Social Good Software

Creating amazing guest experiences through innovative software solutions for the social good community

Rick Hernandez

How to add a subdomain to your portal

By

Introduction

A neat and well-maintained domain for your website brings tremendous professionalism to your organization in the Internet era. When you have separate sections in your domain, like members, clubs, support, and others, it is recommended to create a separate subdomain to easily navigate to that section. It is easier to navigate to members.domain.### than domain.###/sections/members. In this tutorial, regardless of what DNS provider you have, follow along to create a subdomain. (In our tutorial, we will be using Cloudflare.)

Add a subdomain

This tutorial will use Cloudflare, but if you use a different DNS provider, the process will be the same or near identical, with the exception being your setup of SSL or TLS protocols (certificates for security over networks). 

1. Create a new CName record.

Inside of Cloudflare, go into “DNS” and add a new record. Inside fo the interface, there are options to change the type of record. Change this to “CNAME.” From here, name your subdomain.

2. Grab the target address.

Go into Social Good Software. For this example, since we are making a subdomain for memberships, we went into Development -> Membership Portal -> Settings to find the target link. Copy the link from after the “https://“ to the end. It should look something like this:

00000000-a000-000a-aaaa-000a000a.socialgoodsoftware.com

Add a subdomain: membership portal target address
The beginning of the link should be unique to your organization

Paste this link into the DNS page under the Target box.

3. Configure SSL/TLS Settings.

Configure these settings to generate secure certificates for your website, enabling SGS to work properly with your website. If you have issues with this, since this is unique to each organization, you may need to configure this by contacting support with your DNS provider.

To view how to receive a SSL certificate from GoDaddy, click here or click on the link below.

https://socialgoodsoftware.com/how-to-get-the-ssl-certificate-from-godaddy

4. Configure SEO in SGS

Go back to the Social Good Software app, and go into Development -> Settings -> SEO. Under the Domain Alias on the top right of the screen, type in your subdomain name. In this case, we use “members.codewithintent.com” since we are making a members subdomain. Save settings before closing out of SGS.

Add a subdomain: SEO configuration in SGS App
Add your subdomain to the address in this box

Depending on your DNS provider, finishing your SEO configuration will either instantly make your subdomain live, or it may take longer—a few days maximum—to get everything situated and live.

Summary

Creating a subdomain in your DNS and linking it to SGS helps maintain a professional Internet presence. It gives your users a simple, clean experience working with your organization. Familiarize yourself with your DNS provider, and you can get subdomains up in no time. If you have any other questions, please feel free to contact us anytime.

How to merge two records together with Altru using the Deduper

By

The Deduper application is a powerful application for managing records in your constituent database and removing duplicate records that it sees. As you continue to use it, you can see many tools at your disposal to view different records in depth, compare different values, and run many scenarios to clean and manage your database better. Of course, the application only works if you understand how to merge records, delete records, and ensure everything is working with Altru. So, how do we merge records in the Deduper, and does it run everything with Altru in real time?

Steps to Merge Two Records Together

  1. View Record. At this step, we are assuming that you have built the query in Altru already. With this in mind, click on “Sync Activity,” and then click on “Find Duplicates” in the Constituents tab; this will show your duplicate records, and allow you to view any one of those accordingly. Click on the duplicate record you want to view and potentially merge.
Example of viewing a duplicate record in Deduper to merge two records together
Example of viewing a duplicate record in Deduper
  1. Review and Click “Merge Records.” After looking at the two different records, you can see the records may have the same name and email address. The only things that differ include the order count and the date the database created the constituent. If you are confident these records are the same person, locate the “Merge Records” button on the top right corner.
  2. Click “Merge Records” again. Depending on your internet connection speed, the number of records in your database, and so on, the merging process may take a few minutes to complete. You will be notified as soon as the merge process is completed.
  3. “Sync Activity” and “Find Duplicates” again. If the number of duplicate records goes down, you will know that everything is working correctly. If any issues arise, please contact support.

Summary

Using the Deduper to merge records will help clean your database even further than Altru could, saving you time and giving your database administrator peace of mind. As always, please contact us if you have any further questions on how to use the deduper!

How to update phone number or address with Altru

By

In your web forms, you create all kinds of methods for your guests to purchase tickets, edit membership details, and so on; however, what if you have a change of address or phone number with your own company? You will need to go into Altru to update the phone number or address, which we will walk through in this tutorial. It’s time to dive into Altru and edit that form!

