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Profile Types and User-Defined Fields

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User-defined fields in CommunitySuite allow you to define how information is captured and tracked about profiles that is specific to your organization's needs. The Profile Types area houses seven of these fields: Profile Types, Profile Fund Categories, Address Types, Email Types, Engagement Strategies, Genders, and Tax Classes. Each user-defined field serves a distinct purpose for segmenting, filtering, and reporting on your database of profiles.

Who: Donor development, communications, and any staff responsible for managing profile data and configuring user-defined fields for segmentation and reporting.

When to Use Profile Types and User-Defined Fields

Use Profile Types and User-Defined Fields to:

  • Tag profiles with custom labels for donor segmentation, prospecting, and stewardship.
  • Build and manage lists for email newsletters, fundraising, or event campaigns.
  • Segment professional advisors, financial planners, attorneys, and their firms into lists by specialty.
  • Define the relationship between a profile and a fund for reporting and context.
  • Assign address types to profiles with multiple addresses, such as a home, seasonal, or business address.
  • Track grantees by tax classification.

To view the Profile Types area:

  1. Navigate to Profiles.
  2. Click Profile Types in the left-side menu.

It is recommended that you use profile types to capture specific information about profiles that is not captured elsewhere in the system. An example of something that is not captured elsewhere is a customized list of VIP community members. An example of data that is already tracked and reportable is donation amount or grant amount.

There are seven areas users can define in profile types.

Profile Types - Field to capture information about a group of profiles.

  • Use of this field varies widely and includes any type of profile information for which tracking and reporting may be necessary.  
  • Profiles can have many profile types.
  • CommunitySuite has some pre-populated options that can be deleted or edited.
  • Profile type examples include personas (Early Career Millennial, Gen X'er, etc.), VIP, Giving Society Member, and Seasonal Resident.

Profile Fund Categories -Define the relationship between a profile and a fund.

  • Profile Fund Categories are used for reporting purposes and can provide context to what type of relationship the profile has to the fund.
  • They do not drive any functionality. Fund advisor statement delivery and access to the Fund Management tab of the Portal are provided through the fund advisor designation.
  • Examples include Fund Founder and Successor Advisor.

Address Types - Enables an address type to be assigned to addresses.

  • A profile can have multiple addresses. 
  • Examples include Home, Seasonal Home, and Business.

Email Types - Enables an email type to be assigned to email addresses.

  • A profile can have multiple emails. 
  • Examples include Personal and Business.

Engagement Strategies - Engagement Strategies are used to segment and prioritize large groups of your database.

Genders - Field to capture gender and pronouns.

  • CommunitySuite is pre-populated with female and male.
    • These gender descriptions can be deleted or edited.

Tax Classes - Use to track different tax classifications. Categorize Grantees Using Tax Class provides additional information. 

  • Tax classes can be edited or deleted.
     

To create a user-defined field in the Profile Types area of CommunitySuite:

  1. Navigate to the Profiles page and click Profile Types in the left-side menu.
  2. Click the applicable option in the left-side menu:
    • Add Type - creates a profile type to tag and segment profiles.
    • Add Fund Cat - creates a profile fund category to define the relationship between a profile record and a fund record.
    • Add Address Type - creates an address type to assign to profile addresses. 
      • Check the box next to Work if this is the work address for a profile. When checked, the Work field will include the profile's Work Organization and Work Title, if populated on the profile record, in the address block.
    • Add Email Type - creates an email type to assign to profile email addresses.
    • Add Engagement Strategy - creates an engagement strategy to segment and prioritize profiles.
    • Add Gender - creates a gender option.
    • Add Tax Class - creates a tax classification for grantees.
  3. Enter a Name and then click Save or Create.
    save button

Each named option added via the left-side menu creates a new name entry in the corresponding table. 

For example, clicking Add Email Type and entering Business in the Name field adds a Business option to the Email Types table, and then it becomes available to assign to emails listed on profile records to track a business versus a personal email.

User-defined fields are added to profiles in different areas of the profile record depending on the field type.

Add a Profile Type

To add one or more profile types to a profile:

  1. Navigate to a profile record.
  2. Click the Relationships tab.
  3. Locate the Profile Type section, and then click Edit Profile Type.
  4. Check the box next to each profile type to assign to the profile.
  5. Click Save.

Add an Address Type or Email Type

To add an address type or email type to a profile:

  1. Navigate to a profile record.
  2. In the Details tab, click Edit.
  3. Locate the Addresses or Emails section and the address or email you wish to assign a type to.
  4. Select the applicable option from the Type drop-down menu.
  5. Click Save.

Add a Gender

To add a gender to a profile:

  1. Navigate to a profile record.
  2. In the Details tab, click Edit.
  3. Locate the Gender field and select the applicable option from the drop-down menu.
  4. Click Save.

Profile Fund Categories

Profile fund categories are added to a profile by linking the profile to a fund one at a time. There is not a bulk option for linking profiles to funds. Profile Fund Categories provides additional information.

Engagement Strategies

Engagement strategies can be added to an individual profile or in bulk. Engagement Strategies provides additional information.

