Consent

Tip: Don't see this yet? No need to worry. Expect its wider release in a future update.

Whether it’s to comply with regulatory guidelines or simply build positive relationships, it’s important to ask constituents which types of communications they want to receive and how — and then make sure to honor their preferences. For example, a constituent may prefer to receive all communications through email, or event invitations by mail and only newsletters through email. You can manage a constituent’s consent history — including which categories of communications and channels they opted in or out of — on their record under Consent.

If you configured consent business rules in the database view, solicit codes are updated automatically on constituent records when consent records are added. To learn more, see Configure Consent Business Rules.

Note: Does your organization process personal data for people in the European Union? If so, you may be subject to General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR). For a starting point with your organization’s legal counsel, visit the Are You Subject to GDPR? infographic.

If you need to add consent to a constituent record as a one-off action — such as when consent is collected over the phone or via a reply card — you can update consent manually on the constituent record.

Warning: You must map channels and categories in the database view before you can add consent records. To learn more, see Configure Consent Business Rules.

  1. Under Consent on a constituent record, select Edit consent.

  2. Select the channel, such as mail or phone.

  3. For each channel, select how the constituent responded to a request for consent:

    • Opt-in if the constituent consents to receive communications through this channel.

    • Opt-out if the constituent does not consent to receive communications through this channel.

    • Select neither if the constituent did not provide a response to the request for consent.

  4. If you use communication categories, choose which categories the constituent’s response applies to. You must opt-in to a channel before you can opt in to its categories.

    Note: You can manage Consent Categories in Tables. For more information, see Tables.

  5. Select Next.

  6. Select when the consent update should start.

  7. In the Source field, choose how you received the consent response from the constituent, such as through the website or mail.

    Note: You can manage Consent Source in Tables. For more information, see Tables.

  8. Under Consent statement, enter the statement the constituent responded to, such as “Would you like to receive emails from us?”.

  9. Under Privacy policy, enter a link to the privacy notice on your website.

  10. Select Finish.

Under Consent, select View consent history to view a constituent’s history of consent responses.

  • From the consent record’s menu, select to edit or delete the consent record.

  • Select Columns to select which details to view, such as the consent statement, privacy notice, source, and date it was added.

  • Select Filters to focus on specific consent records, such as the channel and category filters.

  • Select Export to download a .CSV file of the constituent’s consent history.

To keep a complete history of all updates, we recommend that you do not delete consent records. However, if you added consent incorrectly or to the wrong constituent, an admin can delete the consent record. To delete a consent record, from Consent, View Consent History on the constituent record, select Delete from the menu of the consent record.

Tip: With applications such as Blackbaud NetCommunity or Online Express, you can collect consent from forms on your website and download the responses as constituent consent records in the database view. To learn more about how to manage consent in the database view, see Manage Constituent Consent History.