Steps to Update Phone Number and Address

  1. Navigate to the Web Form to edit. Enter into your Altru account, then click on “Web” on the Navigation Bar on the top of the screen. Click on Page Designer, then navigate to “Configure Content.” Scroll to the bottom of the dialog box, and locate your contact information in a textbox. Click on the gear that pops up on the top left of the text box. Click on the “View” tab, and edit the code.

The navigation to this place looks like this:

Altru Home Page > Web > Page Designer > Configure Content > Gear on Contact Info textbox > View > Edit Code

  1. Search for the information to edit. For ease of finding the information, press Ctrl + F (Windows) or Cmd + F (Apple) to find the code where the phone number or address is. After locating the information to edit, place the new phone number or the new address into the box. Make sure to save your information before clicking out of the box.
    1. Why do we do this? Can’t I just edit the information from the Configure Content tab?
      You could do that, but doing so would remove the link attributes, meaning that clicking or tapping on the phone number would not automatically call the number or navigate to the address. Keeping a link would give ease of access to guests when they want to call the number or navigate to the address.

Summary

Hopefully, editing these forms through Altru will help make organizational changes easier to perform. These edits will make your web forms and website consistent throughout. If you have any other questions on how to use Altru or SGS, please contact us. We are more than happy to help!

Automated welcome email

By

Queries in Altru are used to gather information from the database. You can utilize it in creating memberships, sending emails, and so on. One query that is useful to your organization is an automated welcome email for first-time membership purchases. It will help you save time on sending welcome messages to new members and generate digital membership cards. With query for automated email, you do not have to wait until the back-end batching processes are complete. It will automatically send welcome emails to your new members.

Below is a query for an automated welcome email. You can use it as a reference to effectively send welcome emails to your new members.

Automated email sample query:

automated welcome email

Summary

This query is very useful for sending emails that welcome new members and create membership cards for them automatically. To you, this provides greater ease of access in using SGS’s Email Designer and Altru.

If you have any other questions about the query or other topics, feel free to contact us!

What is the difference between the three email types?

By

Introduction

You’ve entered the phase of setting up emails using the Email Designer, copying and pasting some ODATA links, and setting up the UI Design to make the emails look pretty. After punching in some steps, you’ve come to a crossroads: Email Type. Three buttons appear on this screen, saying “Transactional Email,” “Membership Email,” and “Reservation Email.” Thinking about what you are making emails for, you find that your email may fit nicely into two or all categories, or perhaps you may not understand what you would use “Reservation Email” for… The three email types: what is the difference?

Three Email Types

#1: Transactional Email

Congratulations! Someone buy a ticket for the event next week! Now you need to create the purchased ticket, make it a PDF, attach it to an email, and send it to the constituent… It sounds like a lot of work to put in for every transaction that happens each day. But Socia Good Software made it easier by sending automated transactional emails once your customer made a purchase. Some pointers to remember: First, see to it that you include the constituent record ID, email, and the event date so your guests can remember. Also, SGS made it possible to attach tickets in PDF form, and customers can add them to their Apple Wallet and Google Pay apps.

#2: Membership Email

Do you wish that notifying your members to renew their membership becomes easier? Sends an attractive membership card to your new members? SGS can make it simple for you to send out membership cards automatically, along with any reminders and updates to membership perks, renewals, etc. Make sure to tag your email as a membership email, and you can add your membership card details and other perks to keep your VIP guests informed and excited.

#3: Reservation Email

One handy tool Altru utilizes is the ability to create group sales and facility rentals for your organization. Email that uses for these utilizes more information than the usual Transactional Email: they have multiple price types, itineraries, group types, and more. So what kind of email can you send for Joey’s 8th birthday party at your organization? Are there different price types for Joey and his friends versus his mother and her friends? The reservation email is the best option!

*If you haven’t set up group sales defaults yet, Altru provides a group sales checklist that you can access by going into “Tickets” and selecting “Group sales setup.” You can also set up a reservation calendar to add constituents, set up group types, etc. 

After making a query to search for groups that show up in x amount of time–48 hours, one week, whichever you choose–the setup for this email is similar to other transactional emails. Remember, you may ask a group to check in to an event space rather than giving them eTickets, and you may need to group grid items differently. On the other hand, instead of sending all the group itineraries and whatnot, this email is great to use as a reminder email letting others know that they have a group reservation or they will go to your organization two (2) days from now. 

Summary

Now that you understand what each email entails, you can make a more informed decision on what to use when designing your emails. If you have any further questions, please let us know, and we will do our best to keep you moving forward!

You can also check the Post-visit email template, eTicket email template, and Reminder email template, which serve as your guide. 

