Advanced Mail Merging in The Raiser's Edge 12 th October 2009 Gordon Mitchell, Senior Consultant [email protected]
Apr 16, 2020
Advanced Mail Merging in The Raiser's Edge
12th October 2009
Gordon Mitchell, Senior Consultant
Blackbaud’s Conference for Not-For-Profits — London | Presenter’s Name | Page #2
Presentation Title or Product Name
During this session we will discuss the following mail merges:
Conditional donor acknowledgement letters – automate different types of letters for different types of support
Mail Merge using export – create mailings with any information held in the database
Segmented direct mail pieces – better target mailings to your prospects
If…Then…Else statements – change any text in the body of the letter based on any information in the database
Introduction to nested If…Then…Else statements
Blackbaud’s Conference for Not-For-Profits — London | Presenter’s Name | Page #3
Presentation Title or Product Name
Conditional Mail Merge: Use information from the donation to have Raiser’s Edge assign a specific letter.
Blackbaud’s Conference for Not-For-Profits — London | Presenter’s Name | Page #4
Presentation Title or Product Name
Conditional Mail Merge: Choose the conditional value that you would like to base the letter on.
Blackbaud’s Conference for Not-For-Profits — London | Presenter’s Name | Page #5
Presentation Title or Product Name
Conditional Mail Merge: Add Merge fields and text as in a standard merge.
TIP: If you are creating multiple documents at one time you can cut and paste merge fields between
documents to save time
Blackbaud’s Conference for Not-For-Profits — London | Presenter’s Name | Page #6
Presentation Title or Product Name
Conditional Mail Merge: Create as many letters as required.
Blackbaud’s Conference for Not-For-Profits — London | Presenter’s Name | Page #7
Presentation Title or Product Name
Conditional Mail Merge: This will then produce a letter for each one of the ‘conditions’ met.
Standard
Mid Level
High Level
Blackbaud’s Conference for Not-For-Profits — London | Presenter’s Name | Page #8
Presentation Title or Product Name
Conditional Mail Merge: Things to remember...
• If you are using conditional acknowledgements ensure that you have a letter created for each of the possible conditions being used with the Donor Acknowledgement Mailing (Unless you specifically want certain donors to receive no letter).
• If you wish to edit your Conditional Letters these are stored within the Mailing. To edit these you must have an unacknowledged gift to ‘thank’
Blackbaud’s Conference for Not-For-Profits — London | Presenter’s Name | Page #9
Presentation Title or Product Name
Conditional Mail Merge using Export
Using Export allows you to place any filed in the merge document (and place the condition on any field). This includes Summary Information
Blackbaud’s Conference for Not-For-Profits — London | Presenter’s Name | Page #10
Presentation Title or Product Name
Conditional Mail Merge using Export
This allows you to further personalise your responses…
First Gift
More than one gift
Blackbaud’s Conference for Not-For-Profits — London | Presenter’s Name | Page #11
Presentation Title or Product Name
Segmentation: Use Segment to let Raiser’s Edge segment and de-dupe your mailings:
Blackbaud’s Conference for Not-For-Profits — London | Presenter’s Name | Page #12
Presentation Title or Product Name
Segmentation: Conditional Merging
Use the Package field from your segmentation as the condition – allowing you to create individual letters for each package
Blackbaud’s Conference for Not-For-Profits — London | Presenter’s Name | Page #13
Presentation Title or Product Name
If…Then…Else statements
Use If…Then…Else statements in Word to replace merge field information with a word phrase or paragraph – e.g. replacing the code for an Appeal or Fund. that would be unusable in a thank you letter, with a statement about the Appeal or gift designation
Additionally If…Then…Else statements can be used when one condition (Raiser’s Edge condition) is not enough
Blackbaud’s Conference for Not-For-Profits — London | Presenter’s Name | Page #14
Presentation Title or Product Name
If…Then…Else statements
Blackbaud’s Conference for Not-For-Profits — London | Presenter’s Name | Page #15
Presentation Title or Product Name
If…Then…Else statements: Construction
Merge field condition is based on
Merge field value
Statement if the merge field value is present “You have restricted…”
ELSE statement between the last set of quotes. This is what is displayed if the fund description merge field does not have the value of “Building Fund”
Blackbaud’s Conference for Not-For-Profits — London | Presenter’s Name | Page #16
Presentation Title or Product Name
If…Then…Else statements: Tips
TIP: Right Click on your If…Then…Else statement in Word to view the statement code
Blackbaud’s Conference for Not-For-Profits — London | Presenter’s Name | Page #17
Presentation Title or Product Name
If…Then…Else statements: Tips
TIP: Use ALT + F9 to view the code in the document and Edit correctly. This is important when creating
nested statements as code should be copied in this format. Press ALT + F9 again to exit this mode
Blackbaud’s Conference for Not-For-Profits — London | Presenter’s Name | Page #18
Presentation Title or Product Name
If…Then…Else statements: Tips
TIP: Right Click and select update fields to view the statement again within the document. If the
statement is working correctly the ‘else’ text should show in Word
Blackbaud’s Conference for Not-For-Profits — London | Presenter’s Name | Page #19
Presentation Title or Product Name
‘Nested’ If…Then…Else statements
An If…Then…Else statement essentially give you a choice of a merge field being one value or something else (e.g. City= “Glasgow” or “Else”)
If you wish there to be more choices for your merge field value then you need to ‘nest’ one merge field inside another. The 2nd statement should be placed within the else “ “ of the first statement
Blackbaud’s Conference for Not-For-Profits — London | Presenter’s Name | Page #20
Presentation Title or Product Name
‘Nested’ If…Then…Else statements
Press ALT + F9 to view the code of the original If…then…Else statement and copy the statement
Blackbaud’s Conference for Not-For-Profits — London | Presenter’s Name | Page #21
Presentation Title or Product Name
‘Nested’ If…Then…Else statements
Copy the statement into the else quotes of the original statement
Blackbaud’s Conference for Not-For-Profits — London | Presenter’s Name | Page #22
Presentation Title or Product Name
‘Nested’ If…Then…Else statements
Update the statement with the new field values and text (in bold above). Then press ALT + F9 to view in the document. If this nested statement is working correctly the “else” statement should show
Blackbaud’s Conference for Not-For-Profits — London | Presenter’s Name | Page #23
Presentation Title or Product Name
Questions?