Orientation Training (Free)

by Joel Kristenson18. April 2022 08:13

Take advantage of our free orientation training in order to get new users up to speed on how to:

- Navigate the application
- Add new contact records
- Enter contributions
- Create and save custom searches and reports (formats)
- Create and save thank you letter templates

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Office Closure for Good Friday

by Joel Kristenson14. April 2022 12:32

Our office will be closed tomorrow afternoon (4/15) for Good Friday.

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Updated Help Video - Learn How to Write Contribution Thank You Letters

by Joel Kristenson13. April 2022 07:36

Mark has been hard at work updating our help videos on YouTube.  Check out the latest video on how to write contribution thank you lettershttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_O4PXrfBffY

Tip: subscribe to our channel to stay up-to-date as new videos are released.

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New Help Video -- Learn How to Build Custom Search Queries

by Joel Kristenson16. March 2022 08:20

New help video -- learn how to utilize our powerful search engine to build custom queries: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m3xgkhDq0yA

You can subscribe to our YouTube Channel to stay up-to-date on the latest videos that we publish: https://www.youtube.com/c/TrailBlazerSoftware/

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Building a Default Format

by Joel Kristenson3. March 2022 08:16

Formatting (reporting) is one of the most important tools in your Trail Blazer CRM.  It allows you to quickly analyze data that is important to you.  We highly recommend reading through the article and watching the videos below, as they will show you how to save your own *default format* for future use.

Build and Save a Default Format: https://www.trailblz.com/kb/?action=view&kb=272&cat=0&qq=format

Video Playlist - Reporting: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLgwwHL9t2abT6S0U8ePW8YzXMBgNjC3YM

Please call our support team if you need a hand: 1-866-909-8700

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Upgrading from Version 7 to Version 8

by Joel Kristenson7. February 2022 08:08

Important: if you haven't yet upgraded from version 7 to version 8, you'll want to do so soon.  There are many important bug fixes, performance enhancements, and software upgrades that are included in version 8.

To see what version you are on, look in the very upper-left of the application.  If it starts with a 7, you'll want to go through the steps in this video: 
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TD0DujGGsX0

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Year End Tax Season

by Joel Kristenson13. January 2022 10:50

For our nonprofit customers, it's that time of the year again.  The resources below will provide a nice refresher on how to create and send a year-end tax statement.
Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MUVSUTciwaU
Article: https://www.trailblz.com/kb/?action=view&kb=313&cat=0&qq=tax

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Two Tips: Cycle Updates & Microsoft Word Integration

by Joel Kristenson4. January 2022 13:48

Happy New Year!

Here are two quick tips:

- Many organizations will need to update your default calendar cycle in the database: https://www.trailblz.com/kb/?action=view&kb=312&cat=0&qq=cycle

- We recently put out an integration with Microsoft Word for mail-merge purposes.  This video shows how it works: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qhxj0ztvUAc

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Office Hours for Christmas and New Years

by Joel Kristenson13. December 2021 11:52

Our offices will be closed Friday afternoon (12/24) and all day Monday (12/27).  The same will be true for Friday afternoon (12/31) and Monday (all day) (1/3).

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Wealth Screening with DonorSearch

by Joel Kristenson29. November 2021 09:41

We want to remind everyone about our latest software integration with DonorSearch.  "DonorSearch gives you actionable insights, giving history and wealth intelligence that connects more people to your cause."  Learn more here.

Special Trail Blazer Pricing: https://www.trailblz.com/Support/AdditionalServices

How to link DonorSearch with your Trail Blazer account: https://www.trailblz.com/kb/?action=view&kb=1388&cat=0&qq=donor

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Office Hours for Thanksgiving

by Joel Kristenson19. November 2021 14:50

Our office will be closed next Thursday and Friday (the 25th & 26th).

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Upgrade Trail Blazer Version 8

by Joel Kristenson25. October 2021 10:13

Trail Blazer version 8 is ready for download.  This version includes a variety of improvements & bug fixes.  Follow the instructions in this video to learn how: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TD0DujGGsX0

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Pro Tip: Custom Log Types

by Joel Kristenson20. October 2021 14:01

Log notes are used for a variety of important items in the database, such as tracking grants, phone calls, mailings, volunteer hours, and much more.  You can add your own custom log types into the drop-down by right-clicking on the drop-down and selecting Add New.  Here's an example:







KB tutorial: https://www.trailblz.com/kb/?action=view&kb=79&cat=0&qq=log

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Trail Blazer IQ Dashboards

by Joel Kristenson11. October 2021 10:26

Trail Blazer IQ provides a variety of useful dashboard reports for your team.  The example below allows you to toggle a donation comparison report to see if you've increased or decreased fundraising.


