Why Data?

Data Management vs. Data Entry

Is there a difference? Yes, a lot. The majority of nonprofit organizations are only concerned with gift entry to ensure donations are recorded and thank you letters are sent. This is a basic yet crucial function of nonprofit operations, and many organizations aim to have a gift entry process that is somewhat consistent. But rarely is there capacity to innovate processes in a way that is intentional and aligns with the organization’s growth, with barely enough time to perform basic development operations. More often than not, the fundraising team is struggling to keep up with the volume of donation follow-ups and daily tasks, likely because the organization has not had the opportunity to adapt with technology. Many of these helpful tools are already available or low-cost (starting with the donor database), but processes take a long time, conflict exists among departments over priorities, colleagues may be resistant to change, and the list goes on. This can be overwhelming to fundraisers and nonprofit administrators who may not have the right support and training, or who simply don’t have the time. That is why having a role focused on data management is so important.

Why do you need both? Data entry is crucial yet transactional in nature– data management goes beyond correct gift entry and timely acknowledgment letters. It is about setting up the database so that it makes the organization’s purpose and mission easier to accomplish. Data management is becoming more important in the nonprofit industry as donors expect organizations to treat them with the same personalized experience that Amazon offers its users. Unfortunately, it is common to hear about an organization that did not thank a donor for their gift, much less use their first name (forget nickname) in the salutation. A database manager’s role is to maintain all of these data fields to ensure donor care, document internal policies and procedures for using the database, regularly merge duplicate contacts, etc. Aside from the technological aspects of configuring and fixing a database, data management requires critical thinking, strategic planning skills, strong understanding of fundraising practices, some creativity, and advanced database knowledge. Ongoing data management is key to sustaining the overall operations of an organization. Therefore, it is in the organization’s best interest to invest in both.