{"id":14553,"date":"2019-08-09T10:41:00","date_gmt":"2019-08-09T14:41:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.qgiv.com\/blog\/?p=14553"},"modified":"2023-09-25T12:53:41","modified_gmt":"2023-09-25T16:53:41","slug":"blog-reporting-best-practices-interview-data-team","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.qgiv.com\/blog\/blog-reporting-best-practices-interview-data-team\/","title":{"rendered":"Nonprofit Reporting Best Practices from Qgiv’s Data Team"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Nobody gets a thrill of excitement when they hear the term \u201cdonor data.\u201d But, when we released our brand-new pricing structure, the Qgiv team was really happy about our new Data package. It\u2019ll save a lot of our nonprofit clients a ton of money, and using our integrations can save fundraisers a lot of time. One of the staff members who is most <\/em>excited about the new Data package is Dan Bough, our lead data engineer.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In this article, Dan shares some insights into Qgiv\u2019s integrations and how you can use them to make your life easier. Read on to learn how to use your Qgiv donor data to make your fundraising more effective!<\/p>\n\n\n

\n
\"Dan
This is Dan. He’s the master of data, reporting, and dad jokes.<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n

<\/a>Meet Dan. He the master of data, reporting, and dad jokes.<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Q: Can you tell us a little about who you are and what you do at Qgiv?<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

A: <\/strong>I\u2019m the lead engineer on the data team. We\u2019re responsible for making sure clients have easy and meaningful access to their data through our reports, database integrations, and API.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Did you know that Qgiv has an entire team dedicated to our reporting, integrations, and data? We do! They spend their time at Qgiv building and perfecting reporting and integrations, and they make sure the data you count on is accurate and easy to understand.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Q: What are some steps nonprofits can take to ensure they get good, usable data from their donors?<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

A: Make important information required on your donation forms!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Do It with Qgiv: The really important information you need to bill your donors (billing address, etc) is already required on your form. Other information \u2014 like phone number and email address \u2014 can be made optional. Dan recommends making a field required, but only if you really need that information! If you\u2019re proactively contacting your donors through email but don\u2019t really make phone calls, for example, you can leave the phone number field optional.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

There\u2019s a fine line to walk here! You want to be sure to collect the information you really need, but adding too many required fields really hurts donor conversion. If you\u2019re running an event and need to know someone\u2019s shirt size, go ahead and make that field required. But if you also want to know how a donor heard about you (which is neat information to have but isn\u2019t totally necessary), leave that off your form. You can always ask your donors for that information in follow-up emails and donor surveys!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Q: Do you see any common mistakes nonprofits can look out for?<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

\u00a0A:<\/strong> Asking for the \u201cright amount of information\u201d on donation forms. There is a sweet spot between too much and not enough. \u00a0Too much makes it less likely for a donor to complete their gift. Not enough makes it harder for meaningful reporting and follow-ups with your constituents.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Do it with Qgiv: How do you find that sweet spot? Earlier, we referenced sending a donor survey to learn more about your supporters and ask them for information that, while useful, doesn\u2019t belong on a donation form. Here are some tips for doing that!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

First, find a survey platform. At Qgiv, we\u2019ve used both SurveyMonkey and TypeForm, and both are great options! They also have free options, which is great if you\u2019re trying to determine how you\u2019ll use surveys.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

After you\u2019ve built a survey, take steps to get it in front of your donors shortly after they make a donation. Sending them the survey right after they give accomplishes a few things: one, it makes them more likely to respond. They\u2019re still riding the high of the warm-fuzzies we feel after making a gift, and they\u2019re already engaged with you. Two, it\u2019s a valuable donor retention strategy! Asking donors to do something for you after their first gift makes them feel more positively toward you and makes them more likely to stay engaged\u2026 all thanks to a little thing called\u00a0the Ben Franklin effect<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Your Qgiv account offers two different places to show your new donors a survey. One, you can include a link to your survey on your form\u2019s donation confirmation page. Simply add it to your page using your form builder! You can also include a link to the survey in your receipts. If you\u2019re feeling really ambitious, you could create specific surveys for different types of donations, then use our custom content tools to send surveys to donors based on the specifics of their gift. So, if a donor set up a recurring donation, you could send them a survey that delves into why they\u2019ve chosen to make a recurring gift instead of a one-time gift.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Q: What advice would you give to people who are looking for a CRM?<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

A: <\/strong>You\u2019ll most likely want to get data from other systems into your CRM at some point. At a minimum, make sure you\u2019re able to upload that data easily. If you ever plan on automating data imports (and you DO plan to, don\u2019t you?!), make sure the CRM has a fully supported API that other systems can hook in to.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Do It with Qgiv: Did you know that we integrate with a ton of the industry\u2019s most popular CRMs? We do! And most of them can be set to run automatically. We also support custom field mapping for our integrations, which is helpful if you\u2019re using a CRM that isn\u2019t set up ideally for your specific fundraising style. Learn more about mappings in\u00a0this article<\/a>!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Q: Do you have any advice for Qgiv users in particular?<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

A:<\/strong> A lot of systems, including CRMs, identify individual constituents by a set of unique attributes like name, email, and zip code. Make these fields \u201crequired\u201d on your forms through personal information settings. \u00a0This will help you more easily differentiate Mike Smith the Giants fan in San Francisco from Mike Smith the Giants fan in New York in any place your data ends up living.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Do It with Qgiv: Are you seeing a trend here? Focusing on making the most important fields on your form required is important!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Another tip to remember: be deliberate with custom wording on your form. The field descriptions (\u201cName,\u201d \u201cAddress,\u201d etc.) can be customized to suit your brand. If you choose to customize any of that wording, make sure your updated text is very clear. Unclear wording can result in inaccurate data! For example, if you changed \u201cPhone Number\u201d to read \u201cWhere can we reach you?,\u201d donors may be confused about the information you want.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Q: One more question: What\u2019s a tip or trick you\u2019d share with clients?<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

A:<\/strong> When it comes to integrations, set it and forget it. \u00a0After they\u2019re configured, save time by setting them to continuous.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Do It with Qgiv: Setting an automated integration sync with your CRM, email service provider, or other platforms is easy! You can manage your exports in the \u201cService Integrations\u201d area of your dashboard \u2014 it\u2019s in the \u201cReporting\u201d area.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Want to learn more about Qgiv\u2019s data tools?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

We\u2019d love to talk to you! Take a look at\u00a0our pricing page<\/a>\u00a0to learn about our Data package and what it includes. If you\u2019re currently using Qgiv, you can contact us at\u00a0support@qgiv.com<\/a>\u00a0or call 888-855-9595 to learn more. If you\u2019re not using Qgiv and are looking for a fundraising tool that gives you access to powerful reporting and integrations, contact us! Give us a call at the same number or\u00a0schedule a one-on-one demo<\/a>\u00a0with a member of our sales team.<\/p>\n\n\n

\"Increase<\/a><\/span>