Data Dive
Small fundraising teams who are working hard without a dedicated position to manage their donor data using their system of choice can find themselves up against the clock, stressing out about "the right way" to enter data for one fundraising initiative or another.
No matter the initiative - event, giving challenge, direct mail, email solicitation to name just a few - if you find yourself feeling anxious about entering data, I say dive in and get it into the system the best way you know how. Don't let fear of doing something wrong stop you from moving forward. You can cleanup the data later.
Before you make this jump, there are a few things to keep in mind.
- Know how you want the data to come out of the system post-initiative.
- Keep close tabs on what you entered.
- Be able to clearly communicate why you entered it the way you did.
- Make an initial plan for the cleanup.
- Start the cleanup as soon as possible after the initiative.
- Set a date for cleanup completion.
As long as you keep the above in mind, go ahead dive in! The data is just fine.
Sign up to receive my weekly email with updates, fresh takes, advice, & tips on building better fundraising data.