Purpose.

Source codes are used very extensively on InFoE. They track most of the events which affect supporters:-

Original source codes.
Source codes are used on cold-mailings to prospective supporters, and on all leaflets and advertisements which ask people to become a supporter of FoE. For each supporter, we keep a record of the source code which described how they were brought them onto the system. This enables us to evaluate which methods of recruitment are best.

Coded gifts.
Source codes are placed on all special appeals to supporters, both on direct mailings and on media advertisements. All responses are recorded against these source codes, so we can monitor what went well and what didn't. (So its a good idea to label them clearly, as many people will need to refer to them for many years to come).

How a source code is built up.

Source codes are usually associated with particular types of initiatives. A source code is up to twelve characters in length and conforms to the following scheme:

TTyymm9999

where:

TT is a 2 character type (eg. AP=Appeal, CM=cold mailings, RA=raffles etc)
yy is the year (eg. 94=1994), generated automatically
mm is the month (eg. 07=July), generated automatically
9999 is a unique number, generated automatically

An example of a source code is "AP96107954", which indicates an appeal in October 1996 with a unique identifying number of 7954.

(There are also approximately 2,000 historical source codes stored on the InFoE system. These are the old style (four character) codes).