists, and an overview of additional functions like mailings and the fundraising tab.
LGL Certification Training Guide
- 1. LGL CERTIFICATION TRAINING 4/5/2013 The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the New LGL Centennial Institute Erin Shumaker
- 2. TABLE OF CONTENTS GOALS AND PURPOSES OF LGL ……………………………………3 WELCOME TO THE NEW LGL! ……………………….……………...4 What are we doing well? What are we changing? CONSTITUENT CATEGORIZATION ……………………………………5 What is a Category? What are the new Categories like? How do I use the new categorization system? LIST CREATION AND USAGE ………………………………………..7 What is a List? How do I effectively use a List to accomplish my goals? When should I not use a List? CASE STUDIES ……………………………………………………….8 Card Sorting Game Constituent Categorizing Advanced Searching To List or Not to List? OTHER FUN THINGS! ………………………………………………...9 What is a Mailing? How can I effectively use a Mailing? What is in the Fundraising tab? Haven’t used that before… What cool things can I do with these functions? Page | !2
- 3. GOALS AND PURPOSES OF LGL Centennial Institute’s mission is to enhance public understanding of the most important issues facing our state and nation; by proclaiming Truth, we aim to foster faith, family, and freedom, teach citizenship, and renew the spirit of 1776. One of the ways that Centennial Institute accomplishes this mission is to utilize the database Little Green Light to manage our constituents and donors. The following are goals and purposes for which LGL is used by those affiliated with Centennial Institute: 1. To effectively document constituents, their contact information, and their corresponding donations 2. To organize specific constituents into various groups and affiliations 3. To maintain a “gold mine” of information for future contact of constituents 4. To generate necessary documents for constituent contact 5. To receipt donations and send thank you letters 6. To help identify potential prospects for future increased participation Consistent entries, uniform skills, common understanding, and a reliable shared vocabulary will improve and maintain the quality of LGL. We will experience less confusion and rework, better serve our constituents, enhance precision in mailings, reduce waste, and better focus our analysis, planning, and appeals. To that end, everyone who access LGL to add, revise, delete, or use information needs a shared basic knowledge. Most of us have a specialty in terms of when and how we interact with the database. It is still fundamental to be fluent enough with the system to “do no harm.” The privilege of working in LGL comes with the responsibility to understand how our interventions with it affect others and the integrity of the database. Page | !3
- 4. WELCOME TO THE NEW LGL! WHAT ARE WE DOING WELL? There is one vital thing we do well: data input. As a team, we have done a phenomenal job creating proper formatting rules for data entry. Here is an example: Mr. and Mrs. Julian Smith 8787 W. Alameda Ave. Lakewood, CO 80226 Dear Jen and Julian, Thank you for all of your hard work as we have made the data entry system more efficient. This detailing ensures quality work the first time. WHAT ARE WE CHANGING? The major change to LGL will be the categorization process. The current system does not allow for much flexibility in filtering out constituencies; as we begin to grow and create more attributes to define our constituents, we begin to run into problems with just using Groups to do the job. Using one Category is useful, but only to a certain extent. The new LGL system allows for a more diverse usage of the Category system, creating a better environment to define attributes and categorize constituents. We will have enhanced flexibility in filtering and refining lists, and we will have higher accuracy in targeting specific groups of constituents. Page | !4
- 5. CONSTITUENT CATEGORIZATION WHAT IS A CATEGORY? A Category is an overall heading used to group together similar attributes. There are several different kinds of Categories already defined in LGL; the one we currently make the most use of is Group. Others are Code and Tag. Each Category has a particular purpose, and more can be created easily if necessary. WHAT ARE THE NEW CATEGORIES LIKE? The principal difference between the old system and the new system is that attributes will be separated into different Categories. Every new Category made is filterable, so we can do searches based on each attribute just as before. There are more Categories in the new system, but the separation allows for enhanced flexibility in search queries and higher quality lists and searches. HOW DO I USE THE NEW CATEGORIZATION SYSTEM? Group: This Category captures whole swathes of constituents. It is meant for very general categorization, and the number of attributes should be maintained to as few as possible. ➢ CCU Board Member ➢ Centennial Fellow ➢ Business Council: This attribute includes any exceptions to the Business Council Giving Level. This is akin to the “Top 100” list – its purpose is to gather all constituents affiliated with the Business Council into one Group. ➢ Donor: This attribute includes all constituents who have given at any time. If you notice, there will be many constituents who are not placed into a Group (e.g., those who have not donated at all). This is just fine, as it will keep those who have not given separate from those who have. It also cuts down on the number of changes a user must make to a profile when the constituent does donate. Code: This Category is where all appeal codes go. CRV Subscription: This Category is specifically for designating which CRV each constituent receives. The user can only pick one of the two; we have had problems in the past with constituents receiving two, both the CRV and the CRV VIP. The single select option will force each constituent into only one attribute. Page | !5
