Action Categories and Types

To describe the channel of an interaction — such as Meeting , Phone call , Email , or Mail — or intent of an action — such as Task/Other , track its category.

As you build and maintain relationships with a constituent, you'll interact with them in various ways, such as by phone, face-to-face meetings, mailings, and email. To ensure an appropriate amount of communication with a constituent and to track the impact of those interactions, we recommend you plan and track these actions over the course of your relationship.

Tip: To increase the likelihood that an interaction results in a gift, have friends or associates of the constituent interact as fundraisers. For information, see Fundraisers.

The successful cultivation of a relationship or gift requires activity other than just communication with a constituent. For example, to prepare for an ask or initial interaction, you may analyze the constituent's wealth screening or identify who can help with introductions. To track and remember these miscellaneous tasks, you can manage them as actions with a category of Task/Other.

To further describe actions, your organization can also configure — in the database view — types based on the categories. For example, for a category of Mailing, you may set up additional types of Birthday and Inquiry.

To edit an action's category or type, select Edit action on its record or from its menu in a list of actions, choose its new category or type, and select Save.

Note: You can manage available types from Actions in Tables. For more information, see Tables.