Fundraising is all about knowing your donors. It involves why they give and how they give, and how the charity can build relationships beyond the first gift.
Development staff, volunteer staff, and executive directors all impact donors. Something as consequential as a thank you message not delivered promptly can impact the donor’s perspective of the charity.
Creating an environment where staff are prepared and able to perform the job of stewardship is the charity's responsibility but is delegated to senior staff.
When we think of high-value data, we consider things as simple as a correctly spelt name, an address entered according to Canadian and US postal requirements, and a fund or breakout code identifying a donor’s interest in giving. None of these is extraordinary, but so often disregarded as the receipting function is only administrative!
We have often said the most successful charities are those where the development staff get down and dirty with the data. They understand it, confirm it, and ensure it is done to the charity's benefit, not the staff's convenience.
Where does good quality data that support interactions with a donor come from?
It comes from showing the donor appreciation. The donor affords the charity the ability to support its mission, not staff. They are the purveyors of the opportunity, not the donor themselves.
Data becomes information, and information becomes knowledge. We discuss a knowledge base for a charity, but in essence, it is the organizational memory of the charity itself.
Staff change undermines the knowledge base as valuable insights are lost. This is a continuing struggle, but can it be mitigated with better methods and expectations for all charity staff?
Our goal this year is to work with our clients on what we call Dynamic Data. This is data and information in a form that is accessible and accurate and placed where there is no need to search through folders and folders of notes. @EASE has been designed to work with immediacy by using sets of codes that identify special qualities, memberships and donor interests.
We have avoided the unnecessary clutter of most systems by focusing on what our client needs and the data supporting the requests made.
We think of @EASE like the little black dress. Classic in all its ways without unnecessary fluff to distract you from your focus.
Batsch Group Inc
Developers of @EASE Classic