Self-Service Donor Portal

As a DBA I'm reluctant to let donors enter any info that would automatically overwrite/update existing info in the database. I see way to many typos / mistakes entering data for addresses, emails, and phone #s.

I could be considered a control freak but I also have been told by vendor partners that we have one of the cleanest databases they have seen.

I always want to have the option to review/approve/correctly code and new info.

My understanding is that address changes can be reviewed, so yes, we are planning on opening up Donor Portal … but only to a select few donors. There are a couple major considerations:

1. Email verification. You don't want to send private financial info to the wrong person, and let's be honest - the best email appends and acquisitions are only 90% accurate. Unlike automated giving receipts for donation forms, which send to an email the donor himself has entered, Giving Statements provide complete data control of mailing address, etc. In other words, there is the potential for identity theft. Therefore, to be good stewards of your donors, all emails must be verified by mail, phone, or a recent online gift before allowing them access to a Portal.
2. The Portal allows donors to view giving history, if you enable that function. Funds are a big issue, because they are seen by the donor, and the donor does not always understand an org's Fund structure. For example, if we send out a Seminary College Appeal that is unrestricted, we may internally designate it, for budgeting purposes, to a weird-sounding Fund like CampFacilities. The donor will not know why their gift says it went to CampFacilities, or what that even means. Likewise, a newly acquired donor will not want to see a "Donor Acquisition" fund on his/her statement. So, you must clean up your Fund Descriptions to make them donor-centric, rather than internal-facing.
3. The Portal can be tremendously beneficial for recurring monthly donors, so that they can adjust their own credit card and payment info, boosting your monthly donor retention. This is the group we plan to invite to the Portal. I don't think we will ever invite our entire donor universe all at once. If we ever do open it up to donors who are not part of our monthly society, it would probably still only be to target audiences, like recent online givers, or through an avenue where we an review donor identity, such as asking donors to call in and request portal access on a mailed appeal card.