Data Garbage

This post is dedicated to my good friends who do the good work of database administration.

We've all heard the phrase "garbage in, garbage out" as it pertains to donor databases. Hopefully we are interpreting this old adage as a way to avoid accumulating too much data trash. Inevitably, however, garbage makes its way into our systems.

But what is your garbage telling you about how to make your data better? You might want to sift through the garbage to determine what can be recycled, what should be thrown out, and who the biggest litterers are.

1. Recycle
   As I am in life, I'm a big advocate for recycling within a donor database whenever possible. One option for recycling data in your system is marking records inactive. This will move records to the side, so to speak, as you make a final decision on what to do with them. Examples for the recycle bin are records with incomplete addresses, out of date contact information, and/or other missing data critical to your fundraising initiatives.
2. Throw Out
   Up for the throw out pile are records with no gifts. Pull a list of records in your database with zero lifetime giving. In the list output things like notes and actions to make sure you won't lose any important information about a constituent if the record is tossed. I'm not a major proponent of deleting large swaths of data, but there are scenarios where it is entirely appropriate especially now that many software makers' fees are based on number of records.
3. Give Away
   No, I'm not suggesting you give away any data. I am suggesting some time and attention be given to members of your team who are consistently throwing their proverbial garbage out the window and into the database. It is perfectly acceptable to bring this to their attention. Treat it as a teachable moment. At the very least, let the offender(s) know you are going to be running a data audit on a regular basis not as punishment, but as an opportunity to make sure the whole team is upholding system standards that have been put in place.

Try as we may to keep it clean our database will need a good scrubbing now and again. But before you do anything rash, go through your trash.