With end-of-year planning in full swing, don’t forget to add data cleaning to your checklist.
You want your technology systems to be in their best shape before your “busy” season begins, so making sure you start putting some processes into play now by practicing good data hygiene so you can guarantee your campaign will run as smoothly as possible.
Jeff Miller, our in-house data management guru, gives three recommendations for maintaining good data hygiene that you can start doing today.
1) Keep addresses up-to-date and in a consistent format.
Make use of address standardization and validation services offered as part of your CRM or online fundraising system, including CASS certification and NCOA address updates.
Consider adding a front-end address validator, like SmartyStreets, to donation forms and other web forms where addresses are collected.
2) Stop ALL bad data at the source.
It’s not just bad/incomplete addresses that can be stopped at the source. Consider all the sources of incoming data—web forms, data entry forms, system integrations, import/exports—and make sure that they’re consistent with each other and capturing the information that’s really needed.
https://i2.wp.com/tackle.consulting/wp-content/uploads/Data-Hygiene-Get-your-technology-systems-in-top-shape-for-your-end-of-year-campaign.jpg?fit=1500%2C1000&ssl=110001500Shannon Millerhttps://tackle.consulting/wp-content/uploads/2018/09/Logo_white_175w.pngShannon Miller2019-08-26 20:35:562021-03-25 14:49:22Data Hygiene: Get your technology systems in top shape for your end-of-year campaign
As someone working in a technical role at your organization, it can sometimes feel like you are a foreigner in your own country. With all the different languages, processes, and acronyms, it can quickly get confusing to someone not familiar with your world.
At Tackle, we get it. We speak “tech” every day to people who don’t live and breathe this stuff like we do. In fact, many times organizations hire us to help with this specific issue and to help bridge the gap between the tech staff and the non-tech staff.
So we put together a few tips we’ve learned along the way that we hope you find useful when navigating how to better work with non-tech staff and make it a pleasant experience for everyone.
Tip #1
Avoid the trap of assuming that everyone has a base-level understanding of what you’re talking about. It pays to set the stage, even adding an extra few words of explanation. Also, giving room for people to ask questions, by slowing down and pausing or just asking for confirmation that people are following.
Tip #2
Avoid acronyms and jargon. Try to always say the full term. It can also be helpful at the start of a meeting, to spend a few minutes defining terms/systems so everyone is on the same page.
https://i1.wp.com/tackle.consulting/wp-content/uploads/Quick-tips-when-working-with-non-tech-staff.jpg?fit=4928%2C3264&ssl=132644928Ryan Granzowhttps://tackle.consulting/wp-content/uploads/2018/09/Logo_white_175w.pngRyan Granzow2019-08-14 22:31:262019-08-14 22:32:07Quick tips when working with non-tech staff
We’ve all been there. You jump on your website and something is broken and not working. You get an email from a colleague asking if your account has been hacked. You have a donor call and say they keep getting an error when they try to make a donation.
It’s all so… alarming.
Sometimes it’s a simple issue, like user error. But sometimes it’s more than you can handle yourself, and then the dreaded wave of anxiety starts crashing in.
So what should you do? We’ve put together some steps to help you deal with your urgent technology needs so if you find yourself in a pressing situation you can use these tools to address the issue and get on with your day (or week or month).
Don’t panic.
Easier said than done, right? But take a deep breath. Like right now. Emailing 20 people about the issue and hiding under your desk probably isn’t going to actually help the situation.
Many times these issues that seem catastrophic are pretty minor. Or maybe they are widespread, like a server outage, and many other people are experiencing similar issues. Regardless, taking a step back for a minute can help clear your mind and help you to start taking the right steps to actually fix the problem.
Troubleshoot.
You know when you call the cable company because your internet isn’t working and the first thing they ask is if you restarted the modem. It’s like that.
https://i2.wp.com/tackle.consulting/wp-content/uploads/What-to-do-if-you-have-an-urgent-technology-issue.jpg?fit=1280%2C853&ssl=18531280Shannon Millerhttps://tackle.consulting/wp-content/uploads/2018/09/Logo_white_175w.pngShannon Miller2019-07-31 16:44:462019-08-21 18:18:39What to do if you have an urgent technology issue
Do a quick search and you will discover there are plenty of options when it comes to peer-to-peer fundraising platforms. And, at Tackle, we have worked with a lot of them. The good, the okay, and the “this is amazing.”
