Bad Records

Silvia Ochoa

Hi Everyone, Just curious as to what everyone does when they have incomplete donor information. For example, I have a first and last name but nothing else, sometimes an email address, but no address. Do you all add them as new records and basically create “bad/dead” records or do you do it another way? Thanks!

Austen Brown

Hi @Silvia Ochoa - Empty records (no contact information) are the worst, but sometimes they are unavoidable. In general, I only create new records if the donor/prospect has a piece of contact information I can include on the record (phone, email, address). If you feel uncomfortable with creating a record for a donor you have no contact information for, you could enter the gift under a general ‘Anonymous’ record and put their name in the reference field.

Faith Murray

We also only create a record if we have an identifiable piece of contact information like email or physical address. Without contact info, there is really no way to determine if the record is in fact a duplicate of another individual (middle name, household member, etc). It is impossible to perform appends or other data hygiene. And there is no way to effectively continue the relationship for future donations. Finally, every record you add in creases your price tier in Blackbaud hosting. Seconding what @Austen Brown said, to add unidentifiable donors under a general Anonymous record.

Christine Cooke

I would search to be sure that they are not already in your database. Do a partial name search in case something is misspelled or using a nickname.

In addition to what others have said – I would not consider them “bad” or “dead” if you are adding them currently. That's a new record, new info. the only reason you would be entering “dead” info is if you were doing a historical/backfill project, or someone was recently deceased. Yes, they are incomplete. ?

Bobby Steurer

For my org, it really depends. We're really event-heavy, so we often have records with just a First Name, Last Name, maybe a phone number or email, and which event they attended. I keep those for reporting/historical purposes, even if we have them in an alternate source like One Cause. But I also totally agree with the other comments here re: record creation/anonymous additions, in general.

Stacy Evans

I agree Austen, however if they give through 3rd parties, sometimes that's the only information that they give you. Then you have to make a record unless your company handles it in a different way.

Mark Guncheon

@Austen Brown I go along with Austen. If a fundraiser wants them added, they get added but I urge the fundraiser to grab more info for the record to make it complete.

Sunshine Reinken Watson

We tend to add records for everyone, as many will give again (even if it is just the next time their friend has a Facebook fundraiser for their birthday). We have a policy that all event attendees have a record. If the number of “bad records” was getting out of hand, I would re-evaluate these practices.

Margi Baker

@Silvia Ochoa Unless they've made a gift or Development asks us to, we only add constituents without addresses if we have at least one piece of contact info, such as email or phone number.

Dariel Dixon

This is a topic I'm super passionate about. I believe in data integrity and standards. As such, I absolutely refuse to create a record without a name and at least one method of contact. I have made some exceptions only if I know this information is forthcoming imminently. If I don't have this information, then there is nothing to record at all. If it comes in as a gift, then it will be entered as an anonymous donor.

I always look at the purpose of a database is to be able to record and analyze information. Entering a method of contact is another way to verify a constituent from a possible duplicate record. In addition, having a method of contact makes the record actionable (I don't think this is actually a word, but…) and allows the other parts of our operation to perform their duties. I believe that this is a key step to basic data hygiene.

That said, every organization will have a different minimum amount of data needed to create a record, but I believe that there needs to be at least one method of contact at a minimum.

Jocelyn Ferland

@Silvia Ochoa we create a record, there are times constituents reach out regarding a donation to an event and we are able to update their record with addresses, emails, consents, etc.