Address Finder
To help gauge incorrect or out-of-date address information, Raiser's Edge NXT automatically compares your constituent records against United States Postal Service (USPS) sources. In Tools, Data health, under Scorecard, you can view the Address health score for the general accuracy of your address information. The more complete, accurate, and current your addresses, the better score they receive.
To help improve your Address health score, you can enable Address Finder to run automatically every 90 days. When Address Finder runs, it:
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Compares your constituents' names and primary addresses against USPS NCOALink and Coding Accuracy Support System (CASS) certification
Note: Address Finder only processes a constituent’s primary address. Currently, seasonal addresses are not included in runs of the service.
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Updates any inaccurate or out-of-date addresses
When Address Finder updates new addresses, they appear in the USPS-standardized format, with a single address line, USPS-standard abbreviations, and a ZIP+4 format:
123 Main St Apt 123
Anytown, CO 10101-1234
Note: The format of existing addresses will not be updated by the Address Finder process.
Tip: To enable Address Finder to run, select Get started under Address Finder to set up how it should handle your addresses and to acknowledge Blackbaud can process your data. For more information, see Address Finder Setup.
When you enable Address Finder, under Address Finder, you can view and manage its most recent results and track its next and previous updates.
Tip: To download a PDF of the most recent Address Finder results, under Most recent update, select NCOA Summary Report.
Under Most recent update, the Submitted total displays how many addresses Address Finder processed during its most recent run. By default, Address Finder processes all your constituents' primary addresses.
Note: To process only specific constituents, select Settings under Address Finder to choose who to include. For more information, see Address Finder Settings.
To ensure meaningful results, Address Finder automatically excludes:
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Constituent records marked as Inactive or Deceased
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Primary addresses outside of the United States
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Primary addresses with empty address lines or no city and state
Note: If a constituent's primary address isn't valid, Address Finder selects No valid addresses on their record in database view.
Note: If you previously ran Address Finder in the database view, it no longer tracks record counts. To keep your addresses current and USPS-compliant, Address Finder now automatically processes your entire database.
Under Most recent update, the Moved total displays how many constituents returned new addresses in the most recent run. To view a list of these constituents, including their submitted and updated addresses, select this total.
When Address Finder finds a new address, it automatically updates the constituent's record to:
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Add the new address, marked as Primary and with a Valid from date of when the update ran, and an Info source of AddressFinder
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Mark the new address as Send mail to this address in the database view and clear Do not mail in webview
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Clear Has no valid address on the constituent's record if the constituent previously had no valid address
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Mark the former address as Do not mail, with a Valid to date of when the update ran
Note: In the database view, Address Finder retains any "care of" (c/o) or "attention" (attn:) information or other details saved in Line 2 of the former address, but doesn't include it with the new address.
If the submitted address is shared with other records, such as the constituent's spouse, Address Finder automatically:
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Adds the new address to those records, with a Valid from date of when the update ran, and an Info source of AddressFinder. If the submitted address was marked as Primary, Address Finder also marks the new address as such.
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Marks the submitted address as Do not mail, with a Valid to date of when the update ran.
Tip: By default, Address Finder retains the submitted address type, such as Home or Business. To apply a different address type such as Former address, select Settings under Address Finder and choose which to use. For more information, see Address Finder Settings.
Under Most recent update, the Lost total displays how many constituents Address Finder identified as having moved with no forwarding address during the most recent run. For example, Address Finder may not have a forwarding address if no new ZIP Code was found, or if the constituent returns multiple new addresses.
Note: Addresses returned as "General delivery" are not marked as Lost.
To view a list of these constituents, including their submitted address and the reason it was lost, select this total. To keep these constituents engaged, consider reaching out through other contact information to request new address information.
If Address Finder identifies an address as Lost, it:
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Updates its Valid to date to when the update ran
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Marks it as Do not mail
To help ensure the deliverability of your mail, Address Finder runs your constituents' primary addresses through CASS certification and applies any updates to improve their accuracy. Under Most recent update, the Enhanced total displays how many constituents' addresses weren't new or lost but updated with a CASS enhancement — such as ZIP+4, Delivery Point Code (DPC), carrier route (CART) code, or line-of-travel (LOT) sequence — during the most recent run.
When Address Finder runs, it may return addresses with an NCOA error in addition to a change or CASS enhancement. If Address Finder returns errors during its most recent run, under Most recent update, the Exceptions total displays how many were found.
To review these errors, select Exceptions file to download a comma-separated values (CSV) file that includes details about the constituent, their original and new addresses, and the NCOA error code and footnote. With these details, you may be able to identify inaccuracies to resolve for future updates.
Under Next update, you can view when Address Finder will next run. By default, this is 90 days after the most recent update.
Note: When you first enable Address Finder and submit your Processing Acknowledgment Form, the update runs at the next available time, which you can view from the tile.
To reschedule your Address Finder run, select Reschedule Address Finder run. You can reschedule jobs 90 days after a successful run or within 365 days from today's date.
To help track the impact of Address Finder, under Update history, you can view the results of previous runs. In addition to the Submitted, Moved, Lost, and Enhancements statistics, you can also view, under Percent moved, how many of an update's submitted addresses — as a percentage — returned new ones.
To enable Address Finder to run, your organization must agree that Blackbaud can submit your data for review to identify inaccurate or out-of-date addresses.
To submit addresses for NCOALink and CASS certification, USPS requires that you acknowledge Blackbaud can process your data. To first enable Address Finder, or to update your organization's information, save and submit the Processing Acknowledgment Form (PAF) to USPS.
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In Tools, Data health, select Update agreement or Agreement.
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Under Organization, enter your organization's name and address.
Warning: For Address Finder to run successfully, enter a physical address, not a post office (PO) box.
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In the NAICS code field, enter your organization's North American Industry Classification System (NAICS) code. If you don't know your code, you can select to look it up.
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Under Contact, enter information about your organization's list owner, the person responsible for making sure mailing addresses are accurate.
Warning: If you don't enter a real name or job title, the acknowledgment will be invalid.
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Acknowledge that Blackbaud can process your data and that you reviewed the terms and conditions.
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To submit your PAF to USPS, select Save .
Note: When you save your PAF for the first time, Address Finder automatically runs that night.