A guest at the admissions desk says, “I’m a member, it’s under Johnson.” Staff type the name, get a list of a dozen Johnsons, and start asking for a street address, an email, a phone number, anything that would tell those rows apart. Behind the guest, the line gets longer.
That moment is why so many Altru administrators go looking for a way to change what the patron search shows: more columns, different columns, or a list you can actually scroll through and sort. This article covers what you can realistically adjust, what you probably can’t, and the workarounds that make searches faster in practice.
The short version
Altru is a hosted product, and its search screens are largely fixed. As far as we know, administrators can’t add arbitrary columns (such as membership level or last visit date) to the constituent search results, rearrange them, or save a custom layout per user. If that has changed for your version, Blackbaud support or the current release notes are the place to confirm it. Don’t take our word or a forum post as final; open the search in your own environment and check what options are offered.
What you can control is everything around the search: the data that feeds it, the criteria staff type in, and the tools you give staff for browsing lists instead of hunting one record at a time.
Make the existing search return fewer, better rows
Most search frustration isn’t really about columns. It’s about too many look-alike results. A few habits fix more than a layout change would.
Teach staff to search with two fields, not one
A last name alone returns everyone with that name. Last name plus first initial, or last name plus a ZIP code or email fragment, usually narrows it to one or two rows. Write the preferred combination on a card at each station. It costs nothing and saves the most time.
Use the lookup ID and the membership card
If members carry a card with a barcode or number, searching by that identifier skips the name problem entirely. Make sure your membership cards print an ID that staff can actually search on, and that your team knows to ask for the card first. If you aren’t sure which identifier your cards carry, pull one from a recent print batch and test it in search.
Clean up duplicates and stale addresses
Two “Mary Johnson” rows at the same address are a data problem, not a display problem. Duplicate constituents, households where both adults have separate records with the same email, and old addresses that were never marked inactive all make results longer and harder to read. A periodic duplicate review, plus a rule that staff search before creating a new constituent, keeps the list short.
Keep names consistent
Nicknames, “Mr. and Mrs.” entered in the first-name field, or organization names typed into individual records all make search results confusing. Agree on entry standards and fix the worst offenders with a query and a bit of manual cleanup.
When you really want to browse, use a query instead
The constituent search is built to find a single record. When the real need is to look over a group, such as all lapsed members with a given last name, everyone in a particular membership level, or today’s expected group sales contacts, a query is the better tool, and it’s where Altru does let you pick the output.
- Choose your own columns. In a constituent or membership query you decide which fields appear: name, lookup ID, email, phone, membership program and level, expiration date, and so on.
- Add smart fields for summary values. If your organization has smart fields set up for things like total giving or most recent membership, those can be included as output columns, which gives staff context the search screen doesn’t.
- Sort and filter the results. Query results can be sorted and exported, so a front-desk lead can print or share a short list ahead of an event.
- Save and share it. Build the query once, name it clearly (“Members expiring this month, desk view”), and give the right staff access so they aren’t rebuilding it every week.
Queries take a little training. Staff who only work the register may never open one, so it often makes sense for a supervisor to run the list and hand it to the desk rather than expecting everyone to learn the query tools.
Give staff context once they open the record
Because the results list itself is thin, the record page has to do the heavy lifting. Check that the details staff need most (current membership status, expiration, household members, any notes about the visitor) are easy to see when the constituent record opens. If your team keeps clicking through several tabs to answer “Is this person a current member?”, a shared quick-reference on where to look is worth writing.
If none of this is enough
Some organizations genuinely need a different search view: a membership desk that wants level and expiration right in the results, for example. In that case:
- Document the exact need. Which screen, which fields, and how often staff hit the problem.
- Ask Blackbaud support whether there’s a configuration option you’ve missed. Search behavior and available criteria do change between releases.
- Test any answer in a sandbox or with a single trusted user before rolling it out to the whole front desk.
Quick answers
Can I add membership level to the patron search results?
Not that we’re aware of. Run a membership query with level and expiration as output columns, or confirm with Blackbaud support whether your version allows it.
Why does the same person show up twice?
Almost always a duplicate constituent record. Merge the duplicates and the search gets shorter on its own.
Is there a way to browse all matching records like a spreadsheet?
Use a query. You can pick the columns, sort, and export the results, which the search screen doesn’t let you do.
