Executive News Letter

We at Synergy understand the pressures and challenges of raising funds. "We've been there done that." As a staff we have more than twenty years of combined fundraising experience. We also understand that the final responsibility falls on the shoulders of the executives. With that in mind we have created a regular newsletter aimed at executives of organizations that raise funds. We hope to provide tips and direction not only as it relates to Denari but to the fundraising world in general. You can view the newsletter at www.executivedevelopmentreport.com.

Link N Sync

Link N Sync is the newest Add-on Module for DenariOnline. It gives Denari the ability to synchronize with Outlook. It is perfect for the fundraiser who is familiar and comfortable working in Outlook but also wants to keep the Denari database up to date. Changes can be made in either Outlook or Denari and synchronized with the click of a button. For more information, click here.

Address Standardization

One of the most annoying and damaging characteristic of any database are duplicates. They are a curse and almost impossible to eliminate. The problem really has to do with the nature of computers. They are very literal in the way they behave. For example, when the computer sees "St." it doesn't know that you mean "Street". So, if one person enters a Name using "St." and another comes along and enters "Street", the computer thinks that it is two separate records. So even if you have some form of Dup Checking, which DenariOnline does, the computer is not going to catch this difference. The problem gets really complicated when you think of all the ways that street addresses can get entered. There is "Ave", "Avenue", "Ave." "Blvd", Blvd", "Circle", "Cr", and on and on. Even a space can be a problem. Occasionally, someone will inadvertently hit the space bar in front of a street, zip code, etc., when entering a record. The computer will see that space as a character and think that it is dealing with two different records and allows a duplicate to be created.

The real problem comes when you aren't aware that there are duplicates. A gift comes in from the donor with two records and gets linked to one of them. Next month, another gift comes and gets linked to the other record. Now this donor's gift history is off. His or her Year-To-Date amount will show incorrectly on the receipt and their End of Year Tax Statement will be incorrect. Before long, you will be getting a phone call from the unhappy donor. If you have several of these, you have a real problem.

DenariOnline has two solutions. If you are aware of the duplicate, you can use 'Merge 2 Names' found under the Admin menu to combine the two records together. The real problem, however, comes when you aren't aware of the duplicates. The best solution is to prevent them, as much as possible, from occurring in the first place. Denari's solution for this is Address Standardization. It is an add-on module to the standard DOL. Address Standardization (AS) standardizes your data to Post Office standards prior to checking for duplicates. So, you are comparing apples to apples. If someone enters the record using "St.", AS will turn it into "Street" when you standardize it. Now when you click on 'Check for Dupes and Save', Denari will recognize it is a potential duplicate and give you the opportunity to reject it before it gets added to your data.

Address Standardization is a relatively inexpensive add-on when you consider the confusion and unhappy donors that can occur. If you would like to talk more about it, you can contact us at sales@denarisoft.com or (800) 352-0312.

Training Schedule

We believe so strongly in the value of training. We have found over and over that the people who are the happiest and most successful with Denari are those who have received training. The opposite is also true. Denari is a sophisticated program. It offers a lot of sophisticated features that you will not find in your other programs. For that reason, using Denari is not always intuitive. There is a learning curve and basic training is the best way to soften that curve. Even if you have been using the program for a while, you will probably find that you will learn about features you didn't know existed at a basic training class. Fundraising software is a semi-customized software. It is designed specifically for an industry that has a finite number of customers. It is not like Microsoft products that can be sold to millions. For that reason, no one is writing a book called "Denari for Dummies". Training classes are the only place you are going to get the information you need to be successful. Training is an investment in your success with the program which in turn, is an investment in your organization.

Synergy offers three ways to get trained.

If you are interested in joining a class, discussing the possibilities for web-based training, or would like to order the audio series, give us a call. Our number is (800) 352-0312.