This document provides definitions and descriptions for terms and features used in the Raiser's Edge donor database. It explains what different note types indicate, such as notes containing a donor's patient history, business information, or family history. It also describes how actions taken in the database will be categorized and documented for future reference. Key information about a donor's engagement with an organization can be found by searching specific note types and action identifiers.

1. Research Terms Glossary
Profiles
1. “N/A” “Not indicated” “None indicated” – if any of the following phrases are in a
profile it means the particular information was not found for the prospect or isn’t
applicable to the prospect.
Raiser’s Edge
Notes Tab
1. Patient Family Information – this is the note where you will find information about a
prospect’s patient family history, e.g. treatment details and location, etc. The Note Type
will read: Grateful Family/HIPAA Compliance. The Notepad Description will read:
Patient Family Information.
2. Business Information for profile – this is the note where you will find a synopiss of a
prospect’s employment history. This information is used to populate the Business
Information section of the BI profile report. The Note Type will read: Research Notes.
The Notepad Description will read: Business Information for profile.
3. Family Information for profile – this is the note that will populate the Family History
section of the BI profile report. It will detail all familial relations identified by the
researcher and give detailed family history. This note is locked and can only be
updated/deleted by a reseacher or database administrator. The Note Type will read:
Biographical Profile (Research use only). The Notepad Description will read: Family
Information for profile.
4. Briefings – bios are called Briefings in Raiser’s Edge. A bio will be a four to five
sentence paragraph that generally details someone’s employment and education history
along with any other pertinent information that may be unique to the prospect.
Prospect Tab
1. TCH – Capacity – the notes on any capacity rating that I complete will begin as follows:
“Formulas calculating….” and then list out the actual sources that make up the rating, e.g.
real estate, stocks, foundation assets, income, etc.

2. Actions Tab
1. Action Notepad Description - any action I enter in to Raiser’s Edge will generally state
in the Action Notepad Description the tab in Raiser’s Edge the action applies to, e.g. Bio
1 update, Notes tab update, etc. This way if you are looking for my actions and want
only those that relate to a certain tab they’re easily identifible when you land on the
Actions tab.
2. Action Attributes – when you open or create a new action you will see the tabs General,
Attributes, and Notes across the top. If you click on Attributes for any action I’ve entered
you will often see the Category type Requesting MGO, your name in the Description box,
the date of the action, and the Comments box populated with a unique identifier or phrase
(DO NOT DELETE THIS!!).
3. Action Notes – generally if you are looking for information about what I’ve completed
and/or done in regards to a prospect or their Raiser’s Edge record it will be contained in
my action notes. My notes are detailed and to the point and are a good place to start if
you are looking for the aformentioned information.
4. Actions Query – when I complete a project or research for you that requires two or more
actions, I will run an actions query and send you a Research Actions Report which details
all actions I’ve conducted to complete your research request/project. I use the above
mentioned unique identifier or phrase detailed under Action Notes to pull this query—it
is a free text and that’s why it should never be deleted.
The title of the query and the Research Actions Report will always be the same. Thus, if
you need another copy of the report or simply want to see my actions related to a
particular research request/project you can go to the Query tab in Raiser’s Edge and type
in the title of the query in the Quick Find box and the query will come up.