You can view this and more by logging into your workspacehttps://trailblazeriq.com/admin/#/workspace

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DonorSearch Integration

by Joel Kristenson20. September 2021 09:15


We would like to remind everyone about our latest integration with DonorSearch.  DonorSearch provides a wealth of information to help with analyzing a donor or prospect's propensity to give.  The setup process is very easy, here's how: https://www.trailblz.com/kb/?action=view&kb=1388&cat=0&qq=donor


We offer some special entry level pricing to test out this service: https://www.trailblz.com/Support/AdditionalServices

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Moving Day - Offices Closed Thursday, September 16th

by Kevin13. September 2021 15:22

Trail Blazer is moving its offices this Thursday, September 16th. 

Our support and sales teams will not be available during the move. All support and sales inquiries will be handled as they are processed on the weekends. We will respond as quickly as possible for all emergency support issues. All other items will be addressed the next business day, Friday, September 17th. 

As a reminder, our new mailing address is 5832 Lincoln Dr, Suite 149, Edina, MN 55436

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Getting Familiar with Trail Blazer IQ

by Joel Kristenson8. September 2021 08:58

Over the last few years we've been working on a new web version of Trail Blazer called "Trail Blazer IQ".  We encourage you to begin using this tool.

To launch your "Workspace", open the desktop application and navigate to the "Voters / Donors" List > File > Reporting > Launch TrailBlazerIQ (mapping)...



You will then enter your login credentials, and you can begin testing this new product.



Tip: bookmark the Workspace URL and share it with the rest of your team.

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Closed on Labor Day (Monday 9/6)

by Joel Kristenson3. September 2021 13:59

Our office will be closed on Labor Day (9/6).

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New Mailing Address

by Joel Kristenson25. August 2021 14:30

We have a new mailing address: 5832 Lincoln Dr, Suite 149, Edina, MN 55436

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New Feature Release! Integration with DonorSearch

by Joel Kristenson16. August 2021 11:28

We are excited to announce our newest feature: integration with DonorSearch.

DonorSearch is a valuable tool that allows you to perform wealth analysis on your donors and prospects.  You can learn more here: https://www.donorsearch.net/our-data/

Here's an example of how a "synced" profile could look on the Trail Blazer IQ web app:



If you already have an active DonorSearch account, you can begin using this today.  If not, you can explore our price options on our Additional Services page: https://www.trailblz.com/Support/AdditionalServices


Here are the instructions for linking your two accountshttps://www.trailblz.com/kb/?action=view&kb=1388&cat=0&qq=donor

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User Management Tips

by Joel Kristenson21. July 2021 10:11

Today's tip has to do with managing who has access to your database.  Each account comes with unlimited user access.  If you need to create new users, this article walks through the steps: https://www.trailblz.com/kb/?action=view&kb=67&cat=0&qq=user

If you need to revoke a user's access, this article shows how: https://www.trailblz.com/kb/?action=view&kb=153&cat=0&qq=revoke

All new users should attend our free orientation training: https://www.trailblz.com/LearningResources/Events

And review our Getting Started video playlist: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLgwwHL9t2abQXNtpE4Qo2u7FMjKZ3WyvH

Last but not least, these links can be shared with your team for logging in on a PC, Mac, Android device, iOS device, and our new Trail Blazer IQ web app:
- PC Download: https://www.trailblz.com/Software/
- Mac Access: https://www.trailblz.com/kb/?action=view&kb=1384&cat=0&qq=mac
- Trail Blazer IQ web app: https://trailblazeriq.com/admin/#/workspace
- iOS Device: https://apps.apple.com/us/app/trail-blazer-basecamp/id1219460381
- Android Device: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.trailblz.basecamp

As always, please lean on our support team if you need a hand: 1-866-909-8700 & support@trailblz.com

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We're Back Online

by Joel Kristenson15. July 2021 14:35

As many of you know, we experienced a variety of server issues this week.  This affected a multitude of features such as mass email, Trail Blazer IQ (web app), mobile canvassing, and more.  We believe that we have discovered the root of the problem.  At this point all systems are go.  If you we received an error when inserting an email template into a mass email campaign, you may need to restart TB for the issue to resolve.

Please accept our apologies for any inconvenience this has caused.

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Pivot / Summary Reports

by Joel Kristenson6. July 2021 09:33

Today's video tip: learn how to build pivot / summary reports.  Watch now: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7hjl-vLGn9c

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Office Closure for July 4th

by Joel Kristenson29. June 2021 08:16

In celebration of Independence Day, our office will be closed next Monday (July 5th).

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Adding Attributes (Checkboxes) to your Donation Form

by Joel Kristenson24. June 2021 09:02

Learn how to add checkboxes to your integrated donation form: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EMhQSRU_IWw

This can be useful for asking questions as people donate, such as:
- Do you want to volunteer?
- How did you hear about us?
- What programs are you interested in?

Here's an example form that demonstrates how this works: https://www.trailblz.info/demononprofit_joel/Donations.aspx?ver=2&international=1

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