Episode 61: The Case for Data Health

Now more than ever, nonprofits need to ensure that they have high-quality, up-to-date data. However, a lot of nonprofit organizations struggle with the issue of data health. Why is data health so important in the nonprofit field today, and what can organizations do to bring themselves and their data up to speed? 

In today’s episode, I’ll be speaking with Adriene Chisholm and Alan Dix of Blackbaud’s Target Analytics about the new report from the Blackbaud Institute for Philanthropic Impact, Untapped Potential: The Case for Data Health. Listen to the episode to hear what Adriene and Alan have to say about the biggest struggles nonprofits face with their data and how it affects fundraising, what first steps organizations can take to move in the direction of better data health, and how to avoid those dreaded “yellow stickers.” 

Topics Discussed in This Episode: 

• The most common data health areas that organizations struggle with
• Why physical addresses are such an important piece of data
• How data health can make fundraisers more efficient
• Valuable data to collect beyond basic contact data
• What organizations with a large digital presence should be doing to ensure their data is working for them
• Why organizations shouldn’t rely purely on digital data
• How to manage expectations about digital and social data
• How digital data may be more restricted going forward due to privacy concerns and regulations like GDPR
• First steps organizations can take to move in the direction of better data health
• Where data health is going in the next several years 

Resources:

Download Untapped Potential: The Case for Data Health

Connect with Adriene Chisholm and Alan Dix

 

“We’re all trying to be C+ students by limiting our ability due to poor data health.” – Alan Dix

 “Maintenance is always easier. It’s a lot easier to maintain your car than it is to get it fixed after it breaks down.” – Adrien Chisolm

“Data health is easy, it really is. It’s like getting your oil changed. You know you have to do it every 3,000 miles, just go and get it done.” – Adriene Chisholm