In this webinar Hether Ghelf, Blackbaud Pacific’s Senior Consultant & Project Manager, discusses a best practice approach to database cleaning and continued maintenance. Cleansing your data can have an immediate impact on your business by increasing retention and response rates, decreasing the volume of mail returned from post, and ensuring mail is reaching your organisation’s constituents. View the recording here: https://www.blackbaud.com.au/notforprofit-events/webinars/past

1. Best Practice Strategies to
Clean up and Maintain Your
Database
Hether Ghelf
Senior Consultant, Project Manager & Data Hygiene Lead
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2. GARBAGE IN, GARBAGE OUT
• Bad inputs make bad outputs
• In lead generation and overall marketing, a piece of information is
considered “garbage” if it doesn’t contribute positively to the
campaign.
• If you’ve got misleading, inaccurate, or incomplete data, then you’ve
got garbage on your hands.
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3. CHALLENGES & REASONS FOR MESSY DATA
Staffing Issues
• Do you have a high data entry staff turnover?
• Are you stretching existing resources a long way?
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4. CHALLENGES & REASONS FOR MESSY DATA
Limited Time / Budget
• Do you struggle finding the time or money for proper database training
for your employees?
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5. CHALLENGES & REASONS FOR MESSY DATA
Merges and conversions within your databases
• Have you recently merged 2+ databases?
- Were duplicate records, codes, attributes taken care prior to the
merge?
• Did you convert from one database to another?
- Were pre-conversion clean up activities and post conversion clean
up activities scheduled?
Converting from one database to another is
a huge task and shouldn’t be taken lightly!
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6. CHALLENGES & REASONS FOR MESSY DATA
Using external sources
• Do you bring in data from 3rd party vendors or external lists?
• Have you ensured the data is formatted to fit your data file prior to
importing?
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7. CHALLENGES & REASONS FOR MESSY DATA
Documentation for Policy and Procedures
• Are your policy and procedures documents non existent or out-dated?
• Does your organisation have a Data Entry Standards (DES) document
to assist with “how to” properly enter data?
A policy and procedures document
and DES are two of the top documents
organisations should have!
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8. CHALLENGES & REASONS FOR MESSY DATA
Resistance to change
• Have you stopped to ask why you enter in data the way you do?
• Do you have multiple people entering data different ways?
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9. WHERE TO START - STEPS TO TAKE
1. Receive support from the top down
2. Audit/Assessment
3. Areas & Issues Identified
- create a clean up plan/strategy
- start with the most important areas
4. Begin Data Cleansing
5. Ask for Help
6. Be Proactive – fill in the gaps
7. Maintain Your Database
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10. STEP 1 – RECEIVE SUPPORT FROM THE TOP DOWN
• CEO
• Executive Committee
• Fundraising Manager
• Fundraising Staff
• Program & Other Department Staff
• Data Entry Staff
• Volunteers
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11. STEP 2 - AUDIT/ASSESSMENT
Review your database structure
• Codes, Attributes, Notes, Gift info, Reports, User Access, Process
• EVERYTHING!
Create initial queries/groupings
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12. STEP 2 - AUDIT/ASSESSMENT
• Examples of groupings/queries:
- Formatting of title, first name, middle name, surname, suffix, address lines,
suburb, state, postcode, gender
- Blank fields in all of the above
- Where there’s a spouse but the primary addressee and salutations are
singular
- If marked deceased, is the spouse still receiving the mailings; if yes, how are
they being addressed? Is it still Mr & Mrs? Correct the record so you don’t
offend anyone
- Marked as do not solicit, do not call but have been sent a recent appeal or
called during a recent calling campaign
- Missing Constituent Codes, Solicit Codes, Attributes
- Review code tables or drop down menu selections regularly and eliminate
duplicates or misspellings, especially after data has just been imported into
the database
- Return to sender mail – mark as invalid address, don’t just throw it away
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13. STEP 2 - AUDIT/ASSESSMENT
• Examples of groupings/queries continued…
- Male title/female or unknown gender
- Female title/male or unknown gender
- Title Ms, Mrs, Miss and unknown gender
- Blank spouse or contact title
- Marital status with deceased spouse
- Single with spouse
- Gifts with a blank campaign, appeal, letter code, etc
- Gifts not receipted or acknowledged
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14. STEP 2 - AUDIT/ASSESSMENT
• Other areas to consider reviewing/updating:
- Required fields
- Security Groups and/or User Access
- Existing reports, queries/groupings and exports
- Duplicate records – find and merge
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15. STEP 2 – AUDIT/ASSESSMENT
Start talking!
