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Using Envelope Numbers

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Overview

Giving by envelope number, sometimes called "giving number," allows you to assign a number to a specific person. When adding contributions by envelope number, it will associate with a specific person simply by supplying that person's envelope number. This can save time while entering contributions. 

Add Envelope

To add an envelope number association:

  1. Navigate to More > Contributions.
  2. Click Envelopes on the left (after clicking "More").
  3. Click the Add Entry button in the upper right.
  4. Enter the envelope number and person you'd like it associated with.
  5. Click Add.
Envelope Numbers will not be accepted for numbers with a decimal and instead would show as a whole number (ie 103.450 would appear as 103)

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Bulk Add Envelope Numbers

If you wish to add many envelope numbers at once, see our Import Giving Envelopes article. 

Delete an Envelope Number

  1. Navigate to "More > Contributions."
  2. Click "Envelopes" on the left (after clicking "More").
  3. Click the "Delete" icon to the right of the envelope number you'd like to delete.
Deleting envelope associations will not delete contributions given using those envelope numbers. When adding contributions by envelope number, the envelope acts as a pointer to assign the contribution to the person, not the envelope number.

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Bulk Deleting All Envelope Numbers

  1. Navigate to the Account Settings (mceclip3.png)
  2. Select Bulk Tasks
  3. Click More (on the left)
  4. Choose Delete Data, select Envelope Numbers. 

Exporting Envelopes

Click the "download as excel" button in the top right corner of the envelopes page to export a list of all of your envelope numbers.

The excel sheet will include:

Envelope Number, First name, Last Name, Family Name, Street Address, City, State & Zip

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FAQs on Envelopes

Can a couple/family share an envelope number?

While technically an envelope number can be assigned to more than one individual in a family, it's our Breeze best practice to have one envelope number assigned per individual.  Contributions in Breeze can only be assigned to / recorded under one person in the family unit. If you assign the same envelope number to multiple people, when entering contributions by envelope number you will have to select which person you'd like to assign the contribution to, slowing down the process.

When it comes to producing end-of-year tax statements, by default all family giving is included, and the contributor's name does not have to be listed.  A statement can be generated for both the designated contributor and spouse/family. 

(See customizing statements for more information on how to customize what is displayed on a statement.)

If you'd like to designate giving to multiple family members using envelope numbers, we recommend creating separate envelope numbers for each giver in the family. 

What happens to donations if I delete an envelope number?

Donations that are input via envelope numbers are not deleted just because an envelope number is deleted.  Contributions added by envelope number, are immediately associated to a person in Breeze and are therefore the giving records are retained when an envelope number is deleted or changed. 

Can I reuse an envelope number after I have deleted it from one person?

Absolutely! You can reuse an envelope number once it has been deleted from one person, assigning it to a new person.

How to Print Mailing Labels to Include Envelope Numbers

Need to print mailing labels that include your envelope numbers located in Contributions? No problem! This can be done with a few steps. 

Steps to Take

  1. First, we will need to create a Customized Profile Field, if you do not already have one. We recommend using a "Text" field and calling it Envelope Number. 

  2. Download your current Envelope Numbers to Excel by going to More > Contributions > Select the More Down Arrow > Envelopes > "Download as Excel"1
  3. Open the file that was just downloaded and simply save it as a .CSV file.
  4. Now Bulk Update People by navigating to More > Tasks > Import (on the left side) > Update People > Download Template File. 
  5. Copy the needed Column Titles from the Update People Template File to the Envelope Numbers file you Downloaded as Excel and Paste it into the corresponding fields. Save the Download as Excel Envelope Number File as a .CSV
  6. Click the Import Updated People found in More > Tasks > Import (on the left side) > Update People > Import Updated People Button. 
  7.  Now that your members with Envelopes Numbers have this number stored on their profile, we can easily Create Mailing Labels.  Navigate to People > Show More Filter Options > Envelope Number > Place an * in the text box (this will populate a list of all of your members with envelope numbers). From here you will choose Export in the action panel > Mailing Labels > Custom > Include the Field "Envelope Number" and Download.

You may need to reach out to the Breeze Support team at support@breezechms.com to have us download a file of your envelope numbers for you that includes the Breeze ID.

Things to Know

If you had envelope numbers already stored in a profile field, you will want to:

  1. Navigate in Breeze to People > Show more Filter Options > Go to the Envelope Profile Field and place a * in it to populate everyone with an envelope number.
  2. Use the Action Panel to Update all these People at Once, choose your envelope profile field, leave the box blank and click update.

This step is crucial to make sure you wipe out envelope numbers from people who may have had one in previous years stored on their profile but do not have a new one. 

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