Add Households

Your organization may find it important to track households. A household contains multiple individuals who live together at the same address. A household can contain any number of individuals, but an individual can belong to only one household. The record of a household can stand on its own with no related individuals, or it can include multiple related individuals such as husband, wife, son, and daughter. When you add a household, you can enter information about the household and select the members of the household. Each member of the household must be a constituent in your database.

1. From Constituents, select Add a household. The Add a household screen appears. For information about the items on this screen, see Add a Household Screen.

2. Select the Details tab.

3. Select whether to use the standard household name format or a custom name. To help further identify the household, enter a description.

4. If the household requests to donate anonymously, select Household gives anonymously.

5. Under Household contact information, select the type of address to use as the primary address for the household and enter the address information.

   If the household requests that you not send mail to the address, select Do not send mail to this address and select the reason why the household does not want to receive mail at the address.

   Note: If the houehold includes an existing individual constituent, you can copy the individual’s address to the household from the Household members tab rather than enter the address manually on the Details tab.

6. With Data Tune-Up, you can use an address validation service to verify the address entered exists. When you use the address validation service, the program updates missing or incomplete information such as the (Undefined variable: BB_Variables.ZIP Code_UC) and standardizes the street address.

   To not include the address entered when your organization runs the address validation process, select Omit from validation.

   To run the address validation process for the address now, select Validate. The program updates the address fields accordingly. If the program cannot validate the address, a message appears to ask whether to search for the address. To select the address from the address validation results, select Yes. For information about how to validate a single address, see “Validate an Address for a Constituent” on page 29.

7. In the Phone type field, select the type of phone number to use as the primary number for the household. In the Phone number field, enter the phone number to use to contact the household.

8. If the household requests that you not call the number, select Do not call this phone number and select the reason why the number is not to be used, such as Donor preference.

9. In the Email type field, select the type of email address to use as the primary email address for the household. In the Email address field, enter the email address to use to contact the household.

   If the household requests that you not send email to the address, select Do not send email to this address.

10. If the household has a website, in the Website field, enter its complete web address.

11. Under Household contact source, select the information source for the contact information, such as Family member.

    Note: Sources help you track additional information about the reasons for new or changed contact information. The information source appears next to the new or updated contact information on the Contact tab of the constituent.

12. To add information about the members of the household, select the Household members tab.

    Tip: To not associate any individuals with the household, leave the Household members tab blank.

13. Under Primary household contact, select whether the primary contact for the household is an existing individual or a new individual.

    • If you select Search existing individuals, search for and select the primary contact for the household. For information about the search screen, see Constituent Search.

      To copy the contact information for the existing individual to the household record and replace any contact information entered on the Details tab, select Copy contact information to household.

    • If you select Add a new individual, enter the name, title, and suffix of the primary contact. To use the address information entered for the household as the address information for the new individual, select Copy household contact information.

14. To add another member to the household, under Household member 2, select whether the second member is an existing individual or a new individual.

    • If you select Search existing individual, search for and select the household member. For information about the search screen, see Constituent Search.

    • If you select Add a new individual, enter the name, title, and suffix of the household member. To use the address information entered for the household as the address information for the new individual, select Copy household contact information.

      Under Relationship with primary, select the association the primary contact and household member have with each other, the start and end dates of the relationship, and whether the relation is the spouse of the primary contact.

      Note: When you add a household, you can add only two household members. To add additional household members, select the Members tab of the household record. For information about this tab, see Group or Household Members.

15. Select Save. The record of the constituent household appears. For information about the items on a constituent household record, see Constituent Household Record.