So far on our journey, these are six of our team’s favorite peer-to-peer systems that are geared toward nonprofits. They all have their pros and cons so we thought we’d share a little bit about why we like each one. These favorites are listed in no particular order.
In 2011, Classy launched it’s peer-to-peer fundraising service, as well as crowdfunding, events, supporter management, and marketing automation. They were one of the first modern peer-to-peer systems to gain traction. Today, the company is used by over 4,000 nonprofit organizations.
From our experience, Classy is a well-supported platform, both backed in funding and with a solid customer service experience. They take a modern approach to their design, keeping in mind the user experience. It’s intuitive and easy to use and embraced by many well-known nonprofits.
Crowdrise was founded in 2010 and was acquired by GoFundMe in 2017. The company takes a “fun” spin on crowdfunding and is widely used by “tens of thousands of charities and events,” according to their website.
There is a good chance you’ve utilized multi-factor authentication recently. When you sign into a new account and have to receive something like a code via text message to proceed. While it might seem like this extra step is an inconvenience, multi-factor authentication might actually protect you from some serious security inconveniences down the road.
Multi-factor authentication is becoming the industry norm these days, and for good reason. Our team weighs in on why we always recommend this to our clients on all of the digital systems they use.
Significantly increases security.
Generally, when you, or someone, want to sign in to your account your username and password are needed. When you add multi-factor authentication, another special code is required to be able to sign in. This code is usually sent via text message or accessed through an authentication app like Google Authenticator, and needs to be used immediately as it will quickly time out.
Donation forms are a necessary part of online fundraising. But is your donation form discouraging people from giving online?
Whether you are building a donation form from scratch or utilizing an already built online system to help you, make sure you are setting yourself up for success with these three best practices.
1) Less is more. Make it as simple as possible to fill out.
Have you ever started filling out a form, only to abandon it because it was going to take you way longer than you expected to fill out? Your donors do this too.
If possible, only include the necessary information you need to process your donor’s payment on your donation form. This will depend on your payment provider, but keep it simple and stick to these basics–donation amount, name, email, credit card information.
Keep your design clean and simple without unnecessary graphics. You should have minimal donation amounts (no more than five, but even less is better). Don’t include all the information to fill out for in honor/memory gifts unless selected, or maybe don’t even include this information at all since it is mostly unused for the majority of organizations.
https://i1.wp.com/tackle.consulting/wp-content/uploads/18c9dd5c-0317-49cf-bf23-b842570e7587.jpg?fit=3456%2C2304&ssl=123043456Shannon Millerhttps://tackle.consulting/wp-content/uploads/2018/09/Logo_white_175w.pngShannon Miller2019-06-26 17:01:342019-08-19 18:11:17Top 3 Best Practices for a Successful Donation Form
Data Hygiene: Get your technology systems in top shape for your end-of-year campaign
Digital Fundraising, Donation Forms, Guide ServicesWith end-of-year planning in full swing, don’t forget to add data cleaning to your checklist.
You want your technology systems to be in their best shape before your “busy” season begins, so making sure you start putting some processes into play now by practicing good data hygiene so you can guarantee your campaign will run as smoothly as possible.
Jeff Miller, our in-house data management guru, gives three recommendations for maintaining good data hygiene that you can start doing today.
1) Keep addresses up-to-date and in a consistent format.
Make use of address standardization and validation services offered as part of your CRM or online fundraising system, including CASS certification and NCOA address updates.
Consider adding a front-end address validator, like SmartyStreets, to donation forms and other web forms where addresses are collected.
2) Stop ALL bad data at the source.
It’s not just bad/incomplete addresses that can be stopped at the source. Consider all the sources of incoming data—web forms, data entry forms, system integrations, import/exports—and make sure that they’re consistent with each other and capturing the information that’s really needed.
Read more
Quick tips when working with non-tech staff
Guide Services, StaffAs someone working in a technical role at your organization, it can sometimes feel like you are a foreigner in your own country. With all the different languages, processes, and acronyms, it can quickly get confusing to someone not familiar with your world.
At Tackle, we get it. We speak “tech” every day to people who don’t live and breathe this stuff like we do. In fact, many times organizations hire us to help with this specific issue and to help bridge the gap between the tech staff and the non-tech staff.
So we put together a few tips we’ve learned along the way that we hope you find useful when navigating how to better work with non-tech staff and make it a pleasant experience for everyone.
