7 steps for keeping up with rapid growth in your donor database

When Siena/Francis House began to grow, it also found the need to change how it was using its donor database. With more work, more people were using the database, sometime simultaneously. The development staff also increased the frequency of appeals from just a couple times a year to one going out nearly every month; and  expanded other types of in-person fundraising that relied on good information about how specific donors' felt connected to the organization.

Siena/Francis House is Nebraska’s largest shelter serving homeless men, women, and children. At the time of this interview, they had grown from 86 to 222 beds for the men guests, and more was needed. “Within 2 months of building the new men’s shelter, we were laying down mats for overflow. Depending on the weather, we now house as many as 300 to 350 men, women and children guests a night and serve 900 meals a day,” Marge Harman, Information Technology Administrator for the organization, told me.
Faced with this kind of need, they have kept their database functioning optimally. “The need is there, that’s the sad thing,” says Marge. The following steps will keep your database working well under these high-pressure circumstances, too:

1. Have one person be responsible do routine checks for accuracy in data entry.

The person who is overseeing the data entry/consistency will help avoid a pile up of small errors and oversights that in time can really slow you down and cause errors in your outreach and reporting. That person can also be responsible for the odd jobs that no one else covers as a part of their routine work, such as adding notes related to a donor's special needs in how they want to be contacted or addressed.

2. Develop clear cut jobs for everyone working in the database

With clearcut jobs, everyone knows what they are responsible for and can focus on learning it well, getting it done, and being accountable.

3. Consider who needs to add information and who needs to view information in the database.

As a rule of thumb, adding data and viewing data are the two kinds of work to be done in your donor database and often are covered by different job roles already.

• Functional, for instance to record donations, send letters. Often done by office staff
• Informational, for instance to look up information on donors or volunteers. Often needed by development and executive directors.

Breaking these apart makes it easier to keep data entry consistent while giving people the information they need when they need it. Says Marge, about the Siena Francis development director, “he’s thrilled he can look for himself. He feels like he doesn’t have to bother me all the time."

4. Control access to sensitive data

Controlling access to sensitive information is also important with multiple users. This is a trust issue for donors and it also helps minimize accidental data entry mistakes. Features in your database that offer custom password protection make this easy, allowing everyone to have access to the data they truly need, and no more than they need.

5. Have users set up their own custom page with their 'most used' fields on it

Users will each have areas that they are most interested in and want to view quickly.  The custom page feature in FundRaiser allows for different users to designate which fields they can see at a glance. This saves time, and makes for a comfortable interface for people with different jobs and informational needs in the database. For instance, a volunteer coordinator will need volunteer information and the person doing donation entry will need access to the gift entry fields.

6. Make sure everyone receives training

When things are moving fast, it can be tempting to skip training. It does take a little time, but training will dramatically cut the learning curve and minimize mistakes. When things are moving rapidly, the quicker that people get up to speed the better. When Marge of Siena/Francis house had a new person begin data entry, she would sign them up for the FundRaiser overview class, and whatever other classes were most relevant to their job. “ I go through the training with them, too, and I pick up something every time,” says Marge. This allowed her to add to her own skills in easy stages, too.

7. Back up frequently

Frequent data back-ups are highly important when things are moving fast. Having a back-up means that if you have a database failure, you can get up to speed again quickly. Backing up may require a little more coordination with multiple users than with single users. Daily back ups are ideal. Find a time of day that a back up can be done, for instance, first thing in the morning, before everyone has logged on.

FundRaiser Software helps you get up to speed when your organization is growing

When your organization is growing fast, you may need to think over how you do things. You want to keep things running smoothly now more than ever. Good planning, the right software features, and excellent training are all important. FundRaiser Software has helped many organizations keep up with their organization's needs. If you would like to see how we can help you keep up with rapid growth, click below to sign up for an online guided tour,

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