“Mr. and Mrs. Robert J. Hale” is a fine addressee line. It is not what the Hales want engraved on the donor wall. They want “Bob and Linda Hale,” or “The Hale Family,” or “In memory of Margaret Hale.” And one of your longtime donors wants to be listed as “Anonymous” in the annual report while still getting a thank-you letter addressed by name.
That gap between how you mail someone and how you credit them publicly is what a recognition name is for. Altru doesn’t hand you a single ready-made recognition workflow, so most organizations build one from pieces that already exist. Below is how to set that up so the name a donor asked for is the name that actually prints.
Decide where the recognition name will live
There are two common homes for it in Altru. Both work; the right choice depends on how you report.
Option 1: A name format
Constituent records carry name formats (addressee and salutation styles). If your setup allows you to add your own name format types, you can create one called something like “Recognition name” and enter custom text for each donor who has a preference.
- Good for: keeping all “how do we refer to this person” choices in one place, next to addressee and salutation.
- Watch for: whether your queries and exports can pull a specific name format type cleanly. Test this before you commit, because a recognition name you can’t get into a report isn’t much use.
Option 2: A constituent attribute
A text attribute named “Recognition name” (and, if you want, a separate yes/no attribute for “List as anonymous”) is simple to add, simple to query, and easy for staff to understand.
- Good for: annual report and donor wall lists built from queries, and for flagging anonymity separately from the name itself.
- Watch for: attributes are free text. Without a short style guide, you’ll get “Smith Family,” “The Smith family,” and “Smiths” for three different donors.
I’m not certain every Altru configuration lets you add custom name format types, and the details of what each one exposes in queries can vary. Check in a sandbox or ask Blackbaud support before you pick. Whichever you choose, pick one and document it. Having recognition names in both places guarantees they drift apart.
Write a short recognition style guide
This is the part that saves the most time later. One page is enough:
- Default rule: if no recognition name is on file, what prints? Most organizations fall back to first and last name for individuals and a defined household format for couples.
- Households: decide whether gifts are recognized at the household level or the individual level, and store the recognition name on that same record. Mixing the two is how one couple ends up listed twice.
- Anonymous donors: keep anonymity as its own flag, not as the word “Anonymous” typed into the name. That way your thank-you letters still use their real name while public lists hide it.
- Tribute gifts: “In memory of” and “In honor of” listings belong to the gift’s tribute, not the donor’s recognition name. Don’t overwrite a donor’s preference to accommodate a single memorial gift.
- Formatting: capitalization, use of “and” vs. “&,” titles (Dr., Rev.), and whether “Family” or “The” is allowed.
Capture the name when the donor tells you
Recognition preferences usually arrive in the least structured ways: a note on a pledge card, a reply to an acknowledgment email, a comment to a gift officer at an event. A few habits help:
- Give gift processors one place to enter it (the field you chose above) and make it part of the gift entry checklist for gifts above your recognition threshold.
- If you collect gifts online, check whether your donation form can ask “How would you like to be listed?” If it can’t map that answer to your recognition field directly, have it land somewhere staff review during batch processing, and move it over there.
- Add a dated note when a donor changes their preference, so nobody “corrects” it back to the old version.
Build the recognition list from a query
Create a constituent or revenue query that returns donors in your giving window and level, along with:
- the recognition name field,
- the anonymous flag,
- a fallback name (first/last or household name) for anyone with no recognition name,
- the giving total or level that determines where they appear.
Export it, apply the fallback for blanks, and sort by level. Then do the step that’s easy to skip: have someone read every name out loud before it goes to the printer or engraver. Typos on a donor wall are expensive and very public.
Keep it current
Recognition names go stale. People marry, divorce, and pass away, and a donor who wanted anonymity five years ago may now want their name listed. Once a year, before your annual report deadline, run the query for everyone with a recognition name on file and spot-check it against recent notes and deceased flags. For major donors, a gift officer confirming “Is this still how you’d like to be listed?” is a welcome touch, not a nuisance.
Quick answers
Can the recognition name differ from the addressee?
Yes, and it usually should. The addressee is for envelopes; the recognition name is for public credit. Keep them in separate fields.
What if a couple gives from two separate records?
Decide which record holds the shared recognition name, and either combine the giving at the household level in your query or mark one record as the one to list. Otherwise they’ll appear twice.
Should “Anonymous” be typed into the recognition name?
Better not. Use a separate flag so your public lists can suppress the name while your acknowledgments and stewardship still use it.
