Demographics in Elvanto

Demographics in Elvanto are a powerful tool for categorizing people within your church. They can be related to age, school year, family status, or other relevant categories like ‘Young Families.’ Properly utilizing demographics can enhance your ability to filter, report, and manage data within your account.

What are Demographics?

Demographics help you organize and categorize members based on specific criteria. For example, you might have:

  • Adults Demographic
  • Youth Demographic
  • Children’s Demographic

These categories make it easier to manage and report on various groups within your church.

Using Demographics Effectively

Creating Demographics and Sub-demographics

Demographics can include sub-demographics to further categorize members. For instance, within the ‘Children’ demographic, you might have:

  • Babies
  • Infants
  • Toddlers
  • Lower Primary
  • Upper Primary

These sub-demographics allow for detailed tracking and reporting.

Assigning Demographics

Start by setting up demographics for your children’s ministry, aligning them with how your ministry operates. You can then create additional demographics for adult members based on how your church categorizes them.

Filtering and Reporting

Demographics make it easier to filter and report on specific groups. For instance, you can quickly generate reports for different age groups, helping you understand and manage your congregation better.

Locking Down Demographics

You can restrict access to certain demographics within your Access Permissions. This means members with demographic lockdowns can only access information related to the demographics they are permitted to see. This is useful for maintaining privacy and ensuring that sensitive information is only accessible to authorized personnel.

Demographics vs. People Views

Before creating a new demographic, consider whether a stored People View might be more appropriate. People Views are useful for easy searches and temporary groupings. For example, instead of creating a ‘Seniors’ demographic, you might create a People View for members over the age of 50.

Example Scenario

If your children’s ministry has different rooms for various age groups, you can assign sub-demographics to each Check-in room. This setup helps streamline the check-in process and ensures accurate reporting and management of the children’s ministry.

Steps to Set Up Demographics

  1. Navigate to Settings: Log in to the Admin Area and go to Settings.
  2. Select Demographics: Click on the Demographics section.
  3. Add Demographic: Click the ‘Add Demographic’ button and enter the relevant details.
  4. Add Sub-demographics: Click the plus icon to add sub-demographics as needed.
  5. Enable Demographic Progression: If applicable, enable demographic progression to automatically update members’ demographics based on criteria like age or grade.

By effectively setting up and using demographics, you can enhance your church's organizational structure, making it easier to manage and support your congregation.