August 2020

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Data cleansing is task #1 when preparing for your Christmas Appeal

coding computer data depth of field
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There has been a lot of talk about upcoming Christmas Appeal. How will your supporters respond given the current pandemic and the economic environment? It may be August, but smart non-profit organisations are already preparing their data files and copy for what becomes the second most important campaign of the year for most charities. As part of those tasks, it’s not too late for non-profits to conduct data cleansing. Data hygiene is task #1 when preparing your Christmas Appeal.

Some non-profit organisations take the important step to cleanse their data, while many others do not. Those non-profit organisations who perform data cleansing, perform this task at least one time per year.

Data cleansing activities include, but are not limited to:

  • National Change of Address (NCOA).
  • De-duplication of constituent records.
  • Data enrichment, including:
    • Deceasing flags for records
    • Do not mail flag.
    • Do not call flag.
  • Other important mass data management practices.

Dirty data gets you nowhere…except broke. Proper data cleaning prior to dropping the all-important tax and Christmas appeals is a non-negotiable. Do you put this in the “too hard” basket? Hire an expert like FundraisingForce who will guide you through the process, management of suppliers, and develop a process for you to follow for years to come.

Don’t assume someone else will do this task – whether you are assuming the mail house does it or someone else on your internal team. Develop a process to get this task done and to ensure the cleansed data makes it was back to your organisations CRM. To merely cleanse the file for the appeal and to not load the clean data back to the CRM (a common mistake made by charitable organisations) is like cleaning your child and putting them back on the playground.

Get ready. Christmas will be here before you know it!

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Hand written notes make all the difference in the world

Hand written notes may be time consuming, but think of the difference they make. When was the last time you received a hand written note of any kind? Besides Christmas and Birthday cards, which are becoming more rare each year, it is highly unlikely you will receive many, if any, hand written pieces in the Post this year. Think back to your childhood (I may be dating myself here) when our parents wrote their parents and other relatives letters, rather than placing long distance telephone calls, and people took the time to say thank you in the most personalised fashion possible – with pen to paper.

Today, more and more of our communications are electronic, including birthday wishes. I receive a weekly report of the time I spend on my iMac, MacBook, iPad, and iPhone. The weekly reports never show a decrease from week to week.

I have written numerous blog posts over the last six years about the importance of stewardship. Those of us in the relationship business practice good stewardship in our business and in our personal lives. A 2014 news story out of the US called this to my attention and required me to take a moment to write (OK, type) about this very thing.

Why aren’t more charities taking the time to thank those important to them via a hand written note? Our heroes including our donors, volunteers, clients and staff deserve to have us take the time to thank them and to recognise them via a personalised note or phone call.

Does your organisation send personal notes or place phone calls to constituents who are closest to your organisation? Have you seen that this strategy made a difference?

Opportunities for personalised notes

Think for a moment about opportunities you have to write a personalised note. Opportunities may include:

  • Thanking first-time donors and new recurring donors.
  • Recognising donor’s anniversaries.
  • Thanking a volunteer who went the extra steps to help your organisation.
  • Recognising volunteers on the “hiring”/anniversary date.
  • Applauding staff for a job well done.
  • Recognising staff on the anniversary date of their hiring.
  • For suppliers – thanking a client or welcoming a new one.
  • Checking in with someone who needs a special touch.

INC Magazine advises us how to write a great note. In the article, the author suggests to keep the note brief, keep it personal, and never to include your business card.

Take the pledge – write a personalised note or call one donor each day this week. Experience the difference this will make, as “Doc” Emrick has, with his outreach. In addition to the gratitude you will show those close to your organisation, think about the impact this will have on your donor relations. People remember organisations that take the time to do something extraordinary for them. Everyone sends emails daily. Few take them time and the thought to craft a hand written note.

Hand written note

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CRM preparedness – beyond the contract

You think you have done the hard work. Functional requirements have been document and your team completed a CRM search. You entertained numerous demonstrations and discussions and you selected a CRM platform. Now what? There are an abundance of activities which must be completed prior to launching a CRM project. While you may be guided by your CRM partner, these CRM preparedness activities are the full responsibility of your school, university or non-profit organisation.

CRM project
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What ought to be on your CRM preparedness checklist?

CRM Preparedness Checklist

  • Project sponsorship
  • Organisation culture
  • Project infrastructure
  • Change management
  • Communications plan
  • Data readiness

Check List Defined

The items on the CRM preparedness checklist are big ticket items. Let’s explore each item on the check list.

Project sponsorship – Usually a senior level executive, the project sponsor operates at the 36,000 foot level and has the overall interests of the project’s outcomes. This person typically oversees the project benefits to ensure they align with the business requirements. As the chair the Project Steering Committee, he or she will serve as an escalation point for any issues in the project which cannot be resolved by a Project Team. In sum, the Project sponsor provides vision and governance to the project.

Organisation culture – Understanding your organisation’s culture is a critical aspect of the project. Ensuring your CRM partner understands the culture is equally vital.  Your organisation’s culture, simply put, is how your organisation does what it does. 

Project infrastructure – Your project’s infrastructure is the organisation structure, the hierarchy, for the project. This includes an organisation chart and pre-defined roles and responsibilities.

Change management – Change management defines the plan you have to guide people through the necessary change and the transition to a new CRM.

Communications plan – a Communications Plan is the roadmap you will follow to deliver the messaging to your intended audiences.

Data readiness – The cleanliness of your data is a vital part of your overall CRM readiness plan. Readiness includes taking a complete inventory of the data. Data hygiene activities such as data standardisation, changes of address, deduplication, and other activities are all key components of data readiness.

Implementing a new CRM is far more than the software itself. Preparing your organisation for the CRM implementation by conducting ground work activities in advance of the actual CRM implementation defines the success of your project.