Detaching emails from constituent records process

By

Introduction

One of the powerful tools built into the Deduper has the function of detaching emails from constituent records so the records are concise and cleaner. Sometimes, constituents have multiple emails or a different primary email, and it may be difficult to decipher which email is better to utilize in the constituent record. Going through the following logical process will help you determine the best email to choose.

Process of Detaching Emails

The Deduper Detaching Process from Data Imports is very useful as it help automate the overall process of detaching emails. Using the Download option after finding duplicates, check the box that says “Automatically mark as Detach.” Upload the data but make sure to review the file in Excel first to see if you are satisfy with the emails that about to be detached.

Step 1: Grab System Record ID and Primary Email Address.

  • We start by reading the first row from the spreadsheet to get the System Record ID of the constituent.
  • Create a query in Altru with the System Record ID to get all the email addresses found on the record:
    • If there are no email addresses found no need to remove anything. The process ends.
    • If at least one email address is found the  process continue.
  • We get the primary email address attached to the record and compare it to the one in the spreadsheet
    • Convert both emails to lowercase and compare.
    • If the emails are not the same the process ends and no email is detach.
    • If they are the same the process continues 

Step 2: Detaching emails with attached Sales Orders

  • If found no sales orders:
    • We check if we have multiple email addresses
      • If found more than one email address:
        • We look for a non primary email address and set it as the primary email address then the process continue.
      • If found only one email address, the process continue.
    • The email is detach from constituents record and the process ends.
  • If there are sales orders:
    • We get all the delivery email addresses
      • Compare each delivery email address with the primary email address
      • If the email address is the same as the primary email address its saved
        • We also store the Lookup of the sales order to restore data if needed
      • If the email address is not the same as the primary email address its ignored
    • We get all the sales orders who match the primary email address
      • If there’s no sales orders found
        • We check if constituent has multiple email address
          • If more than one email address
            • We set a non primary email as the primary email
            • We remove the attached email address and process ends
          • If there’s one email address found
            • We remove the attached email address and process ends.
      • If there are sales orders:
        • We remove the delivery email address from each sales order
          • We store the lookup ID for each order as a backup
        • Again, we check if constituent has more than one email address
          • If more than one email address
            • We set a non primary email as the primary email
            • We remove the attached email address and the process will ends.
          • If found just one email address:
            • We remove the attached email address and process ends

Summary

By seeing the logic behind what the Deduper does in detaching email addresses, you can see how the process helps clean constituent records and help run your Altru database more organized and efficient. If you have any more questions about the Deduper and how it works, please contact us!

How to set up calendar days

By

Introduction

Calendar Builder is a tool that you can use to create and customize a calendar for internal and personal use. You can also utilize this tool to modify your calendar before sharing it on your website.

When you set it up, you must consider its visual appearance. Making the days with scheduled activities be visible rather than all seven days will make it easy to look up and organize. With this, you can pull off a more sleek and direct look at what events are coming up on what days

Steps on how to set up the calendar days.

1: Go to your Social Good Software account

2: Proceed to the tool.

3: Select which one you want to edit the display date.

4: Click on Settings at the upper right side of the window.

5: Look for the option “Setup Calendar Days” in the second column of the Settings which help you change the days displayed.

6: Click on the gear icon and choose the day you want to display.

7: Don’t forget to save all the changes you made when you are ready to export it.

Summary

Having fully customize option is a great plus for your organization. We hope that you learn more about this tool and take advantage of it to customize, edit, and organize your calendar. As always, if you have any additional questions, don’t hesitate to ask us!

Digital membership cards for Altru by Blackbaud

By

Introduction

This tutorial will go over setting up digital membership cards for use on the web or a mobile device. Nowadays, museum professionals use Altru by Blackbaud to utilize administrative tools to manage their merchandising, order tickets, handle admissions, and build a membership database. Additionally, Altru makes it easier to manage program support and track key performance metrics for stakeholders, and it offers fundraising and donor management, nonprofit marketing, customer relationship management, and event planning. 

Because Altru is web-based, museum professionals access their information from any device with an internet connection, reducing the paper trail, and data entry automation, giving greater record accuracy and unlocking the true potential of administrative automation. 

The time of paper membership cards has undoubtedly passed: digital membership cards reduce the waiting time for the members and the work of the museum workers. The card is now in peoples’ smartphones, giving convenience to both parties involved.

