The Gift of Data

Your organization’s donor data really is the gift that keeps on giving.

But to be sure of that regular maintenance is in order.

Here are five data audit workflows to run on a regular basis to keep the gift alive.

1. Duplicate Records
   Keeping track of and removing duplicate records from your database is of course best practice. But if the cost of your donor system is based on the number of records it contains this could also save your organization money.
2. Address Updates
   Some organizations have subscriptions to run address updates directly from their system. If you fall into this category, make it a point to run this service on a regular basis according to the terms of your contract. If you don't, at the very least have someone in your office who handles the dreaded yellow return mail stickers as they come in, making sure to set target completion dates for the updates.
3. Updates by Individuals
   Are you having issues with a team member incorrectly updating records? Create a query, list, or report of the incorrect entries. This isn't to shame or blame. This is to educate.
4. Output Cleanup
   One thing you can do to make your system more navigable is to remove old reports, lists, exports, and other types of outputs.
5. Empty Field Cleanup
   Running a query, list, or report on fields with no values where a value should be is easy and the payoff is huge.
   

Giving is better than receiving. With the data that lives in your donor management system giving is most certainly a two-way street. You give a little. It gives a lot.