Hunting For Bad Data + The 7 Types of Rest

1Fundraising Article. 1Productivity Hack. 1PhoneRaise Update. Weekly.
A weekly email for individuals who appreciate fundraising & nonprofit technology.

Please note that in observance of Passover, there will not be a weekly post for the next two Sundays. We will resume on Sunday, May 5th.

Five Reports You Can Use To Hunt For Bad Data and Three Processes To Keep Your Data Clean

It happens. Bad data clogging up your CRM. Even the most efficient organizations encounter data that needs to be cleaned up. Keeping your data clean makes your organization much more efficient and avoids embarrassing fundraising mistakes.

Here are some important reports and processes you can use to keep your data clean.

1. Missing data report: Generate a report that identifies records with missing or incomplete information in key fields, such as names, addresses, email addresses, or phone numbers. This can help you pinpoint gaps in your data and prioritize updates to maintain data quality.
2. Duplicate records report:
   Create a report that highlights potential duplicate records based on matching criteria, such as names, email addresses, or phone numbers. This will help you identify and merge duplicates, ensuring a cleaner and more accurate database.
3. Inconsistent data report:
   Develop a report that flags records with inconsistent formatting, capitalization, or data entry errors in key fields. For example, identify records with multiple formats for phone numbers or addresses. This report will help you identify and correct inconsistencies in your data.
4. Outdated data report:
   Generate a report that identifies records that have not been updated or contacted within a specified period, such as one or two years. This can help you determine which records may have outdated information and require follow-up to ensure data accuracy.
5. Invalid data report:
   Create a report that flags records with invalid data, such as incorrect email addresses, non-existent postal codes, or improperly formatted dates. This report will help you identify and correct invalid data entries, improving the overall quality of your database.

Three Processes to keep your data clean

Here is a saying you may be familiar with:

Dirty Data In, Dirty Data Out.

Maintaining clean data is like keeping a tidy house. A cluttered home hinders productivity and increases stress, while messy data leads to inefficiencies and poor decision-making.

Conversely, a clean house fosters well-being and productivity, just as organized data enables smooth operations and reliable insights.

In short, both clean living spaces and data are essential for a thriving environment and success. Here are three processes you should create in your organization to keep your data clean.

1. Schedule Regular Data Audits:

The first habit to establish is conducting regular data audits. An audit is a comprehensive examination of your data to identify any inconsistencies, inaccuracies, or missing information. By consistently reviewing your data, you can catch issues early and ensure that your donor and fundraising data remain clean and organized. To perform an effective data audit, follow these steps:

• Set a schedule: Determine how often you need to review your data, such as monthly, quarterly, or annually, depending on your data volume and the rate at which it changes.
• Identify key metrics: Determine the critical data points for your nonprofit, such as donor information, gift amounts, and campaign results.
• Establish data quality standards: Set criteria for data accuracy and consistency across your organization.
• Review and clean: Examine your data thoroughly, correct any inconsistencies, and remove any inaccurate or outdated information.

2. Implement a Data Validation Process:

Data validation is the practice of checking the accuracy and quality of your data as it is entered into your system. By establishing a data validation process, you can prevent errors and ensure that only clean data is stored in your donor management or CRM system. Here are some steps to implement data validation:

• Define your data types: Determine what types of data you are collecting, such as names, addresses, email addresses, and donation amounts, and the format they should be in.
• Use input validation: Implement validation rules for your data entry forms or applications to prevent the entry of incorrect data. These rules can include character limits, format requirements, and numerical ranges.
• Implement error messages: Create clear and informative error messages to guide users when they enter incorrect data. This will help them understand the issue and correct it before submitting the data.
• Regularly update validation rules: As your data needs evolve, update your validation rules to ensure they remain relevant and effective.

3. Establish a Data Governance Framework:

Data governance is the process of managing your data throughout its lifecycle, from creation to deletion. A robust data governance framework will ensure that your nonprofit's data remains clean, organized, and usable. To create a data governance framework, consider the following steps:

• Assign data stewards: Designate individuals or teams responsible for maintaining the quality of specific data sets, such as donor information or campaign results. These data stewards will be accountable for ensuring the data remains clean and organized.
• Develop data policies: Create comprehensive policies that outline how data should be collected, stored, accessed, and deleted within your nonprofit. These policies should be easy to understand and follow.
• Implement data management tools: Use software solutions, such as donor management or CRM systems, to automate data governance tasks, such as validation, deduplication, and archiving. These tools can help streamline the data governance process and reduce the risk of errors.
• Monitor and enforce compliance: Regularly check that your data governance policies are being followed, and address any non-compliance issues promptly.

Wrap-Up

Keeping your data clean is like running a tight (data)ship, where both your living space and information remain in pristine condition.

So, grab your digital broom, put on your data-cleaning gloves, and sweep away the cobwebs of inconsistencies and inaccuracies. After all, a well-organized data house is a happy (and thriving) data house.

Revitalizing Leadership: Embracing the Seven Types of Rest for Enhanced Productivity

It's commonly expected that staff and leadership in the nonprofit space are expected to do more with less. Burnout is a silent epidemic among nonprofit organizations that threatens to undermine both personal well-being and organizational effectiveness.

