A staff member adds a new email address for one adult in a household. Because the option to copy it to the household and its members was already selected, that address now sits on the spouse’s record, the household record, and possibly a teenager’s record too. A month later the spouse gets the other person’s donation acknowledgment, or unsubscribes from the newsletter and accidentally turns it off for everyone who shares that address.
The short version: Altru does not appear to offer an administrator setting that changes whether that copy option starts out selected. The workable fixes are about habits, a written rule, and a regular check for addresses that spread further than intended. Details below.
Can you change the default?
We are not aware of a configuration option, security setting, or user preference in Altru that flips the copy-to-household choice from selected to cleared for everyone. That said, Altru changes over time, so confirm before building your process around this:
- Open a test constituent who belongs to a household (ideally in a sandbox or on a clearly labeled test record) and add an email address. Note whether the copy option is pre-selected, and whether that differs between adding a new address and editing an existing one.
- Ask Blackbaud support directly whether the default can be changed for your database. If the answer is no, you have your confirmation; if it is yes, you have saved yourself the rest of this article.
Until you hear otherwise, assume the box will be checked and that staff need to clear it on purpose.
Why it matters more for email than for mailing addresses
Copying a street address to everyone in a household usually makes sense. People in the same home share a mailbox. Email is different: most adults have their own inbox, and a lot of Altru output is personal.
- Receipts and acknowledgments can land with the wrong person, which is awkward for gifts one partner wanted to keep private.
- Opt-outs and solicit codes get messy when two records share one address but have different communication preferences.
- Online accounts and logins tied to an email address can become confused when several records carry the same one.
- Duplicate checks get harder. A shared email is a common signal that two records might be the same person, so copied addresses create false matches.
Set a household email rule
Since the software won’t make the decision for you, write it down. A simple version many organizations can live with:
- Default to not copying. An email address goes on the record of the person who gave it to you, and only that person.
- Copy only when asked. If a couple says “use our shared address for both of us,” copy it and add a short note on the record saying so.
- Never copy to minors. Child records in a household should not inherit a parent’s email unless there is a specific reason.
- Decide what the household record needs. Some organizations want an email on the household itself for joint mailings; others leave it blank and email individuals. Pick one so staff aren’t guessing.
Put the rule where people actually enter data: in the onboarding notes for membership and development staff, and next to any station where constituent records get updated during a phone call or at a desk.
Train the one click
The fix at the moment of entry is small: look at the copy option before saving, and clear it unless the household asked for a shared address. That is easy to forget when someone is updating a record mid-conversation, so reinforce it in two ways:
- Show new staff the exact form during training, with the option pointed out, rather than describing it.
- When you find a wrongly copied address during cleanup, tell the person who entered it. One reminder usually sticks better than a general announcement.
Find the addresses that already spread
Training stops new problems; it does not fix old ones. A periodic query catches both.
Build a shared-email query
Create a constituent query that returns individuals with their email addresses and household. Export it and sort by email address, or use a summary to count how many constituents share each one. Anything that appears on more than one record is worth a look, especially where:
- One of the records is a child or a young adult.
- The records have different solicit codes or opt-out preferences.
- The email clearly includes one person’s name but appears on both partners.
Clean up carefully
Before deleting a copied address, check whether it is marked as primary on the record and whether that person has another address you can promote. Removing the only email from a member’s record can stop renewal reminders and eTickets from reaching them. When in doubt, call or email the household and ask which address belongs to whom.
Run the query monthly at first. Once the number of new shared addresses drops, quarterly is usually enough.
Check the other entry points
Staff entry is only one path into the database. Records also come in through web forms, imports, and batches. We are not certain how each of those paths handles household copying in every Altru configuration, so test them: create a test household, run a sample transaction or import row through each path, and look at which records end up with the email. Write down what you find so the next person doesn’t have to repeat the test.
Quick answers
Does clearing the option once change it for next time?
Don’t count on it. Treat the choice as applying to that one save, and confirm on your own system by adding a second address to the same test record and seeing where the option starts.
Should the household record ever have an email?
Only if you send household-level communications by email and the household agreed to a shared address. Otherwise, keep email on individuals.
Is this worth raising with Blackbaud?
Yes. If the default causes real cleanup work for you, tell your Blackbaud contact or support. Specific examples from your own data help.
