We talk a lot in this industry about donor retention.
All kinds of “Phantom Donor” testing occurs, such as Mal Warwick’s practice of sending a round of checks to twenty organizations to study the (usually unimpressive) returns.
Articles turn up regularly on penning the perfect thank you letter, and whether a thank you letter should include an additional ask, and how many times and ways that you can thank your donors.
So, what’s missing in this equation?
It’s simple really. You can’t really be a donor-centric organization without both a good database and solid protocols and training in using that database.
How can you thank, survey, segment and communicate with your supporters if you’re keeping that data in an Excel spreadsheet?
My first step in working with any new client – typically a small, community nonprofit – is to evaluate their database and make recommendations.
How do you locate the perfect database? Robert Weiner’s article on that topic gives a terrific overview and can help those new to donor databases evaluate and select a database that’s right for their organization.
But don’t stop there. Begin developing your protocols for data entry before you begin using your new database. Make certain that you’ve factored in funding for training and regular updates.
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