3 answers
- 10-1
Hi Anne,
I am not a representative of RG, but I think I can provide some insight. Just FYI- I recently took over the technology role for a rescue, and I'm relatively new to RG. That said, I have spent close to 100 hours (if not more) reading their docs and familiarizing myself with the software.
How can we analyze our data over years for animals that have been through multiple statuses: fostered, adopted, returned, adopted again, etc.
Changes to many input fields, and possibly animal status, are logged as history records and available in the audit log. While the audit log can be very useful, such as identifying the user that updated a webpage or animal, it's not intended as a solution for what you're after. The log tracks a LOT of events, which means only minimal information is logged with each event.
Now, I believe RG is capable of reporting what you're after, but only if you're using the adoption and outcome features. Unfortunately, your question seems to imply that you don't use them, and instead just change the animal status. If that's the case, I don't think you're going to find the answers you are after in RG. So, while the rest of my reply likely won't help you right this moment, I hope I can provide enough guidance for you to start using these features, which will allow for the type of reporting you are looking for in the future.
Adoption Feature
When an animal is adopted, it's best to record this by adding an adoption. This is not the same as changing the status to Adopted. When you create an adoption record, it is attached to the animal, and it records details specific to the adoption itself, which allows for extended reporting. Every adoption record will have a status of Success or Returned. Which means that if the animal is returned, the adoption record can be updated to Returned, and you'll have a more granular view of the adoption history instead of just relying on the animal status. Additionally, if the animal is adopted again, you'll have a separate adoption record, and, hopefully, that one remains in Success status.
Outcome Feature
Not every animal will get adopted. And, even those that are adopted, you can use the outcome feature to record different information when an animal leaves your organization.
An animal that is adopted should always have an adoption record. And, as a best practice, an outcome record should be created as well (you can link the adoption record to the outcome).
An animal that doesn't get adopted obviously won't have an adoption record. When the animal is no longer with your organization, for any number of reasons, you should create an outcome record.
An animal can have one or many outcome records, the same as adoptions, and this is the key to generating the reports that you are after.
Other Information Records
Adoptions and outcomes should be sufficient to record and report the data you are after. But I wanted to mention that you can also log other information to assist with different reporting needs. For example, with an animal journal entry, you can record treatments, vaccines, spay/neuter, etc. For each you can add details like the date and cost. Another example is intakes.
If you decide to start logging these events you'll be able to incorporate more data into your reports, which may be helpful with grant writing.
Extended Reporting
I went ahead and created a simple report in RG that shows the basic reporting concept you are after when adoptions and outcomes are logged. For the sake of simplicity, my report is only based on adoption records and not both adoption and outcome.
You can see that the animal Stitch has three adoption records. He was adopted and returned twice, and the third adoption was a success.
Again, my report is very basic. I could have included a lot more information, whether that be more details for each specific adoption, animal information, etc.
Add your comment... - 10-1
Anne,
You're welcome. I'm glad I was able to provide some guidance. Also, I later answered a similar question, and apparently my understanding of the RG software had improved. So, it's worth noting that in my above response I didn't give as much weight to intakes as I did to outcomes and adoptions. As it turns out, all three are vital for proper reporting. You can read that answer here for additional context.
- Anne Fessler
Thanks, I'll check that out! And I also spoke too soon, as I discovered we DO have some adoption events, but not intakes or outcomes yet.
- Brandon A Scivolette
I get it. It's the same at Rebels Rescue, the organization I volunteer for. They have been doing a great job of recording adoptions, and they recently started with intakes, but haven't yet made outcomes a requirement. And I get it. Logically, an adoption is an outcome in itself, so I get why nobody thinks to create an outcome record. But, that's how RG was built to function, so it makes sense to incorporate these modules into our workflows.
I'm actually in the process of creating documentation for my organization that provide instructions/guidance for what needs to be done in RG. I can share the documentation with you if you'd like.
- Anne Fessler
That would be wonderful, thank you! We have a shortage of volunteers right now, which means a shortage of time, unfortunately.
Add your comment... - 10-1
Brandon, I have been meaning to respond to THANK YOU so much for this detailed answer! Even though we haven't been logging Adoptions and Outcomes so far, we will start now and forge ahead! I really appreciate the time you took with your answer. The rescue you volunteer with is lucky to have your help.
Add your comment...
How can we analyze our data over years for animals that have been through multiple statuses: fostered, adopted, returned, adopted again, etc. Trying to get into grant writing and wondering if RescueGroups can track and report on things like that. I would like to calculate our return rate, but once an animal is readopted, we change the status to adopted.
Also, can someone explain the special meaning of the term "outcome" in animal rescue to me? We are mainly using the status field. Thanks in advance!