Does Your Nonprofit Need a Central Database?
Before you spend money on a database, take a look at what your team is doing to put a report together. That’s where I’d start.
You may have everything you need already, but getting it into a usable format takes too much work. Someone downloads a few files, fixes the names, removes duplicates, and checks the totals. Then next month they do it all again. It gets the report done, but it’s time they could be spending on something else.
A central database can help bring information from different systems together for reporting. Your staff can keep using the software they’re familiar with, so this doesn’t necessarily mean replacing anything. But there are a few things to work out before choosing one.
For example, say two programs serve some of the same people. You need a total for a grant report, but adding the program totals together would count those people twice. Is there an ID that identifies them across both programs? Or does someone have to go through and match the names? Moving the records into a database won’t resolve that on its own. You still need a reliable way to connect them.
It also helps to be clear about what you’re counting. If one program includes everyone who registered and another only includes people who attended, you’ll need to account for that difference in the report.
Once you understand what’s causing the extra work, you can look at your options. It may be possible to automate some of the steps with your current tools. If you regularly combine information from several sources and need to use it for different reports, a central database may make more sense.
Just make sure there’s a plan for maintaining it. Who will check that updates ran? Who can investigate if the numbers look wrong? What happens when you change software or add a program? Setup is part of the cost, but ongoing support needs to be included too.
If you’re considering this for your nonprofit, start with one report and ask the person who prepares it to walk you through the whole process. Include the spreadsheet they keep on the side and the corrections they make every month. You’ll want to know about those.
You don’t need to have the solution figured out before asking for help. I’m happy to look at what you’re working with and help you decide whether a central database is worth it for your team.