By Juliet Davenport, Nonprofit Ambassador, DonationMatch As Kim Kupferman of Heller Consulting admits in this Nonprofit Technology Network (NTEN) blog post, this isn’t the most exciting topic, but maintaining accurate donor data is actually quite important. How frustrating is it when we receive mail with our names spelled incorrectly, or which contains outdated or inaccurate information? What does this say about the company who sent the mailing? Knowing who your donors are, what they donate, and why they donate are vital information. Even though you may use some type of CRM to track this data, inaccuracies can be a major issue.

At DonationMatch, we are constantly striving to achieve the highest level of accuracy with our data. When it comes to donors, we understand that it’s important not only to know WHO to contact, but HOW to contact them. A bonus is that the WHO and WHAT of donor information is updated by companies themselves on DonationMatch, eliminating guesswork and streamlining the donation request process for both parties. As companies are learning to be more efficient, many both on and off our system are no longer accepting mailed requests (this preference can usually be found on their websites). When an organization fails to recognize this, it wastes paper and postage and risks offending potential or current donors.

Are you getting ready to mass-mail in-kind donation request letters for your fundraising event? Hop on over to DonationMatch first. Post your events and find out which products you can get in just clicks, then only send letters to donors who are not on our system. (You can even invite them to DonationMatch if you have their emails and think they may want to go paperless).

It shows respect and care to your donors when you are able to identify and acknowledge who they are, what they have recently done for you, and their preferences. This communicates the right message that can lead to better relationships and success.

What have you done lately to ensure data accuracy?