- 6. ➢ CRV ➢ CRV VIP ➢ CRV Email ➢ CRV VIP Email Giving Level: This Category is designed for us to track who has given at what level. ➢ Sponsor: $35 - $99 ➢ Director’s Circle: $100 - $499 ➢ Sustaining Member: $500 - $999 ➢ Patriot’s Circle: $1000 - $2499 ➢ Business Council: $2500 - $4999 (Notice that this is also called “Business Council.” This designation is separate from the Group because this is specific to this Giving Level. The two will remain separate.) ➢ 1776 Society: $5000 - $9999 ➢ CI Advisory Council: $10000+ Summit: This Category allows us to track all attributes connected with the Summit. There are multiples of certain attributes, for example, “Attended” – there is one for 2010, 2011, 2012, and 2013. A constituent may have multiple Summit attributes. ➢ Attended 20xx (multiples) ➢ Host Committee 20xx (multiples) ➢ Host Prospect ➢ Youth Wave Shareholder Tag: This Category is where other attributes can be defined. ➢ Pipeline-New Business ➢ June’s List ➢ House File ➢ Women of Centennial Institute For Case Studies on Categorization, please turn to Page 8. Page | !6
- 7. LIST CREATION AND USAGE WHAT IS A LIST? A List is a saved advanced search query. It is very helpful for building a search that you often use. Lists are also useful for mass exclusion of particular kinds of constituents in an advanced search query. HOW DO I EFFECTIVELY USE A LIST TO ACCOMPLISH MY GOALS? Users can use created Lists to exclude whole groups of constituents in a search. They can also be used to generate mailings for oft-mailed constituent groups (e.g., Business Council renewals). Lists are frequently used in conjunction with Gifts, as the Business Council Renewal List is; this List does a search for all Business Council constituents who have not given in the past year. For instance, one list that we use often is the Breakfast List. This list is built off an advanced search query and saved to automatically update. The list consists of all constituents who: a) are in the CRV VIP or CRV VIP Email attributes, and b) are located within 50 miles of CCU. Whenever a constituent is added to LGL that qualifies for both of those criteria, the Breakfast List is automatically updated to reflect the new constituent. WHEN SHOULD I NOT USE A LIST? There are several situations where a List should not be used: ➢ For a one-time search ➢ For simple searches (those with one attribute) ➢ To save a particular group of constituents that is better defined by a Category These create more Lists than are necessary and clutter out those we do need. For a one-time search, simply search and do not save. For all other searches, consider a Category of some kind that may be easier to use than a List before creating a List. For Case Studies on Lists, please turn to Page 8. Page | !7
- 8. CASE STUDIES CONSTITUENT CATEGORIZATION Card Sorting Game You will be given a stack of cards that contain all of the attributes (blue cards) defined in the new LGL. Sort these attributes into the proper Categories (red cards) as fast as you can without looking at your training guide! Constituent Categorizing PART ONE I will give details about two constituents and ask which attribute from a particular Category the constituents should be defined as. Using the categorization cards from the previous activity, hold up the proper card. This is an activity that will be done as a group. PART TWO I will give you four constituents that you must categorize properly. Use the categorization cards from the previous activity to do this. This activity is timed; you will have five minutes. LISTS Advanced Searching You will be given a particular group of constituents to search for. Using your computer, make a search for this group. We will go over an example together first. To List or Not to List? Consider the searches we just performed – to list? Or not to list? As a group, we will determine which searches should be saved as a list and which searches should not be saved as a list. Page | !8
- 9. OTHER FUN THINGS! WHAT IS A MAILING? A Mailing is a nifty function that takes the guesswork out of creating accurate mailings. When you upload a template with the proper merge fields, LGL will fill in the desired fields that staff would normally complete by hand. HOW CAN I EFFECTIVELY USE A MAILING? For an acknowledgement, the date, the address block, the salutation, and the donation amount can be filled in automatically by LGL. A Mailing can also be used for any other mass mailing we have – appeals such as Summit Host, notifications such as the Business Council Renewal, or newsletters such as the House File mailing. For these Mailings, as with acknowledgements, LGL can fill in the desired information automatically by inserting the proper merge fields in the template. The Mailing function can also print on envelopes or print labels as specified by the user. WHAT IS IN THE FUNDRAISING TAB? HAVEN’T USED THAT BEFORE… The Fundraising tab has all kinds of cool things in it! There are several functions that we could use, but don’t necessarily have to. We can set fundraising goals, connect them to an Event, track RSVPs from LGL constituents, or set up whole Appeal campaigns with multiple mailing segments. This is also where the comprehensive Gift record is stored, and where Gift exports can be made. WHAT COOL THINGS CAN I DO WITH THESE FUNCTIONS? One major use can be the Summit. We can create a Campaign labeled “Summit 2013” and connect Events and Appeals to it. With the “Summit 2013” Event, we can track RSVPs from among our own constituency to see how we are impacting those we already interact with. The Appeals can be used by uploading templates and mailing particular groups of constituents, tracking their replies along the way. The neat benefit of all of this is that we can track which Gifts are connected directly to the Summit. For instance, if someone was to send a check for a Youth Wave Sponsor, that Gift could be tied to the appeal sent out specifically for soliciting Shareholders. This function automatically designates the money in LGL specifically for the “Summit 2013” Event, and overall Campaign. Page | !9