Lesson 4.4 – Managing Donor Types (Alumni, Members, Volunteers)

Welcome to Lesson 4.4! Your constituents are often much more than just financial donors. They might be graduates of your programs, dues-paying members of your association, or dedicated volunteers who donate their time and skills.

FastFund Raising allows you to build highly detailed, specialized profiles for these unique groups. By enabling specific Code Tags, you unlock dedicated data entry screens designed specifically to track alumni histories, membership cycles, and volunteer assignments.

In this lesson, we will explore how to activate these specialized constituent types and manage the unique data associated with each.

1. Enabling Specialized Donor Types (Code Tags)

Before you can enter graduation years or membership dues, you must first tag the constituent to tell FastFund what kind of relationship they have with your organization.

Steps to Enable a Donor Type:

1. Navigate to Lists > Constituents and click on a constituent’s name to open their Details screen.
2. In the header information, locate the Code Tags section.
3. Check the box for Alumni, Member, or Volunteer. (Note: The Alumni and Volunteer tags can only be assigned to Individual constituents, not Organizations).
4. Click the blue SAVE button at the top of the record.

Once saved, a brand new horizontal tab corresponding to that tag (e.g., the Alumni tab) will automatically appear at the top of the constituent’s record.

Crucial Rule: Once you enter data into one of these new specialized tabs, FastFund locks the Code Tag. You will not be able to uncheck the Code Tag box on the Details screen until all the underlying data is deleted.

2. Managing Alumni Data

If your nonprofit tracks educational backgrounds or program graduates, the Alumni tab provides a comprehensive tracking area.

[INSERT SCREENSHOT: Display the ‘Alumni’ tab within a Constituent record, highlighting the Alumni Number field, School Type drop-down, Class of Year, and Notes area.]

Data tracked on the Alumni Tab includes:

• Alumni Number: A unique, user-assigned ID number. FastFund automatically checks for duplicates and will issue an error if you attempt to use an existing alumni number.
• School Name & Type: The institution attended and the category of school (configured in your Code Tables).
• Degree & Major: The specific degree earned and area of study.
• Date Entered & Class Year: The start date and the graduating class year.
• Fraternity/Sorority & Notes: Open text fields for Greek affiliations and general alumni notes.

3. Managing Membership Data

For associations, museums, or recurring giving programs, the Member tab is essential for managing dues and expiration dates.

[INSERT SCREENSHOT: Display the ‘Member’ tab, highlighting the Membership Number, Category drop-down, Dues amount field, and the trio of date fields (Join, Renewal, Expiration).]

Data tracked on the Member Tab includes:

• Membership Number: A unique identifier for the member (FastFund strictly prevents duplicates).
• Category & Status: The membership tier (e.g., Lifetime, Corporate) and their current standing (Active or Inactive).
• Dues: The monetary amount required for the membership, which can be exported later to generate membership invoices.
• Tracking Dates: Critical date fields formatted as MM/DD/YYYY. You can track the Join Date, the Expiration Date, and a Renewal Date (which can be used strategically to trigger reminder notices before the actual expiration occurs).

4. Managing Volunteer Data

Volunteers are the lifeblood of many nonprofits. The Volunteer tab allows you to catalog their specific skills, availability, and past assignments so you can easily query your database when you need specific help (e.g., finding a volunteer with “Accounting” skills available on “Fridays”).

Data tracked on the Volunteer Tab includes:

• Status: Identifies if they are an Active or Inactive volunteer.
• Areas of Interest (1-3): Three separate fields to list the types of events or programs they want to help with.
• Skills (1-3): Three separate fields to catalog their specific talents (e.g., Grant Writing, Carpentry).
• Assignment & Availability: Open fields to track their current job and when they are free to work.
• Awards & Reviews/Notes: Track any recognition they have received and keep internal notes on their performance.

5. Editing and Deleting Specialized Data

Updating a constituent’s specialized profile is simple:

• To Edit: Click the respective tab (Alumni, Member, or Volunteer), type your changes into the fields, and click the blue SAVE button. If you close the window before saving, all changes will be lost.
• To Delete: If a constituent is no longer a member or volunteer and you wish to completely wipe this data, open the respective tab and click the red DELETE [TYPE] button at the top of the screen (e.g., DELETE ALUMNI). A verification prompt will appear; click OK to permanently remove the specialized data. Once deleted, the Code Tag box on the main Details screen will uncheck itself.