Let's circle back to the original premise set forth at the beginning of this chapter: A report is primarily about telling a story it is data with a message.
We began this chapter thinking about what a report truly is, and guarding ourselves against missing the forest while staring at trees. After having reviewed the mechanics of creating and working with reports and outlining the various report templates available, it would be easy to lose sight of this broader context.
The reporting tools covered in this chapter are a means toward an end. You will select your report fields, define data filters, and choose your display options with the goal of communicating to other staff, organization leaders, or yourself, about the story of your constituents. This story takes shape through the lens of activities, contributions, pledges, memberships, events, cases, grants, or other windows into your data.
In this chapter, we:
- Set the context for working with reports and understanding the goal of reporting
- Defined key terminology used in CiviCRM reporting tools, including report templates and report instances
- Reviewed available report settings common to all reports
- Outlined the use of report criteria, which will be report-specific
- Summarized available report templates that are included with a base installation of CiviCRM
- Reviewed the core purpose and goal of reporting