Training schedule and agendas
24 June:"The ABCs of CRM" (email introduction)
26 June:"One user/pass to rule them all: OpenID" (email activity only)
1 July: “CRM is just a fancy, digital rolodex”
15 July: "Doing it collaboratively: Maintaining your relationships"
12 August:"Collaborative communications: All things email"
November: "Events management: past, present and future"
December: "Nuts and bolts for administrators"
The ABCs of CRM Introduction to contacts.apc.org
This space is running free software called CiviCRM. Most CRMs are built by and for marketers. *Civi* is special because it was made by and for community organisers. The developers are our friends and we think they've made a great tool for collaboratively keeping in touch with individuals and organisations in our extended network. It's basically an online rolodex. There's a lot of potential for the software to shine your shoes and make you a cup of coffee, but since we're just getting the hang of it, we're keeping it simple for now. You'll see from the training schedule below that there's still a tonne of neat stuff we can now do! How to access All staff now has a login at https://contacts.apc.org. If you've never logged in, simply recover your password by putting your apc.org email here: https://crm.apc.org/user/password Once you login it might seem a bit obtuse. We're working on making the front page more inviting. For now, see the section below called “Action steps” if you'd like to get your hands dirty right away.
Action steps
- Fill out your profile. Once you login (see “How to access” above) you will see your account information. Click “Edit” near the top right corner under the green banner. Then you'll see “+Account” appear next to “Edit”. Hovering your mouse will then show you the link to enter or update your “Name and Address”. Please fill this in if it isn't already there. Note: In the near future, the profile information stored on apc.org and contacts.apc.org will delineate. Please check periodically to make sure your information is up-to-date.
- Import your contacts. If you have existing contacts in the form of spreadsheets, business cards or email address books, it's important to share as many of those contacts as possible. Attached are spreadsheets for individuals and organisations that, when filled in correctly, can be sent to karel@apc.org for immediate and painless import into the database. Please note that the country spellings must be exact. You can also enter your contacts one-by-one yourself after you've attended the 1 July training!
One user/pass to rule them all: OpenID
For a basic introduction read OpenID explained. To complete the 15 minute exercise: https://crm.apc.org/content/setting-your-apc-open-id
CRM is just a fancy, digital rolodex
- Entering a business card: individuals, organisations and journalists http://book.civicrm.org/user/current/organising-your-data/contacts/
- Looking up contacts, building a search http://book.civicrm.org/user/current/the-user-interface/searching
- Using the dashboard feature http://book.civicrm.org/user/current/the-user-interface/menu-dashboard-a...
Doing it collaboratively: Maintaining your relationships
- Groups, tags and smart groups http://book.civicrm.org/user/current/organising-your-data/groups-and-tags
- Entering activities, importing past activities http://book.civicrm.org/user/current/organising-your-data/activities
- Reporting and building reports http://book.civicrm.org/user/current/reporting/what-is-civireport/
Collaborative communications: All things email
- Group emails with tokens: http://book.civicrm.org/user/current/email/what-is-civimail
- Bulk email: GenderIT, APCNews, Press list
- Mailing list management with CiviCRM
Events management: past, present and future
- Creating events and invitations http://book.civicrm.org/user/current/events/what-is-civievent
- Adding or importing participants
- Event follow up http://book.civicrm.org/user/current/events/everyday-tasks/
- Reporting with smart groups http://book.civicrm.org/user/current/events/reports-and-analysis
Nuts and bolts for administrators
- Importing contacts and activities http://book.civicrm.org/user/current/common-workflows/importing-data
- Printing mailing labels http://book.civicrm.org/user/current/common-workflows/postal-mail-commun...
Frequently Asked Questions
Who are users of APC's contact database? Who can see contacts I upload?
APC team members. The contacts you publish on the database will be visible only to other team members.
What contacts should I upload to the database?
All contact that you upload will be visible to other team members. All team members can do all operations (view, edit, export, print, send email to...) with all contacts in the database. So don't uploade private contacts or such contacts whose sharing with team is problematic.
What about my contacts that are related to APC but which I want to 'protect' from being contacted by other colleagues then?
If you are concerned that some of your contacts should be handled carefully and people should not contact them w/o you knowing about it, you can still upload them but you should do one or both of the following: - Mark contact as "do not email" in "Communication preferences" section - Write your instructions on how the contact should be treated in "Notes on potential interaction" in the section "History of relationship" by which is meant relationship with APC.
Should I upload very sensitive contacts, whose leakage could cause damage?
No. Such contacts as contacts of human rights defenders who can run significant risks if they are disclosed should not be uploaded to a shared database (this one, or any other). You should keep them securely encrypted on your harddrive or portable medium. APC/GN are doing their best to make this database secure. however, as any other online database it can become target of hacking, or some of its content can be leaked by error.
I have a message to send. How should I do it?
