It’s no secret that data is the key to successful nonprofit marketing and fundraising campaigns. Data allows you to get to know your supporters and make decisions based on their unique characteristics and preferences.
However, this data is only useful if it’s updated and accurate. That’s where data hygiene comes into play.
Data hygiene refers to the process of cleaning your data—or making sure it’s error-free. In this guide, we’ll explain why data hygiene is important for nonprofits to prioritize as part of their routines.
1. Informed Decision-Making
Clean data allows you to confidently make decisions and set realistic goals. Take the guesswork out of decision-making by using clean, reliable data to guide your:
- Marketing efforts. Organized marketing data allows you to assess key performance indicators (KPIs) and determine which strategies are most effective. For example, you may store email open and click-through rate (CTR) data in your database, allowing you to replicate successful campaigns and avoid approaches that didn’t resonate with your audience.
- Program development. A clean database allows you to measure program outcomes and make adjustments where necessary. For instance, a youth development program may find that participants reported improved life skills more often when they took part in your mentorship program. This data-driven discovery may drive you to fund and promote your mentorship program more.
- Fundraising strategies. With clean data, the fundraising possibilities are endless. You can analyze giving patterns, pinpoint potential major donors, and tailor your fundraising appeals to each supporter to increase the chances they’ll contribute.
If you don’t have enough supporter data to make well-informed decisions, you can enrich your database with additional information. By working with a data provider, you can source third-party data about your supporters to learn more about them and better reach them. This information may include demographics, contact information, and lifestyle data.
2. Increased Efficiency
With clean data powering your operations, you’ll increase your nonprofit’s efficiency across the board. After implementing data hygiene best practices, your organization will be able to:
- Streamline internal processes. By putting in the time upfront to update and organize your data, you can reduce time spent on data entry and corrections. Additionally, your staff will be able to efficiently access the information they need.
- Better allocate resources. Clean data allows you to effectively analyze your operations and donor behavior. When you understand which programs and campaigns yield the best results, you can more easily allocate resources while developing your nonprofit’s strategic plan.
- Speed up response times. With organized and accessible data, you can respond more quickly to inquiries, opportunities, and challenges. For example, it’s easier to address a customer support ticket when your team has all the necessary data at their fingertips.
With all of the time you save by adopting a data hygiene routine, you can dedicate more energy to what’s really important: your mission.
3. Reduced Costs
Using the updated contact information in your database, you can reach the right supporters and conserve resources. More specifically, data suppression helps nonprofits reduce costs by removing unuseful information from their databases.
The main types of suppression services include:
- Do Not Mail. Identify which of your supporters are on Do Not Mail lists so you can avoid sending them direct marketing solicitations.
- Prison. Remove addresses associated with federal prisons, state prisons, country correctional facilities, and city jails.
- Deceased. Eliminate records for deceased supporters to prevent sending unwanted mail to the decedent’s family.
- Deduplication. Remove redundant name, address, email, and phone number records.
By updating the contact information in your supporter database, you can cut down on marketing costs and wasted resources while adhering to supporter communication preferences and respecting their privacy.
4. Enhanced Supporter Relationships
Your supporters want to feel like you value them as individuals. Using clean, updated data, you can build one-on-one relationships with supporters, tailor your communications to them, and retain their support.
Strategies for enhancing supporter relationships with clean data include:
- Personalization. According to Getting Attention’s nonprofit marketing statistics guide, emails with personalized subject lines increase the likelihood of supporters opening them by 26%. Draw supporters in by using their names, referencing their specific involvement, and catering to their interests.
- Segmentation. Segmentation refers to the process of grouping supporters in your database based on shared characteristics so you can send them messages that resonate with them. For example, Deep Sync’s data marketing guide explains that if you’re trying to reach Millennials, you should segment contacts by age and prioritize mobile-first marketing; without updated demographic and contact information, this process wouldn’t be possible. You may also segment supporters by location, level of support, and engagement rate.
Additionally, keep updated records of supporters’ communication preferences so you can send messages using the channels they prefer, such as email, text, direct mail, and social media. Supporters will appreciate your willingness to communicate on their terms, leading to stronger relationships with them.
5. Regulatory Compliance
With data becoming an increasingly important part of how organizations operate, there are constantly new data regulations popping up to ensure responsible data use. Two of the main data regulations in the United States are the California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA) and the Colorado Privacy Act (CPA), which grant California and Colorado residents rights over their personal data.
When you prioritize data hygiene, you can ensure you comply with all relevant guidelines and protect data privacy by:
- Being transparent about data collection. Obtain your supporters’ consent before collecting and using their data. You should also explain exactly what you’re using their data for. Then, take note of any supporters who don’t give their consent, and keep this information organized in your database to ensure you respect their wishes in the future.
- Managing supporter privacy preferences. Frequently audit your database to ensure you’re properly storing information about your supporters’ data preferences. Data suppression services and surveys help to ensure you have updated information in this area.
- Preventing data breaches. Poor data security practices may make your organization more vulnerable to data breaches. Keep your data clean and secure by proactively organizing and encrypting sensitive information, implementing access controls, and choosing data providers with SOC 2 Type II compliance.
To keep track of relevant data laws and regulations, use resources like the International Association of Privacy Professionals’ U.S. State Privacy Legislation Tracker. That way, you can ensure you comply with any new legislation that applies to your organization.
Making data hygiene a habit is essential to keeping your nonprofit running smoothly. Proper data hygiene makes managing internal workflows easier for your nonprofit and helps you build trust with your supporters, allowing you to secure long-lasting relationships, continued financial support, and a thriving nonprofit community.
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