Our focus is on designing these digital membership cards so they display useful information, delivering a unified and enhanced experience for your members. We will go over three types of cards: the Web version and the Print at Home version, which uses the same design as the Web version; the Apple Wallet version; and the Google Pay version.

Web & Print at Home

Front of card
Digital Membership Cards

A web version of the card is accessible on any device that has internet access; this is useful for people who haven’t set up their phone’s wallet function, with a built-in function to print at home. Requirements are as follows:

Front of the Card

Please note: supported upload formats include PNG and JPG only.

  • Background design of 450 x 250
  • Mind the “rotate card” icon found in the top right corner
  • Complete freedom of design with the exception of the merge field located at the bottom of the card
  • Merge Fields
    • Choose any color for the merge field section, including transparent
    • Contain 1-4 selected fields
    • If the field is empty, the card will display “N/A”
    • If the value is longer than 20 characters, additional characters will be replaced with an ellipsis “…” (ex. “Kimberly Thompson Jo…”)

Back of the Card

Please note: supported upload formats include PNG and JPG only.

  • Background design of 450 x 250
  • Be mindful of the “rotate card” icon found in the top right corner
  • Complete freedom of design with the exception of the merge field located at the bottom of the card
  • Be mindful of the added barcode–adding one is mandatory, and location cannot change
  • Merge Fields
    • Unlike the front, no background color selection for the merge field section
    • Contain 1-4 selected fields
    • If the field is empty, the card will display “N/A”
    • If the value is longer than 20 characters, additional characters will be replaced with an ellipsis “…” (ex. “Kimberly Thompson Jo…”)

Apple Wallet

This membership card format displays the membership card and its features using Apple iOS’s built-in wallet functionality. One of the benefits of Apple’s Wallet design is that it is possible to create custom fields, such as stating specific member benefits for different tiers. Requirements are as follows:

Front of the Card

Please note: supported upload formats include PNG and JPG only.

  • Logo image size of 320 x 100, found on the top left of the card
  • Hero image size of 1125 x 432, found in the center of the card
  • You may freely select the background color
  • You may add as many fields as desired, but keep in mind the size of the card will lengthen to accommodate the space needed
  • If the field is empty, the card will display “N/A”
  • If the value is longer than 20 characters, additional characters will be replaced with an ellipsis “…” (ex. “Kimberly Thompson Jo…”)

Back of the Card

Please note: supported upload formats include PNG and JPG only.

  • The background color is the same as the front of the card
  • You may have any number of fields enabled
  • You have the ability to set up a custom field with customized static values, such as member benefits
  • If the field is empty, the card will display “N/A”
  • If the value is longer than 20 characters, additional characters will be replaced with an ellipsis “…” (ex. “Kimberly Thompson Jo…”)

Google Pay

Digital Membership Cards
Digital Membership Cards

Similar to the Apple Wallet, the Google Pay membership card format provides ease of access by displaying a patron’s membership card on an Android device, and it has the ability to create customized fields. Google Pay’s card differs by making the entire card one-sided; the “back” of the card is actually regarded as the bottom of the card, so the user scrolls down to view the additional information instead of flipping the card over. Requirements are as follows:

Front of the Card

Please note: supported upload formats include PNG and JPG only.

  • Logo image size of 660 x 660, visible at the top center of the card
    • ATTENTION: Incorrect values stated in the video; this is the correct value!
    • Plain white logos will not show up since Google Pay’s default logo background is white; colored logos–or logos that contrast with white–required
  • Hero image size of 1032 x 330, visible in the center of the card
  • Customize background color
  • Barcode required and found on the bottom center of the card’s front
  • Enable as many fields as desired, but keep in mind the size of the card will lengthen to accommodate the space needed
  • If the field is empty, the card will display “N/A”
  • Also, If the value is longer than 20 characters, additional characters will be replaced with an ellipsis “…” (ex. “Kimberly Thompson Jo…”)

Bottom of the Card

Please note: supported upload formats include PNG and JPG only.

  • Unlimited number of fields enabled
  • Ability to set up a custom field with customized static values, useful for features like specific member benefits and perks
  • If the field is empty, the card will display “N/A”
  • If the value is longer than 20 characters, additional characters will be replaced with an ellipsis “…” (ex. “Kimberly Thompson Jo…”)

Summary

Digital Membership cards help speed up the process for those who wish to receive extra benefits as they frequent your business, and we hope to provide you with an expansive set of tools to use so it can be easy and practical to distribute these cards to your members. As always, If you have any questions concerning the video or any other steps in creating these cards, feel free to contact us at any time! To use templates for building your logos, please click on the link below.


Download Card Templates