If you’re a newly formed or smaller-scale non-profit organisation, it makes sense if you prefer to use only the free tools available when it comes to administration work. That said, there’s only so much data your spreadsheet can take before it starts lagging and letting you down. In a worst-case scenario, you might end up losing important data about your donors or dealing with data errors due to incorrect exporting issues.
Most charities face limitations when they’re using spreadsheets to track donations and donor data. Thankfully, spreadsheets are far from the only affordable option. Nowadays, you can use free nonprofit CRM platforms that help you track your donations, maintain your donor database, and communicate with your donors with no hassle.
Tracking your donations doesn’t just mean recording them, sending a thank-you note, and moving on. Your past donor data could have a lot of advantages. For instance, you could use it to encourage repeat giving with the right messaging, or even get a better understanding of which of your campaigns are resonating with donors.
Struggling to keep track of all your donor data? There are several mistakes that many charities make while tracking their donors, as highlighted in this guide.
1. Relying on Spreadsheets for Too Long
Spreadsheets like Excel or Google Sheets are great when you’re just starting out with a handful of donors. But if you don’t know when to upgrade your system, you’ll be left with faulty data on spreadsheets that don’t work properly.
The fix: We recommend thatonce you’ve reached five or six fundraising campaigns, you move your data into a system that’s designed for it.
Today’s nonprofit CRM systems make it easy to do everything from tracking your donation history to segmenting your supporters and even automating acknowledgements. A CRM system also lets you identify donors who might be ready to upgrade their one-off donation to recurring contributions based on their donation frequency, amount, or engagement with your updates.
2. Failing to Capture Donor Details at Fundraising Events
Let’s say you kept a sign-in sheet from your recent fundraising event, but it didn’t help you with capturing donor details because there was illegible handwriting you couldn’t read, or there wasn’t someone at the gate making sure that everyone’s details were captured. The idea of fundraising isn’t just about raising money; it’s also an opportunity to connect with the people who are invested in your cause.
The fix: Go digital with your sign-in sheets. Use Google Forms, which automatically captures donors’ email addresses, as part of the event registration process. Or, alternatively, use QR codes or volunteers at entrances to capture details. The aim of this is to make sure you get everyone’s data and that you can use this information later.
3. Treating All Donors the Same
While it’s great to treat all donors the same and offer the same gratitude, a thank-you message to someone who’s donated for the first time obviously won’t work for someone who’s donating for the third or fourth time. That’s why you need to segment your donors, so your communication doesn’t feel generic and all donors feel that you’ve acknowledged and appreciated their donation.
The fix: You don’t need to create endless categories for your different donors; just create a few simple ones like ‘first-time’, ‘recurring’, and ‘major donor’ to help you get started.
You can then tailor your messages accordingly. For example, you can thank the first-timers warmly, update recurring donors on the impact their donations are making, and show major donors the specific projects they’ve funded.
4. Over-Reliance on One Funding Source
Many charities make the mistake of only relying on their major donors or grants when it comes to funding. But this can be a risk in the long run if a major donor takes a step back or a grant falls through. Relying heavily on only a couple of forms of donations could leave you vulnerable to losing your cash flow.
The fix: While you work on maintaining relationships with major donors and applying for grants, don’t underestimate the power of smaller donations. That’s why you should make a focused, consistent effort to attain new donors or convert one-time donors into recurring ones. These might not give you the big numbers, but one thing they will give you is consistency.
5. Ignoring Lapsed Donors
Logically, a lapsed donor is more likely to donate again if you engage with them compared to finding someone who’s never donated before. When you stop seeing certain donors reappearing during your fundraising, you shouldn’t just ignore them and move on.
The fix: If you’ve maintained any kind of relationship with your lapsed donors, a simple way to re-engage them is by having a chat with them over the phone.
If that’s not possible, you could instead run a reactivation campaign through your CRM system. Use this to tell them about the progress your charity has made since they last donated, and what difference they can make this time. A 1-2% reactivation rate might not seem like much, but it can be enough to make a meaningful impact.
Final Thoughts
Keeping clean donation records is just the start; real impact comes from using that data wisely. If any of these mistakes sound familiar, you’re not alone. Many charities start with limited tools and then upgrade as they grow bigger.
Begin by cleaning up your current list, capturing every new contact, and sending a personalised update that simply thanks your donors for being there. When you avoid the mistakes we’ve mentioned above, you won’t just make your donor tracking simpler; you’ll be better positioned to develop and sustain lasting relationships with your donors and make them feel valued. That kind of loyalty is what helps charities thrive year after year.
