Every Altru login is tied to an email address. Altru is a Blackbaud cloud product, so staff sign in with a Blackbaud ID, and a Blackbaud ID is built on an email address the person can actually receive mail at. That one fact causes most front-of-house login headaches: seasonal cashiers, weekend volunteers, and part-time admissions staff often don’t have an organizational email account, so someone creates a shared “frontdesk@” login and everyone uses it.
It works until it doesn’t. Here’s how to get each front-of-house person their own login without blowing up your email budget, and what to settle before you start.
Why a shared front desk login causes trouble
A shared login feels efficient, but it quietly removes several things you’ll want later:
- Accountability for sales. Altru records which user entered a transaction. With one shared account, every sale, refund, and comp shows the same name, so you can’t tell which cashier did what.
- Clean drawer reconciliation. If your end-of-shift process relies on knowing who ran which transactions, a shared user turns that into guesswork.
- Safe offboarding. When a seasonal employee leaves, you can’t revoke their access without changing the password for everyone still on shift.
- Sign-in verification. Blackbaud ID can require multi-factor sign-in. When verification codes all go to one shared inbox or phone, opening the desk depends on whoever has that device.
Individual logins fix all four. The only real question is where those email addresses come from.
Three ways to get an email address for each staff member
1. Give them an organizational mailbox
This is the cleanest option. If you’re on Google Workspace or Microsoft 365, check whether your nonprofit plan includes free or low-cost licenses for frontline or seasonal workers. A real mailbox means password resets, verification codes, and Blackbaud notices all land somewhere the person controls, and you can shut it off on their last day.
2. Use aliases or forwarding addresses on your domain
If full mailboxes aren’t in the budget, create addresses like jsmith@yourmuseum.org as aliases or forwards that deliver to the person’s personal inbox or to a supervisor’s mailbox. The login is still unique to that person and still on a domain you control, so you can remove it when they leave.
One caution: some sign-in systems handle aliases and “plus addressing” (frontdesk+jsmith@…) differently. Before rolling this out to a whole seasonal crew, create one test account and confirm the Blackbaud ID invitation, sign-in, and any verification emails arrive where you expect. If anything looks off, ask Blackbaud support whether that address style is supported.
3. Use personal email addresses
This is allowed in the sense that a Blackbaud ID can be created on any working email address, and it’s the fastest route. The tradeoff is control. The account belongs to an address you don’t own, so offboarding depends entirely on you removing or deactivating the user in Altru promptly. If you go this way, write it into your separation checklist so it actually happens.
Setting up the user in Altru
Once each person has an address, an Altru administrator adds them as an application user and invites them through the Blackbaud ID process. The person accepts the invitation from that email, sets their own password, and signs in. Blackbaud’s help documentation walks through the current invitation screens, which change from time to time, so follow that rather than an old internal cheat sheet.
The part that matters most for front of house is the security role you assign. Altru controls what each user can see and do through roles. A cashier usually needs daily sales and the ability to look up members and constituents. They rarely need revenue adjustments, batch entry, membership program setup, or broad query access. Build or reuse a role scoped to the desk, test it with a dummy user, and assign that role to every new front-of-house hire. Supervisors who handle refunds or overrides can get a slightly broader role.
Before you add a dozen new users
- Check your user licensing. Depending on your agreement with Blackbaud, the number of Altru users may be limited or priced per seat. Confirm with your account representative before onboarding a summer crew, so you aren’t surprised mid-season.
- Plan for shared devices. Front desk computers are shared even when logins aren’t. Make signing out at shift change a habit, and set screen locks short enough that the next cashier can’t ride on the previous person’s session.
- Decide who handles lockouts. Password resets and verification issues go through Blackbaud ID, so the person needs access to their email to fix them. Make sure at least one on-site supervisor knows the process for weekends.
- Write an offboarding step. Deactivate or remove the Altru user on the employee’s last day, and disable the alias or mailbox if you created one.
Quick answers
Can two people share one Blackbaud ID if we’re careful?
Technically they can type the same credentials, but you lose the audit trail and the ability to remove one person’s access. Treat it as a stopgap at most.
Can a front desk user log in without any email address at all?
Not that we’re aware of. Sign-in runs through Blackbaud ID, which is email based. If you think your setup is an exception, confirm with Blackbaud support before planning around it.
Do volunteers need logins too?
Only if they process transactions or look up records in Altru. Volunteers who greet or direct visitors usually don’t, and keeping them out of Altru keeps your user count and your data exposure smaller.