Tax Classes

Tax classes can be added to an individual profile or in bulk. Categorize Grantees Using Tax Class provides additional information.

After creating profile types, engagement strategies, or tax classes, a custom or default report can be used to bulk add them to profiles. The option to bulk add is dependent on the presence of the Profile ID in a report.

Profile Types

  1. Build a custom report or run a default report.
    • The only required field is Profile ID.
      • When Profile ID is added to the report, bulk actions, including Add To Profile Type appear in the left-side menu.
        profile id
         
  2. Click Bulk Actions in the left-side menu, and then click Add Profile Type.
    • Depending on the report type, the Add Profile Type option may be available without clicking Bulk Actions.
  3. Select the applicable option:
    • Check the box of the profile type to which the profiles will be added, and click Add to Profile Type.
      add to profile type button
       
  4. Click Yes.
    yes button
     

The profiles can also be bulk deleted from the profile type by using the Delete From Profile Type option in the left-side menu on the custom or default report.

Engagement Strategies

Engagement strategies can be bulk added to profiles from a custom or default report. Engagement Strategies provides additional information.

Tax Classes

Tax classes can be bulk added to profiles from a custom or default report. Categorize Grantees Using Tax Class provides additional information.

When profile types, profile fund categories, address types, email types, engagement strategies, genders, or tax classes are deleted, there is no record of these variables on profiles outside of logs.

Profile Types

Profile types can be deleted or archived. Deleting a profile type permanently removes it, while archiving retains the historical data on profiles but removes the profile type from active use.

Delete a Profile Type
To delete a profile type in CommunitySuite:

  1. Navigate to the Profiles page and click Profile Types in the left-side menu.
  2. Click the ID of the profile type to be deleted.
  3. Click Delete in the left-side menu.
    • The system will indicate how many profiles have that profile type assigned.
  4. Optional step: click Re-Assign To (Optional) to select a different profile type to reassign any profiles. 
  5. Click Delete.

Archive a Profile Type
To archive a profile type in CommunitySuite:

  1. Navigate to the Profiles page and click Profile Types in the left-side menu.
  2. Click the ID of the profile type to be archived.
  3. Click Archive in the left-side menu.
    • The system will indicate how many profiles have that profile type assigned.
  4. Optional: click Re-Assign To (Optional) to select a different profile type to reassign any profiles.
    • If not selected, profiles will retain this archived type.
  5. Click Archive.

The archived profile type will move to the bottom of the profile types list and will display with (archive) added to the beginning of the name. Archived profile types are not available to add to profiles.

Profile Fund Categories

Address Types

  • Address types can be deleted, but each address that has that type needs to have another address type assigned. This can be done in bulk.
  • Navigate to the address type to be deleted and click Delete in the left-side menu.
    • The system will indicate how many profiles have that address type and will ask which alternate address type the addresses should be assigned.

Email Types

  • Email types can be deleted.
  • Navigate to the email type to be deleted and click Delete in the left-side menu.
    • The system will indicate how many profiles have that email type and will provide, if applicable, the option to reassign the email type to a different email type. 

Engagement Strategies and Genders

  • Engagement strategies and genders can both be deleted. 
  • Navigate to the option to be deleted and click Delete in the left-side menu.
    • The system will indicate how many profiles have that engagement strategy or gender assigned. Click Yes to delete.  

Tax Classes

  • Tax classes can be deleted.
  • Navigate the tax class to be deleted and click Delete in the left-side menu.
    • The system will indicate how many profiles have that tax class assigned. Click Yes to delete.

Users can add profile types to a directory on the Giving Hub. If a profile type is added to the directory, all profiles with that profile type will display on the Giving Hub. The primary email and primary phone number of each profile will also be displayed. The directory must be enabled in Giving Hub settings for it to be available. Portal Options Settings provides additional details on settings related to the profile type directory.

Users may want a private directory of preferred professional advisors they can share with donors, but do not want to display publicly on the Giving Hub. The Profile Type Directory tab can be turned off, but the directory URL found on the System URLs page will still be active and can be shared.

Enable the Profile Type Directory

To enable the Profile Type Directory on the Giving Hub:

  1. Navigate to the Portal Options page and click Giving Hub Settings in the left-side menu.
  2. In the Tab Names section, click Edit Tab Names.
  3. Check the Show Profile Type Directory Tab box, and then click Update.
    • If applicable, enter a custom tab name for the directory in the Profile Type Directory Tab Name field. If a custom tab name is not entered, the tab name will default to Other Directories on the Giving Hub.
      show profile type directory tab box and update button

Add Profile Types to the Directory

To add a profile type to the Profile Type Directory:

  1. Navigate to the Profiles page and click Profile Types in the left-side menu.
  2. Click the ID of the profile type to be added to the directory.
    profile type ID
     
  3. Click Edit in the left-side menu.
  4. Check the Directory box, and then click Save.
    directory box and save button
     

Giving Hub provides a preview of an example profile directory.

Additional User-Defined Fields

Relationships, grant types and philanthropic interest areas, and service areas are additional user-defined fields that are configured outside of the Profile Types area. If additional information needs to be captured beyond all of these options, then consider using custom fields. 

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