Many Blackbaud CRM™ users aren’t familiar with the extremely powerful Constituent Density Map feature in Blackbaud CRM™. This tool, often called a ‘heat map’ allows users to identify multiple constituent selections within a custom geographical area, users can then save selections and use them throughout the program. Below you will find instruction on how to access and then create a research list using this tool. (Please note, you'll need to configure Blackbaud CRM™ with your Mapping Key provided by Blackbaud. Your system administrator can assist with this task.)

To access the constituent density map browse to the Marketing and Communications functional area and click on Constituent density map, or search for constituent density map in the application features search window. Once open you will see the following screen.

To begin, use the add button in the top right-hand side of the screen to perform a selection search by record type. From this window, you can select an existing constituent selection. For this example, we will use a selection that queries $1,000+ in revenue within the past 24 months. Once applying the selection, you’ll notice the map updates and starts to look more like a heat map.

At this point, we can use the search window in the top left hand side of the map to zero in on a specific region. For this example, we put in Charleston, South Carolina and then click search. After clicking search, a pin will appear on the map. By hovering over the pin different options will appear.

Edit Pushpin Properties: Here you can edit the pushpin Title, Description, Phone Number, and Pushpin color.

Remove Pushpin: This will remove the pushpin from the map

Draw Radius: This will draw a radius around the pushpin in increments of 25, 50, 100 and a custom amount of miles.

Start Route: It is possible to map a route from pushpin to pushpin and get driving directions.

For this example, we’ll select Draw Radius and select 50 miles. Once the radius is drawn on the map you can hover over it and save records contained within the radius. This will create a constituent selection. Make sure to mark the checkbox to ‘Show this Selection in the Query Designer’ in order to use this selection in a query.

Once this selection has been saved you can browse to Prospects > Manage Research lists and then add a new research group and choose the selection we created earlier. This is a great way to enable fundraisers to find prospects in areas they plan on visiting or even generate invite lists.