• Have you asked for input from staff/departments who obtain
information from the database? Or from those who input data?
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16. STEP 3 – AREAS & ISSUES IDENTIFIED
• Review and fine-tune the queries/groupings you created in Step 2
• Review notes from talking with staff/departments
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17. STEP 3 – AREAS & ISSUES IDENTIFIED
• Create a Clean Up Plan/Strategy and goals
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18. STEP 4 – DATA CLEANSING
Start Data Cleansing!
Before making any changes to be
sure to back up your database!
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19. STEP 5 – ASK FOR HELP
Ask for help Internally
• Knowledgeable staff within your organisation
And for help externally if needed
• Consultants or technical experts
to run database audits
• Blackbaud Data Hygiene Services
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20. STEP 6 – BE PROACTIVE
Be Proactive
Be Proactive
Be Proactive
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21. STEP 7: MAINTAIN YOUR DATABASE
After you have spent time, energy
and money cleansing your
database, put steps in place to
maintain it!
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22. STEP 7 - MAINTAINING YOUR DATABASE
Assign roles within your organisation
• Database Administrator (DBA) and/or Super User is a must
• Set their primary responsibility to keeping your database clean and
maintained
Have a back up!
• Have a back up DBA that can step
up in case your primary DBA is
out sick or leaves the organisation
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23. STEP 7 - MAINTAINING YOUR DATABASE
Update (or create) those important documents!
• Policies and Procedures
• Data Entry Standards (DES) document
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24. STEP 7 - MAINTAINING YOUR DATABASE
Example of Policy & Procedures document:
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25. STEP 7 - MAINTAINING YOUR DATABASE
Example of Data Entry Standards document:
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26. STEP 7 - MAINTAINING YOUR DATABASE
Keep your staff in the know!
• Train new and existing staff in system functionality
• Provide refresher training to staff on a regular basis (quarterly)
• Hold regular data entry staff meetings (weekly/bi-weekly)
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27. STEP 7 - MAINTAINING YOUR DATABASE
Look AND Listen
• Check new staff’s data entry –
help them become comfortable
with how they should be entering
data
• Talk to your staff - ask what staff like
doing in the database and what
they don’t
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28. STEP 7 - MAINTAINING YOUR DATABASE
Be prepared for upcoming campaigns
Calling Campaigns:
• Request staff or volunteers to verify name, address, email, mobile
• Create a template for entering the new/updated information
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29. STEP 7 - MAINTAINING YOUR DATABASE
Mailing Campaigns:
• Check your queries/groupings to ensure they have the correct criteria
• Run your addresses through a data hygiene service or Australia Post
one or twice a year
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30. STEP 7 - MAINTAINING YOUR DATABASE
Always continue auditing and cleaning up your database
And never stop searching for areas of improvement
Once your database is at a
manageable state, it will be easier
to maintain!
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31. TAKE AWAYS
1. Your database is key to your fundraising
2. Remember… garbage in, garbage out
3. Get started – don’t keep delaying the inevitable
4. MAINTAIN YOUR DATABASE
5. Ask for HELP
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32. HOW BLACKBAUD CAN HELP
• Blackbaud’s Consulting Services Department can assist you with your
database clean up, creation of your Policy & Procedures document
and Data Entry Standards document.
• Blackbaud’s Data Hygiene Services include:
– Address append and verification
– Phone append and verification for telemarketing and other contact
purposes
– Deduplication
– Provides deep insight into your existing data
– Offers data elements to enhance your data to create a richer asset
for your organisation
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33. THANK YOU!
Questions?
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