Managing your database is no April fools joke

Sure we love a good prank and knee-slapping laughter, but it’s no laughing matter when it comes to managing the information in your database.

Why is having up-to-date information in your member records so important?

Think about this: every contact you fail to connect with is an opportunity lost, and an opportunity that may have been a potential donor, supporter, and or volunteer. Extend the life of your resources, like your database, by keeping it clean and current.

With the growing nonprofit industry, organizations have more competition than ever before and it’s imperative that the information you have on your records is up to date and as accurate as possible. According to National Center for Charitable Statistics (NCCS) there are,

• 1,507,231 tax-exempt organizations:
  • 1,036,255 public charities
  • 100,796 private foundations
  • 370,180 other types of nonprofits (i.e. chamber of commerce, fraternal, civic leagues…etc.)

Source: http://nccs.urban.org/database/overview.cfm#BMF (Business Master Files)

With all of those organizations out there, your organization needs to make every connection meaningful. In order to do that, you need to have up-to-date information on all of your members and supporters.

What ways can I clean up or append my data?

There are many types of data clean-ups and appends that you can do. Some of the most common data service requests that we see are:

Email Appends: Appends consumer email address to all matched records and sends a permission request, opt-out email to all matched email addresses. You receive back all matched, verified, non opt-out email addresses. Typical match rates are 20-30%. Estimated costs are based on a 25% match rate. NOTE: All records to be matched must contain a first name, last name, address, and zip code.

Email Verification: Checks whether email addresses are deliverable or not based on connecting to their mail server as well as matching them to a database of email address. Email addresses that were previously thought to be undeliverable may now be deliverable due to a full mailbox being emptied, an inactive/unpaid account being reactivated/paid, server technical problems may have been fixed, etc.

National Change of Address (NCOA): The NCOA service checks your constituent’s existing addresses against the US Postal Service database of all change-of-address requests in the preceding 48 months. Updated fields include new address, change of address date, and deliverability code. The US Postal Service requires addresses be NCOA processed within the past 90 days in order to qualify for postal discounts.

Districts Service Append: Verifies each address, then appends county, US congressional district, and state legislative districts (Senate and House/Assembly) to all verified addresses.

So there you have it – the importance of keeping your database’s member information up to date is serious business.

However, while we do not condone pranking, we still think reading about clever ways others have surprised their office-mates can be pretty funny. Prank at your own risk!

Finding help with the click of a mouse

If you would like to know more about different appending services or just have questions, thedatabank is happy to assist.