Data Sense

What a Mess

We are remodeling our condo. The excitement of making plans, viewing drawings, picking colors, rugs, and furniture has given way to . . . chaos.  Items have been moved from room to room to make way for workers.  The contents of cabinets and furniture going to the kids have been unloaded and piled or boxed away.  Things have been tossed to anywhere we can find space. We can’t find what we need. Drywall dust is everywhere.  We eat out or eat dust. Disorder reigns and disorder does not sit well with someone who has spent her professional career organizing.

Why talk about our condo remodel?  Because the disorder reminds me of what can happen to a database when it is not properly populated, organized, or maintained.  (Those things are usually lacking when no documentation exists and no policy or procedures are in place.) In fairness to non-profits, it can be said that donor database products are sometimes sold as the be-all and end-all to a non-profit’s fund raising challenges.  But a database needs proper care and maintenance and there needs to be a plan in place to keep it organized and useful.
 
In pulling things out of cabinets during the remodel I found some items that I had forgotten about – items that have meaning to me. Because I neglected to put them in the right place in the beginning, they were lost to me. Do you have donors, once important to your organization, who have been neglected because they are lost in the clutter of your database?

I could go on, but you probably get the point.  I look forward to getting our home back in order. It will take time and planning but we’ll get there. You can bring order to your database.  It will take time and planning, but you can get there.