Book Image

Using CiviCRM - Second Edition

By : Erik Hommel, Joseph Murray, Brian P Shaughnessy
Book Image

Using CiviCRM - Second Edition

By: Erik Hommel, Joseph Murray, Brian P Shaughnessy

Overview of this book

CiviCRM provides a powerful toolbox of resources to help organizations manage relationships with constituents. It is free, open source, web-based, and geared specifically to meet the constituent relationship management needs of the not-for-profit sector. Beginning with broader questions about how your organization is structured, which existing workflows are critical to your operations, and the overarching purpose of a centralized CRM, the book proceeds step by step through configuring CiviCRM, understanding the choices when setting up the system, importing data, and exploring the breadth of tools available throughout the system. You will see how to best use this software to handle event registrations, accept and track contributions, manage paid and free memberships and subscriptions, segment contacts, send bulk e-mails with open and click-through tracking, manage outreach campaigns, and set up case management workflows that match your organization’s roles and rules. With specific emphasis on helping implementers ask the right questions, consider key principals when setting up the system, and understand usage through case studies and examples, the book comprehensively reviews the functionality of CiviCRM and the opportunities it provides. With this book, you can help your organization better achieve its mission as a charity, industry association, professional society, political advocacy group, community group, government agency, or other similar organization and position yourself to become a power user who efficiently and effectively navigates the system.
Table of Contents (20 chapters)
Using CiviCRM - Second Edition
Credits
About the Authors
www.PacktPub.com
Preface
Index

Summary


In this chapter, we took a look at cases by first understanding what they are, reviewing potential uses that may not be immediately obvious, and contrasting their benefits/drawbacks/purpose compared to standard activities. We then defined the key terminology and concepts related to cases, namely case activities, timelines, case roles, and case resources, and walked through the construction of a case type configuration. We even tested and began using the newly configured case type, noting key things to look for and review. We discussed the manage case screen, where most of the ongoing case work will be conducted, and reviewed the tools available for monitoring and managing cases through the dashboard, search, and reporting tools.

In the next chapter, we will turn our attention toward CiviCRM's grant management tools, which can be used for organizations disseminating grants and those that need to track details for grantees.