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

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

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/

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

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

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

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

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).

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

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

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

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

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 workspace: https://trailblazeriq.com/admin/#/workspace

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

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.

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

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

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 accounts: https://www.trailblz.com/kb/?action=view&kb=1388&cat=0&qq=donor

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

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.

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

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

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

Today's pro tip: getting your attribute tree in order.

Attributes are a foundational piece of the Trail Blazer CRM.  It's pretty easy that if they go unchecked for a long time, or there is staff turnover, that they can become unwieldy and less useful.  We suggest that your team gets together to review which attributes are being used, which can be removed or merged, and which news ones may need to be added.  This will make your workflow much smoother and affective when categorizing your constituent records.

How to Create Attribute Folders and Attribute Items (article): https://www.trailblz.com/kb/?action=view&kb=182&cat=0&qq=attribute
Adding New Attributes (video): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XCes8fwyGzY
How to Merge Attributes (article): https://www.trailblz.com/kb/?action=view&kb=203&cat=0&qq=attribute
Deleting Attributes (video): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rkewsly3ttI

We hope that everyone had a good Memorial Day weekend.  Now that we are back at our desks, here are some updates to be aware of that are on the near horizon:

• A new version of the desktop application is on it's way!  Our developers have been hard at work over the last 12 months, and this new version will have many bug fixes and feature improvements.  Note: updating to this version will require that the current version of Trail Blazer be removed from your computer(s) and then you will need to install the new release.  We will send out a mass email notification when it's time to do this, and our support team will be ready to assist your users if need be.  Moving forward, you shouldn't need to go through these steps with future releases of our desktop application.
  
  
• The next iteration of our web app (Trail Blazer IQ) is also getting close for release.  This version of Trail Blazer is still in its infancy, but our team is hard at work developing new features for this piece of our ecosystem.  One of the primary features in the next release will be an integration with DonorSearch.  This will allow you to perform wealth screening on donors and prospects.  This integration requires a subscription with DonorSearch (our pricing options are listed on our Additional Services page: https://www.trailblz.com/Support/AdditionalServices).

Our office will be closed Monday (5/31) for Memorial Day.  Have a good weekend!