Summer is almost upon us, officially, although many of us have been experiencing summer-like weather already, and there are some great things about summer that need to be pointed out from time to time. I was talking with a friend the other day and the conversation somehow wound around to how I've always been a bit envious of those who don't wear prescription glasses, and I'm looking forward to cataract surgery that will also correct my distance vision. This means I'll be able to buy cheap sunglasses for the first time in my life. I'll have options, choices, and decisions to be made regarding the size, style, color, and so on, that I've never had before, since I've been wearing prescriptions since I was 9 or 10. What an epiphany! Where is that rack of $1.00 sunglasses?? I can't wait!
What has all this to do with FundRaiser? Well, I want to remind you that you have a lot of choices, options, and some decisions that can be made regarding the look, feel, and default entries in FundRaiser, whether it's Spark, Select, or Professional. If you've ever taken the Overview training class (or watched the video), you might remember that the Options menu is where you can set default entries for new donor records, as well as default entries for new gift records, and much, much more. If you take some time to explore the Options menus, you'll find you can make changes that will affect how quickly you can enter data, as well as some changes that can just make it more pleasing to the eyes.
You'll also find options that are specific to Modules you might have turned on in FundRaiser, like Pledges, Tributes, Volunteers, Pledges, and so on. The Memberships module, for instance, has settings that can be customized to fit the way you handle them. You're not forced into a particular style of memberships, but can select from several of the most popular options.
So, as summer approaches and you're thinking about your vacation and beach-going options, give some thought to FundRaiser's Options menu, and how you might make changes that lighten your summer work load a bit.