How to Request to Add or Update Constituent Information in ABE CRM

ABE CRM contains a great amount of data about WFAA’s constituents. ABE CRM constituents can be donors, alumni, other individuals, or organizations that have some connection to UW–Madison or WFAA.

While WFAA has a wide range of tools and practices to maintain current data, we rely on all who work with our constituents to keep our data as up to date as possible. You may find that you have more current constituent data than what is reflected in ABE. Or perhaps a donor, alum, or organization is not represented at all. In such cases, you can request that this information be added to ABE CRM.

Note that this feature is intended for submitting individual update requests. Lists of 10 or more records that need updating should be submitted via our Request to Update Multiple ABE Records form.

Below is an overview of how to request to add or update constituent contact information. Additional instructions are attached, including how to update relationships and employment, and how to add new constituents.

Address Overview

A constituent’s known addresses are displayed in the Addresses section of the Contact tab. This section lists home, business, seasonal, and other (e.g., additional homes that are not seasonal) addresses. You may request the addition of a new address or modification of an existing one.

Requesting a new address applies to these situations:

• The constituent has recently changed an address, and their new address is known.
• The constituent has another address that is not included in the list (such as a seasonal address or new business address).

Editing an address applies when:

• There is an error in a constituent’s address information (e.g., misspelled street name, incorrect house or zip code number, incorrect start/end date for a seasonal address).
• An address is no longer valid.
• The constituent’s secondary address should be classified as their primary address.

When you submit a request, your information is reviewed by WFAA’s Constituent Data Processing (CDP) team, which is responsible for updating constituent records. You need not worry that you are providing information in the “correct” format — the CDP team will validate your request and will follow established data standards when entering the information into ABE CRM.

After the CDP team does its work, you will receive an email confirming that your requested changes have been made or explaining why your request was rejected.

Requesting a New Address

When viewing a constituent’s contact information, the header of the address section displays a New Address Request button:

Click the button to display the New Address Request pop-up:

Enter the constituent’s address information and click ‟Submit.”

Some notes on the data entry fields:

• The “yellow” fields are required.
• The Type field provides a drop‑down list to choose from.
  • Home should be used for an individual’s primary residence.
  • Business should be used for an individual’s work address and should include the company name on the first address line.
  • Seasonal refers to an address where an individual spends a portion of their time each year. You must also add a start date and end date, in the form of mm/dd, to represent the general time of year when the individual begins and ends living at their seasonal address.
  • Other may be used for additional residential addresses that are not seasonal.
  • Do not choose the Matching Gift or Receipt.
• If your select CANADA in the Country field, the State and Zip field labels will change to Province and Postal Code, respectively. When entering information for other non‑U.S. countries, supply the data as best as you can. When in doubt, add details in the Comments field (Be thorough — you cannot supply too much information here!)

If you check the Recently moved/changed from this address? field, the Old address field will be required. This lets you tell us which “old” address is no longer valid.

Modifying an Existing Address

Each constituent address displays an icon to expand the data displayed:

After clicking the icon, the Edit Address Request button displays:

Click the button to display the Edit Address Request pop-up:

Modify the constituent’s address information and click Submit.

Some notes on the data entry fields:

• The Set as primary address check box is only modifiable for non‑primary addresses. In other words, you cannot “uncheck” a primary address, but you can change a non‑primary address to the primary one.
• If the address is no longer valid, explain this within the Comments field. If you have an end date, provide it in the Comments field (for primary addresses) or enter it in the End date field (for non‑primary addresses).

Updating Other Constituent Contact Information

The previous sections explain how to use ABE CRM to request to add or update constituent address information. Similar functionality is provided for the constituent’s phone and email data. Social media data may also be added via the “new request” button.

Confirmation Email

After your request is processed, you will receive an email from the BBDB Server Mailbox (BBDB‑Server@supportuw.org). The email will either confirm that your request has been approved and processed, or it will contain an explanation of why your request was not approved by WFAA.