Add Correspondence Processes

You can create correspondence processes to promote your organization’s mission or solicit gifts. With a correspondence process, you can automate standard processes such as the collection of data for mail merges and the selection of addresses to include. When you create a correspondence process, you specify the selection of constituents to receive the correspondence and the letter to use with the correspondence. You can also specify constituents in the selection to exclude from the correspondence.

1. From Marketing and Communications, select Manage correspondence. The Manage Correspondence page appears.

2. Select the Correspondence List tab.

3. Under Correspondence processes, select Add. The Add correspondence process screen appears. For information about the items on this screen, see Add Correspondence Process Screen.

4. Enter a unique name and description to identify the correspondence. For example, enter a description to explain the reason for the correspondence and its recipients.

5. To generate a document with the correspondence such as a letter or solicitation, in the Letter template field, select Choose file. The Open screen appears so you can browse to and select the document file to use. To personalize the document with information specific to the selected recipients, select a document that includes merge fields. The selected document can also include envelopes designed in Word. To remove a selected document, select Clear.

   Note: If you use Microsoft Word 2007, you can use the Blackbaud Communications add-in to easily select and insert merge fields with information from the database while you create a document in Word.

6. To generate mailing labels with the correspondence, in the Mailing label template field, select Choose file. The Open screen appears so you can browse to and select the label document file to use. To remove a selected document, select Clear.

   Note: To generate only a comma-separated values (*.csv) file of the merge fields and constituents selected for the correspondence such as for a mailing house, leave the Letter template and Mailing label template fields blank.

7. In the Output type field, select whether to generate correspondence using fields from an output format or fields from an export definition. The program defines the fields to export for each output format. You define the fields to export for an export definition.

8. When you select Output format, the Output format field appears. In this field, select the type of correspondence output to create with the process. The selected output format determines the address used with the correspondence. We recommend the selected output format match the output format selected for the header file used with the process.

   If you select Formatted mail correspondence, you can set the processing options for the correspondence, such as the formats of the addresses and names generated for the output. To set the processing options, select the pencil. The Processing options screen appears. For information about how to set the options and formats for the correspondence process, see Set Format Options for a Correspondence Process.

9. When you select Export definition, the Export definition field appears. To select an export definition, select the binoculars. A search screen appears for you to add or select an existing export definition to use for correspondence. You define the fields to export for an export definition. For more information, see the Create Export Definitions section in the help file.

10. Under Criteria, select the binoculars in the Mail to field. The Selection Search screen to select the constituents to receive the correspondence.

    To specify additional constituents in the selection to not receive the correspondence, select Exclusions. The Exclusions screen appears. For information about how to exclude constituents, see Set Exclusions for a Correspondence Process.

11. Under Results, select how to handle the constituents selected to receive the correspondence.

    • To track the constituents’ inclusion in the correspondence process, select Update constituent record with mailing and select the correspondence code to describe the correspondence. In the Comments field, enter any additional information about the correspondence. When you run the process, the program automatically adds the correspondence code on the Communications pages of the constituents included in the process, along with any comments entered.

    • To create a selection of the constituents included in the correspondence process when you run the process, select Create constituent selection from results. In the Selection name field, enter a name to help identify the selection. To replace any existing selection with the same name when the program creates the selection, select Overwrite existing selection.

12. Select Save. If you select to associate a Word document file with the correspondence, the program saves the document in your database. The correspondence process status page appears so you can manage the process. For information about the status page, see Correspondence Process Status Page.