Clean Data Won't Love Your Donors Back
A simple rhythm and resource to keep people as a real priority.
By David Sena | BoldLeading.com
“God loves a cheerful giver.”
— 2 Corinthians 9:7 (NIV)
Sometimes January turns into February until I finally get around to fixing all the stuff I should've dealt with in October.
It’s when I face spreadsheet items that have remained outstanding even after January data clean-up efforts. You’re familiar with the list: Email addresses that bounced. Emails that need scrubbing. Duplicate records keyed in by two staff members in slightly different ways.
I commit to finishing start-of-the-year organizing because it matters. Here’s why:
Clean donor data isn't busywork; it's being a good steward of what people have entrusted to you.
And honestly, there's something calming about bringing order to the chaos. It clears my head.
But there’s more.
Here’s what I’ve learned after decades of doing this work:
Great data doesn’t create great donor relationships. It helps make them possible.
I once heard someone at a fundraising conference say,
"You need to pick up the damn phone."
He wasn't wrong.
Your database can tell you who gave, when they gave, and how much they gave. It can also segment and sort and generate reports that look impressive in board meetings. But: data can't say thank you with warmth. And it can't listen.
It can't build trust or notice what actually matters to someone. People do that.
If you're an executive director, donor connection might live in the margins of your day. You're leading staff; managing volunteers; engaging with and keeping your board informed; staying abreast of new laws and potential PR crises, and making sure programs run smoothly, if at all.
For me, thinking about donors often happened late at night when I couldn't sleep, or in those quiet moments while praying and asking God to make the budget work.
I never forget about donors; their contributions were too important and the impact all around me. I just felt too often in my early days as a nonprofit CEO that I just didn't have margin to connect with them.
Until a particular donor visit I made years ago changed everything.…
Gratitude and Giving
Years ago, I visited a couple who had given to our organization. My aim was simply to say thank you. They were business owners in their late sixties—both still working every single day.
When I walked into their office, the first thing I noticed was a massive table. They sat at opposite ends, facing each other while they worked. I remember thinking that after decades together, these two people still choose to work alongside one another. That picture stayed with me.
I wasn't there to ask for any reason except to thank them for their recent gift and share the good it was doing. True stories about specific people. The kind of stuff that doesn't fit neatly into an impact report.
After listening, the wife looked up and said, "We can give again."
Then, each of them privately wrote a number on a piece of paper, folded it, and traded it with the other.
When the wife opened her husband’s piece of paper, she laughed out loud. She said she wanted to use his number instead of hers. His was bigger.
I left with an unexpected gift. But more than that, I left inspired by two people still passionate about their work, committed to each other, and genuinely joyful about giving generously.
None of that came from my tidy donor database. It came from making time to show up in person and connect with real people.
Ten. Three. One.
The process I'm about to share isn't something I learned in a podcast, blog, or book. It's what finally worked for me when I was drowning in the day-to-day demands of leadership, neglecting donors, and struggling to know how to fix it.
I call it “10-3-1.”
Each week, grab a notepad and write down:
10 names of people you want to call
3 people you want to send a handwritten note
1 person you'd like to meet face-to-face
That's it. You don’t need the perfect system or the right app. You just need the next ten names.
Using a notepad matters because you can see your list when it’s on your desk. You can carry it with you and use it between meetings.
Here's the math if you actually do this…
One notepad a week, minus two weeks for vacation (and please take vacation), gets you:
500 phone calls in a year
150 handwritten notes
50 real conversations over coffee or lunch
Some weeks you won't finish the notepad. That's fine. The habit still works.
When I had the time, I'd spend a couple hours in the morning working through calls. I'd then write thank-you notes while the conversations were still fresh in my head, usually right after lunch when I had fifteen minutes or so before the next meeting or crisis.
What I found? During a call, people would often say, "We should get together sometime."
That's where the meetings come from. You don't have to manufacture them.
Then you meet.
You listen more than you talk.
And afterward, you write down what matters to the people you met with, what they're excited about, what's worrying them, and what you said you'd follow up on.
That becomes your relational memory. Not just data, but far more.
A God of Order. And Relationship.
There's a verse in 1 Corinthians that tells us God is not a God of disorder, but of peace. I think of think of that when I'm cleaning our databases.
Order matters. But relationship is what brings peace and joy—for you and for your donors.
So, clean your data.
Fix the addresses.
Merge the duplicates.
Do the January work—and that which spills over into February.
And then pick up the phone. Write the note. Schedule the coffee.
Not because your CRM told you to, but because people aren't data points. They’re gifts. And invaluable partners in your work.
Final Word
A tidy database with clean, consistent, up-to-date data is great. Using that data to actually connect with the people that care about and contribute to your mission and organization is even better.
In all likelihood, a simple process like “10 (calls), 3 (notes), 1 (meeting)” done consistently will bless both you and your donors in ways that well exceed any financial gifts gained.
About Bold Leading
For more than 10 years, Bold Leading has helped nonprofit leaders develop strong teams, establish healthy principles and processes, and grow their capacity in marketing, fundraising, and strategy—so they don’t merely survive but thrive in their mission to serve and share Jesus.
If you’re ready to move forward with confidence—or could simply use a fellow leader to pray and think with—we’d love to talk with you.
Dave Sena
Dave is a Christian nonprofit leader and consultant who equips faith-based, Gospel-centered organizations to serve with excellence. As an ordained minister, former non-profit CEO, and Air Force Academy graduate with a BS in Computer Science, Dave’s passion is to help ministry leaders share the message of Jesus with clarity and confidence.
Contact: dave@boldleading.com
Visit: BoldLeading.com
“I long to see you so that I may impart to you some spiritual gift to make you strong—that is, that you and I may be mutually encouraged by each other’s faith.” — Romans 1:12 (NIV)
Really smart framing. The 10-3-1 system is simple enough to stick with but structured enough to actualy drive results, which is the balance most donor outreach plans miss. I've noticed in practice that handwritten notes carry way more weight than most people think, especialy when everyone else is automating everything.