It's been a couple of years since we've kicked off a reviews campaign with our customers.  Many of you have already taken the time to write reviews on some of our different online listings, and we greatly appreciate that!

You can expect to receive a few emails over the next week or so from the team at Gartner Digital Markets.  They will also be sending along an e-gift card for those that post reviews.  If you would like to get a head start, here are the pages we are requesting both our political and nonprofit customers to write a review on.  Thank You!

Capterra (Nonprofit): https://www.capterra.com/p/101648/Trail-Blazer/

Capterra (Political): https://www.capterra.com/p/55438/Trail-Blazer/

Software Advice (Nonprofit): https://www.softwareadvice.com/nonprofit/trail-blazer-profile/

GetApp (Nonprofit): https://www.getapp.com/nonprofit-software/a/non-profit-manager/

GetApp (Political): https://www.getapp.com/marketing-software/a/trail-blazer-campaign-manager/

For our nonprofit customers, it's time to start preparing your year-end tax statements.  Getting a head start with building your templates with the appropriate text, merge fields, and images, will save you a lot of time when the time comes to generate and mail the letters to your supporters.  These resources should help to get you from A to B, but please don't hesitate to contact our support team if you need a hand.
- Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MUVSUTciwaU
- Article #1: https://www.trailblz.com/kb/?action=view&kb=313&cat=0&qq=tax
- Article #2: https://www.trailblz.com/kb/?action=view&kb=246&cat=0&qq=tax

We are migrating to a new server this weekend.  The new server will improve performance and increase security (all good things).

You will not be able to access your database starting 9pm CENTRAL TIME on Saturday evening (12/12/2020).  Assuming all goes well (there won't be any issues, right?) you will regain access around midnight. 

ADVICE:

1. Be sure EVERYONE is logged out of your database prior to 9pm CENTRAL TIME on Saturday.
   
   
2. Be careful about eblasts scheduled on Saturday. The reason for this has to do with how the emails interact with our server in real time:
1. Tracking of email opens will not work.
2. Links will not work.
3. Images will not display.

We hope that everyone had a good Thanksgiving!

Today's tip: take advantage of our NCOA refresh services to get the most up-to-date address record for contacts in your database.  This can be done on your entire universe of contacts, or a specific segment.  Our Additional Services page details the cost: https://www.trailblz.com/Support/AdditionalServices

To put in a request for this, please send an email to our Support Team: support@trailblz.com

We'll be able to provide you with a cost / time estimate, and an invoice.

Our office will be closed next Thursday and Friday for Thanksgiving.
Wishing you all a safe and happy holiday season.

We have successfully replaced our phone system.
We ask for your patience as we work out the kinks and adjust to this new structure.
We are always available via email as well: support@trailblz.com

In observance of National Cyber Security Month (October): https://nationaldaycalendar.com/national-cyber-security-awareness-month-october/

We wanted to provide our customers with some tips for securing your database.

• - Review who your current database users are that have access
  
• - Update your password: https://www.trailblz.com/kb/?action=view&kb=300&cat=0&qq=password
• - Provide unique user accounts and security levels to those users who don't yet have access: https://www.trailblz.com/kb/?action=view&kb=67&cat=0&qq=user learn how
  
• - Revoke access for users that no longer need to login: https://www.trailblz.com/kb/?action=view&kb=153&cat=0&qq=revoke
  

If you aren't yet taking advantage of our integrated donation form, we would love to help you get it setup!  This form has many benefits:
- money is processed directly into your bank account
- the donor can stay on your website throughout the entire process
- the donor will receive a custom thank-you email
- the data will automatically be collected into your database

First, you'll need to activate a merchant gateway account that we integrate with: https://www.trailblz.com/Credit-Card-Payment-Merchant-Gateway

Second, you'll need to generate the iFrame code and insert it into a donation landing page on your website.
- Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YYJOszM9CoU
- Article: https://www.trailblz.com/kb/?action=view&kb=214&cat=0&qq=iframe

Third, create a custom thank-you email responder:
- Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XQhVau54b48
- Article: https://www.trailblz.com/kb/?action=view&kb=329&cat=0&qq=responder

Here's an example from our nonprofit demo site (feel free to test it with a fake credit card number): http://www.pandamonium.us/donateV2.html

The upcoming election is just a few short weeks away for many of our customers.  Take advantage of our mobile poll watching app to track who has voted: https://www.trailblz.com/kb/?action=view&kb=304&cat=0&qq=poll

This will allow you to pull up your different precincts:



Flag a voter as having voted:



And search for them in your database by the attribute that gets created:



Give us a call if you need a hand setting this up.

Today's Tip (Additional Service): take advantage of our geocoding tools to map out segments of your database or your entire universe of constituent records.

1. From the Voters / Donors List, load the records that you want to geocode.

2. Select File > Reporting > Mapping - Select Addresses for Geocoding.



3. Select your accuracy preference and click [OK] (most customers opt for the more accurate option).  This will trigger an email to our support team to begin the geocoding process on the selected addresses.

4. You will be sent an invoice for the service, and a notification once complete (expect 1-2 business days).

5. Launch the Trail Blazer IQ mapping tool by following File > Reporting > Launch TrailBlazerIQ (mapping)...



6. You can then view your data on a map and perform a variety of tasks with it, such as drawing turfs around the selected points that you want to canvass, call, or send direct mail to.



