Lesson 9.3 – Merging Constituent Records

Welcome to Lesson 9.3! As your organization grows, it is common for duplicate constituent records to occasionally enter your database. If you find a duplicate record, you can easily delete it provided there are no financial transactions associated with it. However, if a duplicate record has financial transactions tied to it, FastFund’s strict internal controls prevent you from deleting the name.

To solve this, FastFund provides the Merge Names utility, which allows you to merge the transactions from the duplicate record into the primary record, allowing you to streamline and clean up your database.

1. Preparing for a Merge: Understanding the Data Transfer

Before executing a merge, it is critical to understand exactly how FastFund handles the data between the two records. The Merge Names utility automatically moves specific financial and activity data from the duplicate entity to the primary entity. This automatically transferred data includes:

• Transactions
• Notes
• Action Codes
• Transactions where the Constituent was a Tribute, Solicitor, or Soft Credit

Crucial Warning: FastFund does not automatically merge a constituent’s demographic or relationship data. You must manually review the duplicate record and move any necessary data to the primary record before you delete the duplicate. Data that is not automatically merged includes:

• Contact Names, Addresses, Phone Numbers, and Email Addresses
• Place of Employment and Income/Target Gift Ranges
• Spouse Information and Children
• Attribute, Classification, Role, Affiliation, and Relationship Codes
• Alumni, Member, and Volunteer Data

2. The “Merge From” and “Merge To” Logic

When you use the utility, you must clearly define the two records involved:

• Merge From: This is the duplicate, secondary name that you ultimately want to delete from your database.
• Merge To: This is the primary name you want to keep in your database. All of the transactions from the “Merge From” record will be moved here.

3. Executing the Merge

Once you have manually copied any necessary demographic data over to the primary profile, you are ready to perform the merge.

Steps to Merge Names:

1. Navigate to Utilities on the Main Menu, and under the DATA MANAGEMENT section, select Merge Names.
2. From the Entity Type drop-down list, select Constituent.
3. Click the Merge From drop-down and select the duplicate name you wish to empty and delete.
4. Click the Merge To drop-down and select the primary name you want to keep. (Note: FastFund will display the Entity ID number next to the names to help you verify you are selecting the correct records).
5. If you want the system to automatically delete the duplicate record as soon as the financial data is transferred, check the Delete After Merge box.
6. Click the blue MERGE button at the top of the screen.

4. The Merge Audit Trail

To ensure complete transparency and maintain your audit trail, FastFund automatically documents the merge event. After the merge is complete, the primary “Merge To” record will have an automatic memo added to its Notes area. This note contains the details of the merge, including the date it occurred, the name of the secondary record, and the Entity ID number that was merged into the primary profile.