How to Add an Organization

When you add an organization, the Add Organization window opens. The layout of this window and the fields included are determined by the administrator. Some fields may already have values filled in. These are defaults that can be set by the administrator or by you, by using My Preferences. You can change these values for this household if you need to.

If you have a simple organization with only one contact name, one address, and a few phones and emails, you may wish to use a Quick Entry form. The Quick Entry form can be designed in the Custom Page Layout tab in the Admin tab. Click on the Quick Entry button to switch to the quick organization entry form.

To add an organization using the Add Organization window, do the following (note that the order of entry may be different, depending on how you have configured the layout for this window):

Step 1 - Add Organization

  1. Type in the name for this organization
  2. The sort key shows how this organization will be sorted alphabetically. In some circumstances you may want to change the sort key.  For example, if  the organization is The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, you probably would like it to sort under G (Gates) rather than T (The). You can change the sort key by typing in a new one.
  3. The following list includes the additional fields that are available for defining organization attributes. As noted above, these may be in a different order, they may not all be present, and there may be additional user-defined fields that are unique to your organization.
    1. Type - this indicates the Type of this organization, for example, a corporation, a foundation or a church. This list of options for organization Type is created in the Admin tab.
    2. Source - the Source code indicates how this organization name was acquired, for example from a direct mail list or from a list of prospects supplied by a board member. This information can be used to track the best source of new prospects. The list of Source codes is created in the Admin tab.
    3. Solicitor - if you wish to assign someone as the primary solicitor for this organization, select the solicitor from the list. Solicitors and teams are set up in the Admin tab.
    4. Do Not Solicit - if this organization should not be included in solicitations, check the Do Not Solicit box.
    5. Do Not Mail - if this organization should not receive any mailings, check this box.
    6. Do Not Phone - if this organization should not receive any phone calls, check this box.
    7. Do Not Email - if this organization should not receive any email, check this box.
    8. Web Site - this is the main web site address for this organization.
    9. Notes - the notes box provides unlimited space to enter comments about this organization.
    10. Tags - tags can be used to categorize the organization in many ways. You define your own set of organization tags on the Admin Tab.
  4. Click on Save and Next to go to Step 2.

Step 2 - Add Primary Contact

  1. Select a Prefix for this person. The list of available prefixes is defined in the Admin tab.
  2. Enter the person's first, middle and last names.
  3. If the person's name has a suffix, like "Jr.", enter that. The person's full name is built automatically using the prefix, first, middle, last and suffix, according to preferences you set on the Bio Defaults tab in the Admin tab. If you prefer, you can select a different version of the name from the Display Name list.
  4. Select your preferred salutation from the Salutation list. A preferred salutation is preselected for you based on the preference you set on the Bio Defaults tab. The salutation is used in letters to this person.
    1. The following list includes the additional fields that are available. As noted above, these may be in a different order, they may not all be present, and there may be additional user-defined fields that are unique to your organization.
      1. Nick Name - nick names can be added just for reference. They are also included in the list of potential salutations for mailings.
      2. AKA - this might be a maiden name or a prior name that can be used to search for this person.
      3. Job Title - in addition to adding this as an important piece of information about this person, you can choose to have this included in an office address.
      4. Company/Division - you can use this field to record where this person works within the organization. It can also be included in an office address, along with the job title.
      5. Birth Date - the person's birthday can be used to send birthday greetings.
      6. Gender - the person's gender.
      7. Is Solicitor - this indicates if this person is a volunteer solicitor for your fund raising efforts.
      8. Is Volunteer - this indicates if this person volunteers at your organization.
      9. Notes - you can enter unlimited notes about this contact.
  5. Click on Save if you want to add additional names. Click on Save and Next to go to Step 3.
  6. After saving the primary contact name, you can add another name by first resetting the name fields, using the Reset button and then repeating from 1. above to add the next name.
    1. You can add as many additional names as you need by repeating this process.
  7. Click on Save and Next to go to Step 3.

Step 3 - Address

You can add any number of addresses to an organization. For each address, you add not just the address, but you indicate which names in the organization the address belongs to, whether the address is not valid at certain times of the year, and whether the address is preferred for certain types of mailings.

  1. Click on Add Address to add an address to the organization.
  2. After you have added all of the addresses, click on Save and Next to go to Step 4.

Step 4 - Phone

You can add any number of phone numbers to an organization. For each phone, but you indicate the type of phone number, whom in the organization the phone belongs to, whether it is ok to call the number, and which phone number is preferred.

  1. Click on Add Phone to add a phone to the organization.
  2. After you have added all of the phones, click on Save and Next to go to Step 5.

Step 5 - Email

You can add any number of email addresses to an organization. For each email, you indicate whom in the organization the email belongs to, whether it is ok to contact the person using that email address, and which email is preferred.

  1. Click on Add Email to add an email address to the organization.
  2. After you have added all of the email addresses, click on Save and Close.