Section heading here How to Use Your Database to

Power Your Fundraising

Naomi Hamilton-Hakim

Senior Marketing & Partnerships Manager

Blackbaud Pacific

A brief introduction

Blackbaud is leading provider of software and

services to the global not for profit community Founded 1981

29,000 not for profit Customers

Serving 60 Countries

Implement fundraising databases for a variety of NFPs in NZ (eTapestry, The

Raiser’s Edge, Blackbaud CRM)

Consulting

How database savvy are you?

Remain standing if: Your organisation uses a fundraising database solution (not Excel, Access etc)

You have a dedicated database manager

You have clear database procedures in place

You have an active data hygiene program

You have an active database training program in place for staff

Your CEO knows where to find and read system reports, and finds these useful

You know your current donor acquisition rates per channel

You know your current donor retention rates per channel (for 12, 24, 36 & 48

months)

You know who your most passionate donors are!

The plan (agenda)

Today we’re going to discuss: Why your database is so important

How you can setup your database to provide a strong foundation for your

fundraising

Current trends in fundraising

How you can enable your database to help you measure success

Why focus on your database?

Because it’s one of your biggest fundraising assets! Your database is your key to building a relationship with your donors

Successful not for profits are data-driven

You can use your data to create actionable insights

Your data will tell you what’s working and what’s not

You can use your database to track ROI

Enables sophisticated segmentation (RFM)

You can create workflows, simplify administration and automate some tasks

What are the consequences of a

badly maintained database?

You will lose donors & dollars!

• incomplete address Direct Mail

• no email address Electronic Direct Mail

• lack of contact details Major Gifts

• no birthdate Bequests

• incorrect deadlines Trusts & Foundations

• no contact name Corporate Partnerships

3 pinnacles of a powerful

fundraising database CLEAN

• No duplicate records

• No missing information

• Similar information stored together

• Good code tables

WELL MAINTAINED

• Schedule of maintenance

• Error-free output

• Easily generates output

• Secure

STRONG

• Essential data captured

• Needs little maintenance

• Organisation/mission specific information

• Helps everyone do their jobs!

8 tips to creating a truly powerful

database

1. Choose the right system for your needs

2. Designate ownership

3. Confirm security & disaster recovery procedures

4. Keep your data clean

5. Engage & train your whole team

6. Confirm data entry policies & procedures

7. Ensure your reports are relevant & accurate

8. Consider the data you really need

1. Select the right database REQUIREMENTS

• Staff

• Revenue

• Capacity

• Growth

FUNCTIONALITY

• Compile list of expectations

• Be as specific as possible

• Prioritise requirements

• Consider any existing systems you have in place

TIMELINE

• Set a realistic time frame

• Consider implementation time

• Understand the project complexity

• Have a clear project deadline

FUNDING

• Establish a clear budget

• Consider hardware, conversion, training, maintenance and support

2. Own It

You need a Database Manager to: Assist your organisation’s database users with support questions

Conduct regular user group meetings with key users

Produce weekly, monthly, quarterly, and any other necessary reports for

distribution

Maintain the structure of attributes, business rules and all other structural

functions

Maintain data integrity by establishing regular system checks

Handle global changes, importing, and other global database functions

Maintain and update the policy and procedures guide

3. Confirm security & disaster

recovery procedures

Ensure that your database is secure and that you

have a disaster recovery plan: Should every staff member/volunteer/board member be able to access

everything?

Backup, backup, backup!

Ensure your processes are agreed and documented

Protect your data and ensure your organisation’s future

4. Keep your data clean

Garbage in, garbage out! Ensure top down support

Audit/assessment

Deal with areas/issues identified

Begin data cleansing

Ask for help

Be proactive

Maintain

5. Your whole team needs to be

engaged & trained

Database Manager

Systems Administrator

Administrative Assistants

Fundraising Manager/Senior Leadership/CEO

Program Staff

Gift Processors

Relationship Manager

6. Create clear processes and

procedures

Continually check your procedures and ensure: Data accuracy from all sources

Efficient input of data

Effective input of data

CEE (confirm, edit and enhance!)

That you have a documented, detailed

policies and procedures manual that is up-to-date!

7. Effective and accurate

reporting

Continually check: Have relevant been dashboards enabled per user?

Is all data captured and kept relevant for data analysis?

Is all of the relevant data being looked at? Reported on?

Do you need different reports?

Do you need different data?

8. How ‘big’ is your data?

Ensure that you effectively capture the data you

need to drive your fundraising activities: Insight vs. information

How much ‘rich’ data do you need?

