You open a constituent record, the name looks unfamiliar, and you want to know one simple thing: when did this person land in our database? Altru does track it. The catch is that the date isn’t something staff usually see while scrolling a constituent page. You get to it most reliably through a query.
The short version
Altru, like the Blackbaud CRM platform it’s built on, stamps records with system dates when they’re created and when they’re last changed. For constituents, those dates are typically exposed in the constituent query source as fields along the lines of Date added and Date changed. Build a constituent query, add the date-added field to your output, and filter on it if you only care about a certain range.
Field names and where they sit in the field tree can vary slightly depending on your Altru version and security rights. If you don’t see a date-added field when you expand the constituent fields, search the field list for “added,” and if it’s still missing, ask your Altru administrator whether your role has rights to system fields, or check with Blackbaud support.
Building the query
- Start a new ad-hoc query using the constituent source.
- Add the fields you need to identify the person: lookup ID, name, and email are usually enough.
- Add the date-added field to the output. If the “added by” user field is available to you, add that too. It tells you which staff account or process created the record, which is often the more useful clue.
- Optionally filter on date added (for example, “is in the last 30 days” or “is between” two dates).
- Sort by date added, newest first, and save the query so you don’t rebuild it next time.
If you just want the answer for one person, filter on their lookup ID instead of a date range. It’s faster than hunting for the value anywhere else.
What “date added” actually means
This is where people get tripped up. The system date tells you when the record was created in this database. That’s not always the same as when the person first engaged with your organization.
- Converted or imported records. If your organization moved to Altru from another system, every constituent brought over in that conversion may share the conversion date (or the import date). A long-time member from 2009 can look like they joined the day you went live.
- Batch imports. Constituents created through an import carry the date the import was committed, not the date on the original spreadsheet.
- Online sales and web forms. When a guest buys a ticket or membership online and no match is found, a new constituent is typically created at that moment. That’s often accurate, but it also means duplicates created online get a fresh date of their own.
- Merged duplicates. When two records are merged, the surviving record keeps its own history. Whether the earlier date carries over depends on which record you keep, so it’s worth checking the result after a merge rather than assuming.
When you really want “first engagement”
Often the question behind “when was this person added?” is “how long have they been with us?” For that, the record’s creation date is a weak proxy. Better options:
- First revenue date. Pull the earliest transaction date from the revenue fields in your query. This works well for donors and ticket buyers.
- Membership history. For members, the earliest membership start or join date is usually the number people actually care about, and it may predate the constituent record if history was converted.
- A smart field. If you report on this often, a smart field that calculates a first-gift or first-transaction date can save everyone from building the same aggregate query repeatedly. Check which smart field types your version offers before promising it to anyone.
For converted databases, consider also keeping an original “member since” or “constituent since” value from the old system in an attribute. If one already exists in your database, that’s probably your most trustworthy history.
Practical uses for the date-added query
Once the query exists, it’s handy for more than satisfying curiosity:
- Weekly new-constituent review. Filter to the last seven days and scan for obvious duplicates, test records, or junk entries before they spread into mailings.
- Tracing a bad record. Date added plus the “added by” user usually tells you whether a problem came from the front desk, an import, or the website.
- Welcome communications. Use the query as a selection for new contacts who should get a first-time message, keeping in mind that new records aren’t always new people.
- Growth reporting. New constituents per month is a reasonable measure, as long as you exclude conversion and import dates that would spike the numbers.
Quick answers
Can I see the date added right on the constituent page?
It isn’t something most staff will find on the main record view. A query is the dependable route. If your organization wants it visible on the page, test what your version shows in a sandbox or ask Blackbaud support before telling staff where to look.
Can staff edit the date added?
Not normally. It’s a system-maintained value. If you need a corrected “since” date, store it in a separate field such as an attribute.
Why do hundreds of records share the same date?
Almost always a conversion or bulk import. Filter those dates out of any reporting that’s meant to show real growth.
