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What Is Bad Data Really Costing Your Organization?

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Your donor database is only as good as the data you put into it. With the year-end giving season upon us, now is the time to prepare for fundraising success in 2024. A clean database should be a high priority as you plan ahead.

As with every other industry today, nonprofits are especially dependent on good data to be successful. And donor data is at the top of the critical care list. The problem that every nonprofit faces, however, is that data degrades, and donor data degrades faster than most. Don’t let poor data keep you from reaching your fundraising goals!

What is poor data really costing you?

Creates a poor donor experience. Some donors may not mind not being addressed or recognized incorrectly, but some will. Having the correct information, even something as simple as a prefix, can mean the difference between getting a donation and having your appeal thrown out with the offers for meal delivery services. Having data that creates a clear and accurate donor experience can make your donors feel seen and valued.
Prevents you from launching impactful campaigns. If your data is incomplete or outdated, can you trust that your campaign segments are accurate? Personal touches are important and play a key role in cultivating a one-time gift into a regular donor. Cleaning up donor segments will ensure that your message is getting to the right person at the right time to maximize your campaigns.
Keeps you from reaching the right audience. Save your organization money and resources by preventing a large pile of returned mail. Twelve percent of all Americans move each year and outdated data won’t reflect that. Bloomerang automatically runs nightly address verification and deceased suppression updates to combat this problem.

Good donor data can mean the difference between having a meaningful interaction with a donor or really missing the mark. We all want the former, but finding the time and expertise to know where to focus can be challenging. Knowing all your options for achieving a healthy database is the first step in creating one.

Should you get a database health check?

Here are some things to consider and questions to ask.

What kind of bandwidth does your team have? Do you have a dedicated database manager or team? Do they have the time to audit and clean your database before 2024 fundraising?
Database audits and edits can easily be done by experts. Experts can help you focus on what’s most important to have a clean, trustworthy, and updated database to help you meet your goals.
What’s the real cost to your organization? When you account for staff time and resources, it can often be cheaper to outsource your database health check. You can ensure it’s done correctly while you focus on achieving your mission.

Clean your data up now. Do yourself and your organization a favor and start considering the options you have to get your database in tip top shape for the new year. That way when 2024 rolls around, you can relax because you’ve totally got this data thing under control so you can focus on what you do best.

At the end of the day, clean nonprofit data isn’t easy, but it’s worth it. And Bloomerang can make it easier. Healthy data is powerful data. Bloomerang customers can benefit from a Database Health Check subscription to ensure their organization is getting the most out of their data. Take your fundraising to the next level. Don’t delay – start 2024 on the right foot.