Be aware of privacy laws governing data collection

Don’t get overwhelmed – take it one step at a time!

Time to network!

Take 5 minutes and discuss with the person next to

you: What your current database setup is

What do you well with your database currently?

How could improve your database usage?

Current fundraising trends

What’s happening in fundraising right now? Increasing global focus on donor value through upgrading and acquisition of

donors with a higher long-term value (donor conversion)

Integrated channel approach (source diversification)

Search for new channels

Growing awareness of retention challenges

Automation

Source: DonorCentrics Benchmarking

Focus on donor long-term value

Key aims to: Upgrade existing donors

Acquire donors with high term value

Spend less time on donors that are low value

Monitor donor value with your

database How is your organisation performing? How many donors do you have?

What is the average value per donor?

What’s your (new) donor conversion rate?

What is your conversion rate across subsequent years?

Which ‘groups’ of donors convert better?

Which channels convert better?

Which donors are low value for your organisation?

Which groups of low value donors can you drop in favour of investing more value in high

value conversions? What’s your capacity?

Source diversification

Vital to successful fundraising as provides: Flexibility (changes in market circumstances)

Stability (ability to shift investments quickly, easily with predictable outcome)

Increased performance (able to adjust channels to alter growth & return)

Donor choice

Enhanced exposure to existing and potential donors

Source diversification

Source diversification & your

database Have you enabled a variety of ways for donors to give?

Do you have a clear idea of which donors are coming through which sources?

How frequently do you report on source success?

Use source success to drive investment decisions

Search for new fundraising

channels

There is no silver bullet, but channels of interest

include: Social

Online

List sharing/co-operatives

SMS

Crowdfunding

Responsive TV (future)

Retargeting

Social

Helping the search

Need to ensure that continue to invest in legacy

programs while exploring new options: Ensure that you track the source & channel of all donations

Continue to look for trends in your data

Examine demographics

Keep some funds for innovation

Collaborate, network & share ideas!

Donor retention

Finding new donors is hard, but retaining

them is even harder! Cost to acquire a new donor is 6-7 times that to retain an existing donors

Top 18 charities had a massive 1% change in the number of donors on file

2011 - 2012. They lost 28% and gained 29%!

We estimate they spent over $60m to basically stand still.

A 10% increase in donor retention can increase the lifetime value of the donor

database by up to 200% .

Adrian Sargeant, Ph.D. from Indiana University’s Center on Philanthropy

Donor choices

D

Charity B

D

Charity C

Charity A

D

Charity D

Donor retention & your database

What’s a not for profit to do? Establish a fanatical relationship management culture

Become donor-centric versus campaign-centric

Treat your donors as your most valuable asset

Monitor your first-year donor retention, multi-year donor retention, retention per

channel, donor reactivation, total donor file size, total revenue and revenue per

donor

Thank, thank and thank again!

Stop the leaky bucket

Monetise your data

What happens when someone tells you they love

you? Monetise daily interactions by scoring 1 – 5 (love variable)

Incentivise the staff recording this data

Align those that love you with those that have the resources to give (or are

giving) and concentrate on these

Create ‘hurdles’ and track the results

Automation

Let your data save you time and money by

automating: Thank you emails

Donor nurturing processes

Receipting

Regular gift processing

Birthday congratulations

Touch points with lapsed donors

Any recurring processes!

Fundraising & your database

Use your database to: Record your supporters actions in an easily usable format

Ensure that you have a multi-channel fundraising approach

Get creative!

Focus on key retention metrics and execute best practice retention approaches

Ensure you treat your donors as your most valuable asset

Enable your data to assist you in making investment decision and track results

Contrast your results against industry benchmarks

Group work

Break into pairs and answer the following

questions: Did you learn anything new today? What was it?

Which 3 changes will you make to your database when you get back to the

office?

How will you continue to educate your colleagues on the importance of your

data & database on an ongoing basis?

Further Resources

• Fundraising Database Management Training:

https://www.blackbaud.com.au/notforprofit/training/f

undraising-database-management

• Blackbaud Database Health Check

• Blackbaud Database Review

• Blackbaud Data Hygiene Services

www.blackbaud.com.au

Thanks!

Naomi Hamilton-Hakim

Senior Marketing & Partnerships Manager

Blackbaud Pacific

naomi.hamilton-hakim@blackbaud.com.au

+61 8986 6000

@bbpacific

@fairynomo

www.blackbaud.com.au