Leaders often find themselves sacrificing rest for productivity, yet the best work ethic invariably includes a good rest ethic. This article delves into the seven types of rest as identified by Dr. Saundra Dalton-Smith and explores practical ways nonprofit directors and fundraisers can incorporate these restorative practices into their routines to enhance their professional and personal lives.

Understanding Burnout in Nonprofit Leadership

Nonprofit leaders face unique pressures—from managing scarce resources to meeting the high expectations of stakeholders. These challenges can lead to severe stress and burnout if not managed properly. Incorporating varied types of rest can help mitigate these effects and recharge the mind and body for better decision-making and creativity.

The Seven Types of Rest

1. Physical Rest

Nonprofit leaders often neglect physical rest, which includes both passive forms like sleep and active forms like stretching or using an ergonomic workspace. Prioritizing regular, restorative sleep and integrating physical activity into the day can prevent exhaustion and enhance overall health.

Practical Tips:

• Aim for 7-8 hours of sleep per night.
• Incorporate short power naps into your routine without guilt.
• Use an ergonomic chair and desk setup to minimize physical strain.

2. Mental Rest

Mental rest can combat the cognitive overload many leaders face. Simple practices like meditation, maintaining to-do lists, and establishing shutdown rituals can help clear the mind and separate work life from personal life.

Practical Tips:

• Meditate for a few minutes each day to clear youramong mind.
• Write down tasks to offload the mental burden.
• Create a ritual to end the workday, such as tidying your desk or writing a journal entry.

3. Social Rest

Directors and fundraisers must often perform social gymnastics, which can be draining. Social rest involves spending time with people who rejuvenate you and avoiding those who deplete your energy.

Practical Tips:

• Evaluate your social interactions and invest in relationships that are uplifting.
• Schedule regular time to be alone, especially if you are introverted.

4. Spiritual Rest

Engaging in activities that reaffirm your sense of purpose can provide profound spiritual rest. This can mean participating in religious activities, adding in prayer, additional study, or any work that aligns with your personal beliefs.

Practical Tips:

• Ensure your work responsibilities reflect your inner beliefs and passions.
• Carve out time every day for study and prayer.

5. Sensory Rest

Modern life bombards us with information and stimuli, leading to sensory overload. Reducing this can mean setting boundaries around the use of technology and creating a soothing workspace.

Practical Tips:

• Limit social media and email interaction times.
• Create a calming evening routine with no screens.
• Find a hobby or activity that helps you unwind and relax.

6. Emotional Rest

It's crucial to have a place to express your true feelings. Emotional rest involves surrounding yourself with people who allow you to be yourself and you feel comfortable sharing your thoughts and feelings. A spouse or close friends can help provide emotional rest. In some cases seeking professional help to discuss emotional burdens is suggested.

Practical Tips:

• Cultivate relationships where honesty is valued.
• Consider counseling to deal with professional pressures.

7. Creative Rest

This rest type is vital for keeping one’s work and ideas fresh. It involves appreciating beauty and allowing yourself to be inspired by it, whether in nature, art, or music.

Practical Tips:

• Visit places that inspire you, like museums or natural parks.
• Allow yourself regular "inspiration breaks" during your workday.

Implementing Rest Strategies
Starting with identifying your most significant rest deficits is key. Utilize tools like the Rest Quiz by Dr. Dalton-Smith to personalize your approach, and consider advocating for institutional support for restful practices.

Incorporating these seven types of rest into your life is not just about personal health—it's a strategic approach to sustaining leadership effectiveness. By advocating for and modeling a balanced approach to work and rest, nonprofit leaders can enhance their impact and inspire their teams to do the same.

Take deliberate steps to integrate these types of rest into your daily and weekly routines. Champion a culture of wellness within your organization to ensure that you and your team are performing at your best.

PhoneRaise Subscription Update

Our team is hard at work preparing for a new version of PhoneRaise. The expected rollout date is currently set for June 1. As we prepare to roll out the latest version, we would like to make you aware of a change to our pricing structure.

Currently, we have two different pricing structures for PhoneRaise engage campaigns and PhoneRaise Giving Day campaigns. Both of these pricing structures are based on how many contacts you have.

Starting in mid-May we will be charging per seat regardless of the campaign type. There will be no limit on how many contacts or campaigns you can have.

A seat includes any staff, volunteers, or ambassadors who will be using PhoneRaise. The subscription will be monthly and you can add or remove seats at any time during your subscription. For example, if you are using PhoneRaise to engage donors throughout the year and two staff members are using PhoneRaise the fee will be $90 per month. If you have a matching campaign coming up and you have 50 volunteers calling donors you can upgrade for the month of your campaign and pay $1,500 for the month and then downgrade after the month ends.

This pricing module will make our prices more transparent and enable smaller organizations to use PhoneRaise as well.

Seat Pricing:
Here is the expected monthly pricing plan:

• One seat: $50
• Two Seats: $90
• 3-5 Seats: $200
• 6-10 Seats: $350
• 11-25 Seats: $800
• 26-50 Seats: $1,500
• 51-100 Seats: $2,000