Your database

A fundraising database should have:

User-friendly interface.

If people can't see quickly and easily how to use the database they get frustrated and bored and tend not to input the data properly.

Easy Import of Data

Moving data around should be easy either for incorporating your old database or moving data to a spreadsheet format to allow for analysis (e.g. into excel etc).

Ability to distinguish between donors

It is very important to know whether the donation is a trust, company or individual and what relationships exist.  For example an individual donor may be part of a company that donates.

Relationships

Easy Reporting System

Push buttons that create useful and meaningful reports for individuals and departments.  And the ability to see these in diagram format.  

Sending Out information

Sending out information automatically should be easy.  Writing a standard letter, highlighting those records required and printing the letter should be easy to use.

Planning

The ability to create both snapshot and longitudinal financial profiles.  

Flexibility

Ability of the database to be tailored to the organisations needs.  This is important as all organisations file their data differently and the database needs to reflect these needs.

Training

Training should not be a major part of the process.  A database should be very userfriendly and it should not be necessary for everyone to attend complicated courses simply to use the data.  It is however to ensure that there are individuals within the organisation who take on the training responsbility as most users simply want to know what buttons to press to get what they want and do not benefit from expensive training.  These individuals however, should be responsible for continual training of individuals and should they leave the organisation of training up successors.

Sophisiticated/Custom Queries

The ability to conduct sophisticated queries easilly.

Data Validation Rules

The database should have certain controls which help to prevent 'bad' data from being inputted, such as duplicated and null data.

Cost

The cost of the database should relate directly to the needs of the organisation and how in depth IN REALITY it is going to go.  So many software packages are hardly used at all by individuals.  In many ways the more simple the database the better it is for the organisation to use.  Updates on training will have a far more valuable effect for users than and expensive complicated database.

Gift Aid

Your database should have an easy way to claim back gift aid and a programme that facilitates this.

Other fact sheets in Organizational planning
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