"Let's add that as another constituent code!", they said. "Let's create a new fund!", they said. All too often, in an attempt to capture more information, we create new categories rather than simply place information in the appropriate "room". This results in a database that can have in excess of 50 constituent codes and no use of attributes or volunteer tabs, as well as tables within attributes that contain duplicate information. Think about your data in terms of having a perfect white t-shirt and keeping that one, instead of keeping the off-white shirt, the shirt that is a bit too-small, too large, has the wrong neck - sometimes we keep all, and mistakenly wear the wrong one. When we do this with data, reporting and analysis are skewed and inaccurate.

We'll teach you how to assess your constituents codes, attributes, attribute tables, as well as campaigns funds and appeals through a Marie Kondo lens. This has to be a partnership between our advancement services teams, as well as our frontline fundraisers when it comes to understanding the why behind moving or removing information. Clean and tidy data allows us to refocus impactful data and reduces frustration when creating reports.