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Creating a New Constituent

Overview​

Learn how to add new Constituents to your FundiFI system, including required fields, best practices, and helpful tips for maintaining clean data.

Time to complete: 2-3 minutes
Difficulty: Beginner
Prerequisites: Access to People module

Quick Start​

  1. Open the AI Assistant panel by pressing Ctrl + K or clicking the Assistant icon
  2. Type your request with as much detail as you have:
    • "Add a new Constituent named Sarah Johnson with email sarah@example.com"
    • "Create Constituent John Smith, 555-123-4567, lives in Portland"
    • "Add new volunteer Maria Garcia, email maria@email.com, tag as volunteer"
  3. The Assistant will navigate to the form and pre-fill it with your details
  4. Review and adjust any information in the form
  5. Click "Save Constituent"
  6. Keep the Assistant panel open for quick follow-up actions or collapse it with Ctrl + K

Method 2: Manual Navigation​

  1. Navigate to People in your main menu
  2. Click the "+ New Constituent" button (top right)
  3. Fill in the required fields (marked with red asterisks)
  4. Add optional information as needed
  5. Click "Save Constituent"

🤖 AI Assistant Tip: The more details you provide in your initial request, the less manual work you'll need to do on the form. The Assistant understands natural language, so speak to it like you would a colleague!

Field Guide​

Required Fields​

FieldDescriptionExample
First NameIndividual's given name"Sarah"
Last NameIndividual's family name"Johnson"
Email or PhoneAt least one contact method required"sarah@example.com"
FieldWhy It MattersExample
AddressEnables household grouping & mailing lists"123 Main St, Anytown, ST 12345"
PhoneAdditional contact method for important updates"(555) 123-4567"
TagsImmediate categorization for easy filtering"volunteer", "board-member"

Best Practices​

✅ Do This​

  • Use the AI Assistant first - it's faster and over time your Assistant will learn more about your needs and offer additional value
  • Be specific in your AI requests - include names, contact info, and tags in one go
  • Include full addresses when possible for better household matching

❌ Avoid This​

  • Over-thinking AI prompts (it understands natural language)
  • Creating records with minimal information (harder to find later)

AI Assistant Examples​

Simple Requests​

  • "Add John Smith"
  • "Create new Constituent Sarah with email sarah@email.com"
  • "Add volunteer named Mike Johnson"

Detailed Requests​

  • "Create Constituent Maria Garcia, maria@nonprofit.org, 555-0123, 456 Oak St Portland OR, tag as board member and major donor"

Follow-up Requests​

  • "Add Tom's phone number 555-9876"
  • "Tag Sarah Johnson as volunteer coordinator"
  • "Update Maria's address to 123 New Street"

🤖 AI Assistant Workflow Tip: Keep the Assistant panel open after creating a Constituent to quickly add tags, make edits, or create related Constituents without starting over. Use Ctrl + K to toggle the panel anytime.

Note that the Assistant can currently only perform individual tasks directly within the UI. More complex tasks that run in the background will be available soon, in the meantime here are a few prompts to avoid:

  • Requesting creation of multiple Constituents
  • Performing multi-step actions such as creating a new Constituent and recording a Gift in the same prompt

Special Scenarios​

Adding Family Members​

When adding multiple Constituents from the same household:

  1. Create the first Constituent with complete address information
  2. When creating additional family members, the system will automatically suggest adding them to the existing household
  3. Accept the household suggestion to link related Constituents

After Creating a Constituent​

Immediate Next Steps​

  1. Verify the profile looks correct
  2. Add to relevant tags if you haven't already
  3. Note any immediate follow-up needed

What Happens Next​

  • The Constituent appears in your People list immediately
  • They become available for email campaigns and communications
  • Their Activity Timeline begins tracking all interactions
  • If they're part of a household, their information contributes to household-level reporting

Troubleshooting​

"Required Field Missing"​

  • Check for red asterisks next to field labels
  • Email OR phone is required (you don't need both)
  • First and Last Name are always required

Can't Find the New Constituent​

  • Try refreshing the page
  • Search by name or email in the People search bar
  • Check your current filters - new Constituents might be filtered out

Video Walkthrough​

[Placeholder for 2-3 minute video showing the complete process]

Need Help?​