Related video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TTGEihGDZwU

Give us a call for help: 1-866-909-8700

More Additional Services: https://www.trailblz.com/Support/AdditionalServices

For customers located in Colorado: the state voter database has been updated.
Tutorial for importing from a state db: https://www.trailblz.com/kb/?action=view&kb=335&cat=0&qq=state

Today's tip: learn how to find New Donors This Year and Lapsed Donors.

New Donors This Year: https://www.trailblz.com/kb/?action=view&kb=1359&cat=0&qq=new

Who Gave Last Year But Not This Year: https://www.trailblz.com/kb/?action=view&kb=195&cat=0&qq=lybunt

Save the Search as a Favorite: https://www.trailblz.com/kb/?action=view&kb=204&cat=0&qq=favorite

This Knowledge Base tutorial walks through the steps to access your Trail Blazer database on your Mac computers via the free Microsoft Remote Desktop 10 application: https://www.trailblz.com/kb/?action=view&kb=1384&cat=0&qq=mac

It also digs into important configuration steps so that you can import and export between your Mac and Trail Blazer, as well as how to print to both your local printers and as PDF files.

Has your organization taken advantage of our free training program?  If not, we highly recommend that every person that needs to learn the Trail Blazer software on your team attends our Intro Training Class: https://www.trailblz.com/LearningResources/Events

After you've completed intro training you will have access to ongoing tech support and further training in any topic of your choice.

The latest iteration of the Trail Blazer IQ web app is now available.  Your team can access the login page here: https://trailblazeriq.com/admin/#/workspace

Please contact tech support if you need your workspace name.

Sneak peak:

Our phone system is experiencing some issues that may take us a while to resolve. If you call and receive a busy signal (which is never supposed to happen), please email us at support@trailblz.com.

To Our Customers,

Many of you have worked with Mark Panger over his many years with Trail Blazer. Mark announced to us a while ago that as of September 1, he will be moving to half-time. With full retirement coming in several, all too soon, months. Along with this reduction of time will be a shift in his duties.

Mark will be focusing on the behind-the-scenes operations of Trail Blazer and will immediately phase-out of direct customer support. He will help cover phones for many days at lunchtime, but otherwise, his day to day will be supporting the support staff and management at Trail Blazer.

Mark started with Trail Blazer in 2006 after working with an organization that was using Trail Blazer. He liked it so much he joined us! Over the years Mark’s roles have included
· training,

· support,

· data migration,

· sales,

· FEC compliance,

· controller,

· and, of course, lead bottle-washer.

We are delighted that Mark will still be available as a resource to our company and especially our customers. But even more, delighted that he will get to spend more time with his grandkids and his volunteer activities.

In today's release of the desktop version, there are a handful of notable changes:

• - Deposit Multi-Select items for Deposit: when doing a deposit you can use the normal [Shift] and Control keys to select multiple lines for deposit
• - Deposit - Filter by Batch Mode: you can now filter by batch mode for a quicker selection of items for deposit
• - Custom Genders: you can now create your own custom gender types (either by going to the System Manager > Lists area, or from within a contact's record card > Profile tab > Gender drop-down)
• - NO Thank You Donors: if you create an attribute that starts with the words 'No Thank' you can then filter out those people by default in the Contributions - Thank You Letter List

Are you utilizing the Trail Blazer Mobile Basecamp app to the fullest?  One feature that many of clients like to use is the ability to access saved search favorites for tasks like call lists.  For instance, you may want to reach out to new donors while you're on-the-go.

First, you'll need to create and save a search favorite in your database: https://www.trailblz.com/kb/?action=view&kb=204&cat=0&qq=favorite

That saved search will then become available on the free Mobile Basecamp app via your iPhone or Android device.  Here's an example:

Please contact our Support Team if you need a hand setting this up: 1-866-909-8700

Check out our latest YouTube video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cNbEoNxqGN4

This video provides a comprehensive overview of our Campaign Manager product, so it is primarily for political clients, but there is a lot of good stuff for nonprofit clients as well.

There's a new version of the Trail Blazer Mobile Basecamp app available for download.

iOS: https://apps.apple.com/us/app/trail-blazer-basecamp/id1219460381

Android: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.trailblz.basecamp

It's a crazy time for our world, to say the least.  With all the uncertainty, we want to reassure you that our team is here to support you with all of your Trail Blazer needs.

Our office hours are still the same (8-5 Central Time M-F) and 24/7 emergency support.  Our team will primarily be working remotely.  Please don't hesitate to call or email us for any support-related questions, to schedule a training, etc.

Be well.

Phone: 1-866-909-8700

Email: support@trailblz.com

Knowledge Base: www.trailblz.com/kb

YouTube Channel: www.youtube.com/trailblazersoftware

We've received quite a few inquiries on how to access Trail Blazer from home.  The links and tutorials below will help you to get up and running on Mac, PC, smartphone, and tablet.  Please call or email tech support if you need assistance.

Download and login on a PC: https://trailblz.com/kb/?action=view&kb=2&cat=0&qq=pc

Download and login on a Mac: https://trailblz.com/kb/?action=view&kb=255&cat=0&qq=mac

Quick links for downloading on the App Store and Google Play store: https://www.trailblz.com/Download

You can either contact your database admin(s) or tech support if you need your Database Name.

If you're in the field talking to a prospective donor, you can now enter pledges using the free Mobile Basecamp app.  You can download the app on your iPhone or Android device here: https://www.trailblz.com/Download