Constituency codes answer one simple question about a person or organization in Altru: what is their relationship to us? Trustee, docent, vendor, corporate partner, teacher, press. Used well, they make lists and reports fast to build. Used loosely, they turn into a junk drawer that nobody trusts. This guide covers how they work, how to plan a list worth keeping, and how to pull “current” constituents without dragging in people whose role ended years ago.
Two kinds of constituency in Altru
It helps to know up front that not every constituency on a record is one you typed in.
- Constituencies Altru works out on its own. Some relationships, such as being a member or a donor, are typically derived from activity already in the database (a membership, a gift). You don’t add these by hand, and editing them usually means changing the underlying transaction, not the constituency.
- Constituencies you define. Everything else (board member, volunteer role, school partner, staff, vendor, media) comes from a code table your administrator maintains. These are the ones you add, date, and retire.
Exactly which relationships Altru calculates versus which you must enter can depend on your configuration and on how your organization records things like volunteers. If you aren’t sure whether a given constituency is calculated, look at a few records where you know the answer, or ask Blackbaud support before you build a process around it.
Plan the list before you add codes
The most common problem isn’t missing codes. It’s too many overlapping ones: “Board,” “Board Member,” “Trustee,” and “Former Board” all living side by side. Before adding anything, write the list on paper and test each proposed code against three questions:
- Will someone pull a list by this? If no report, mailing, or invitation will ever use it, it probably belongs in a note or an attribute instead.
- Is it a relationship, or a characteristic? “Docent” is a relationship. “Prefers email” or “Spanish speaker” is a characteristic and usually fits better as an attribute.
- Does it have a start and an end? Constituencies work best for roles that begin and end. If the answer is “it’s forever,” check whether it’s really a constituency.
Avoid codes that bake in a status, such as “Former Trustee” or “Past Volunteer.” Dates already tell you that (see below), and status codes go stale the moment someone forgets to swap them.
Adding a new constituency code
New user-defined constituencies are added to the constituency code table, which lives with Altru’s other administrative code tables. Usually only users with administrative rights can edit code tables, so if you don’t see the option, that’s likely a security role issue rather than a missing feature.
A few habits keep the table clean:
- Use plain, specific names that a new staff member would understand without asking.
- Check for near-duplicates before saving. Searching the table for a keyword (“board,” “vol”) catches most of them.
- When a code is no longer needed, deactivate it rather than deleting it, so historical records keep their meaning. If you’re unsure how your version handles inactive codes, try it in a sandbox first.
- Keep a one-page reference that defines each code and who is allowed to apply it.
Applying constituencies to records, with dates
When you add a user-defined constituency to a constituent record, you can give it a start date and an end date. Those dates are what make the code useful over time.
- Start date: when the role began, such as the date a trustee was elected or a volunteer finished training.
- End date: leave it blank while the role is active. Fill it in when the role ends.
Don’t remove a constituency when someone steps down. Add the end date. That way you can still answer “who served on the board in 2022?” and you don’t lose history for recognition, anniversary invitations, or grant reporting.
If someone returns to a role after a gap, add a new date range rather than erasing the old end date. Two ranges tell the true story.
Pulling “current” constituents
This is where most confusion shows up. A query that simply asks “has constituency of Board Member” will return everyone who ever held that role, including people who left a decade ago.
To get only current constituents, build your query on the constituency fields and filter on dates as well as the code:
- Constituency equals the code you want, and
- End date is blank or end date is on or after today, and (optionally)
- Start date is on or before today, to exclude future-dated roles.
Because a record can hold several constituency rows, group the code and date conditions together so they apply to the same row. Otherwise a person with an old, ended board row and an unrelated active volunteer row can slip through. Run the query, then spot-check a handful of results against what you know is true. If a former trustee appears, the grouping is usually the culprit.
Once that query is right, save it and reuse it for selections, mailings, and smart fields rather than rebuilding it each time. One trusted “current board” query beats five slightly different ones.
Keeping the codes honest
Constituency data decays quietly. Set a simple routine:
- After each board election or volunteer season, update end dates for anyone who left.
- Once a year, review each code’s count. A code with zero active records may be ready to deactivate. A code with surprisingly many may be getting applied too loosely.
- Assign an owner for each group of codes (development owns board and donor-related ones, volunteer services owns volunteer roles), so updates don’t fall between departments.
Quick answers
Can a constituent have more than one constituency?
Yes. A trustee can also be a member, a donor, and a volunteer. That’s normal and is exactly what makes these codes useful for segmenting.
Should I delete constituencies that ended?
Generally no. Add an end date instead. Deleting erases history you may need later for recognition or reporting.
Why can’t I add a new code?
Editing code tables usually requires administrative rights. Ask your Altru administrator to check your security role.
