Capturing notes
Write what happened. Relae reads it and proposes the rest.
After a conversation
Section titled “After a conversation”Open the person’s record and write a few sentences, the way you would tell a colleague what happened.
Called Sam Rivera about the spring appeal. Away until April. Asked how the youth workshops went and said their book club might want a group booking. Try again first week of May.
Relae reads that and proposes a follow-up for early May, notes the programme interest and the group booking. You confirm or change it. Your sentences stay on the record, because in two years the sentences will be worth more than any summary.
What to write down
Section titled “What to write down”- What they said, in their words.
- What you committed to, and when.
- Who else came up. Names build the relationship graph.
- What you decided not to do. Deciding against an ask this year is worth recording, so next year you know why.
- How it felt. “Warm but distracted” is real information.
Write it the same day
Section titled “Write it the same day”The single most useful habit in fundraising. A note written the same day is detailed and accurate. A note written from memory in November is a note about November.
Two minutes, while the kettle boils.
Meetings with several people
Section titled “Meetings with several people”Paste your notes or a transcript from a committee meeting or a prospect review, and Relae separates the record updates from the tasks, and assigns each task to the person named in the room.
Every item shows the phrase it came from, so you can see why it thinks what it thinks. Nothing is saved until you confirm the list.
Notes and privacy
Section titled “Notes and privacy”Notes hold things told to you in confidence: health, family circumstances, finances.
Two things are true about how they are handled. Identifiers are removed before any note is read by AI, and the lookup that restores them stays inside your workspace. And notes are never sent by the research feature, at all.
The detail is in how AI reads your notes.
What not to write
Section titled “What not to write”Write what you would be comfortable with the donor reading. Most Canadian charities will, at some point, receive a request from an individual to see what is held about them.
That is not a reason to write less. It is a reason to write factually. “Said they are unhappy with the board’s decision” is fine. Speculation about someone’s marriage is not.
- Writing notes in plain sentences, for why it works this way.
- Working the worklist