Tip #1
Avoid the trap of assuming that everyone has a base-level understanding of what you’re talking about. It pays to set the stage, even adding an extra few words of explanation. Also, giving room for people to ask questions, by slowing down and pausing or just asking for confirmation that people are following.
Tip #2
Avoid acronyms and jargon. Try to always say the full term. It can also be helpful at the start of a meeting, to spend a few minutes defining terms/systems so everyone is on the same page.
Read more
What to do if you have an urgent technology issue
Guide Services, SecurityWe’ve all been there. You jump on your website and something is broken and not working. You get an email from a colleague asking if your account has been hacked. You have a donor call and say they keep getting an error when they try to make a donation.
It’s all so… alarming.
Sometimes it’s a simple issue, like user error. But sometimes it’s more than you can handle yourself, and then the dreaded wave of anxiety starts crashing in.
So what should you do? We’ve put together some steps to help you deal with your urgent technology needs so if you find yourself in a pressing situation you can use these tools to address the issue and get on with your day (or week or month).
Don’t panic.
Easier said than done, right? But take a deep breath. Like right now. Emailing 20 people about the issue and hiding under your desk probably isn’t going to actually help the situation.
Many times these issues that seem catastrophic are pretty minor. Or maybe they are widespread, like a server outage, and many other people are experiencing similar issues. Regardless, taking a step back for a minute can help clear your mind and help you to start taking the right steps to actually fix the problem.
Troubleshoot.
You know when you call the cable company because your internet isn’t working and the first thing they ask is if you restarted the modem. It’s like that.
Read more
Our favorite peer-to-peer fundraising platforms for nonprofits
Digital Fundraising, Peer to PeerDo a quick search and you will discover there are plenty of options when it comes to peer-to-peer fundraising platforms. And, at Tackle, we have worked with a lot of them. The good, the okay, and the “this is amazing.”
So far on our journey, these are six of our team’s favorite peer-to-peer systems that are geared toward nonprofits. They all have their pros and cons so we thought we’d share a little bit about why we like each one. These favorites are listed in no particular order.
Classy
In 2011, Classy launched it’s peer-to-peer fundraising service, as well as crowdfunding, events, supporter management, and marketing automation. They were one of the first modern peer-to-peer systems to gain traction. Today, the company is used by over 4,000 nonprofit organizations.
From our experience, Classy is a well-supported platform, both backed in funding and with a solid customer service experience. They take a modern approach to their design, keeping in mind the user experience. It’s intuitive and easy to use and embraced by many well-known nonprofits.
Crowdrise by GoFundMe
Crowdrise was founded in 2010 and was acquired by GoFundMe in 2017. The company takes a “fun” spin on crowdfunding and is widely used by “tens of thousands of charities and events,” according to their website.
Read more
Why is multi-factor authentication important?
Guide Services, SecurityThere is a good chance you’ve utilized multi-factor authentication recently. When you sign into a new account and have to receive something like a code via text message to proceed. While it might seem like this extra step is an inconvenience, multi-factor authentication might actually protect you from some serious security inconveniences down the road.
Multi-factor authentication is becoming the industry norm these days, and for good reason. Our team weighs in on why we always recommend this to our clients on all of the digital systems they use.
Significantly increases security.
Generally, when you, or someone, want to sign in to your account your username and password are needed. When you add multi-factor authentication, another special code is required to be able to sign in. This code is usually sent via text message or accessed through an authentication app like Google Authenticator, and needs to be used immediately as it will quickly time out.
Read more
Top 3 Best Practices for a Successful Donation Form
Digital Fundraising, Donation FormsDonation forms are a necessary part of online fundraising. But is your donation form discouraging people from giving online?
Whether you are building a donation form from scratch or utilizing an already built online system to help you, make sure you are setting yourself up for success with these three best practices.
1) Less is more. Make it as simple as possible to fill out.
Have you ever started filling out a form, only to abandon it because it was going to take you way longer than you expected to fill out? Your donors do this too.
If possible, only include the necessary information you need to process your donor’s payment on your donation form. This will depend on your payment provider, but keep it simple and stick to these basics–donation amount, name, email, credit card information.
Keep your design clean and simple without unnecessary graphics. You should have minimal donation amounts (no more than five, but even less is better). Don’t include all the information to fill out for in honor/memory gifts unless selected, or maybe don’t even include this information at all since it is mostly unused for the majority of organizations.
Read more