As the fourth quarter approaches—a critical time for fundraising—nonprofit development teams are gearing up for year-end campaigns, donor outreach, and planning beyond 2025. We recently supported a leading local nonprofit during a busy hiring season by helping their development department prepare their Bloomerang donor database for stronger donor retention and campaign readiness. This assignment offered valuable insights into how nonprofits can optimize their data systems to drive fundraising success. Whether you’re onboarding new team members or refining your donor engagement strategy, here’s our Good Advice for getting your development data in shape for a strong finish to the year—and a powerful start to the next.
Start with the end in mind.
Before diving into data cleanup or system configuration, define the dashboard you need to drive strategy, track progress, and communicate with stakeholders. This clarity helps reverse-engineer your data structure: identifying which data points are essential, where they come from, and whether your donor software (like Bloomerang) already supports them—or if custom fields are needed.
Meet the data where it is. It won’t be perfect.
Data systems evolve over time, and perfection is not the goal—progress is. When refining data processes, consider your team’s bandwidth and your software’s capabilities. Our solutions were designed to fit current resources while remaining scalable for future growth, especially with new hires joining the development team. Bloomerang’s flexibility and user-friendly interface make it a standout choice for this kind of work.
Align development with accounting early and often.
Development and finance teams often work in parallel, but not always in sync. Prioritize alignment on record-keeping timelines, reconciliation processes, and shared goals. Regular meetings between these departments ensure consistency and accuracy. Schedule these now to set the stage for a strong fourth quarter and a seamless start to 2026.
Systematize with intention.
Efficiency is key when multiple team members—and sometimes volunteers—are entering data. Create clear, scalable processes for data entry, including batch uploads, custom fields, and built-in quality checks. This is especially important when onboarding new staff who need to hit the ground running.
Document everything.
To ensure continuity and support onboarding, document all processes thoroughly: how to enter and extract data, when to reconcile, and how to run key reports. This ensures your systems are sustainable and not dependent on any one individual.
Craft a strategy for cleaning legacy data.
Historical data can be a goldmine—or a headache. Instead of trying to clean everything at once, develop a strategic approach. Focus on the most relevant data first, clean with specific goals in mind, and build a strong baseline for future donor engagement and goal setting.
Conclusion: Data is one of your development department’s superpowers.
When your donor data is clean, aligned, and strategically structured, your development team can focus on what matters most: building relationships. As we saw in our recent Bloomerang-based assignment, intentional data management isn’t just a back-office task—it’s a frontline strategy for fundraising success.
Ready your data now, and you’ll be prepared to lead your organization into a strong fourth quarter and a thriving new year. Please let us know of your progress!
Lerii F. Smith, CFRE is Founder & President of Project Partners, Fort Worth’s leading consulting and project management firm dedicated to advancing community causes. www.yourprojectpartners.com
