On which object should a consultant create the custom "Gender" field for automatic selection of reciprocal relationships based on gender?

Creating a custom "Gender" field for automatic selection of reciprocal relationships based on gender is best done on the "Affiliation" object. The Affiliation object represents relationships between contacts and accounts or organizations, making it suitable for more complex network relationships such as those that might involve gender considerations.

The rationale behind this decision lies in how relationships are structured in the Nonprofit Success Pack (NPSP). In NPSP, affiliations are often used to connect contacts to various organizational roles or capacities. By linking the gender information at the Affiliation level, it allows the system to apply this information more broadly to relationships that may involve multiple contacts associated with a single organization.

This approach ensures that when establishing reciprocal relationships—where one relationship might depend on another being recognized—the system can draw on this gender field from the Affiliation object. This avoids the complications that could arise by having gender specified only at the Contact level, where reciprocal relationships are more direct and might not fully encapsulate the affiliation dynamics. Thus, placing the custom field on the Affiliation object streamlines the process of managing relationships based on gender, enhancing data accuracy and functionality.