What Do Nonprofits Use Databases For?

Information and Referral Databases

An Information and Referral database serves as a library list of organizations that offer a broad range of information and services. A client or member of the public may request a referral, and services or organizations matching their criteria can be retrieved from the I & R database.

For example, a client may inquire about local drug abuse support groups, and the I&R database could retrieve listings of those groups offered in a particular zip code or a designated city.

In order for this type of database to be useful and effective, it is crucial that the most current and most complete list of services and service providers be maintained. This involves continually updating the information, because outdated information or misinformation is frustrating or useless to the client, and potentially can be life-threatening.

Due to the sometimes private and sensitive nature of clients' requests for information, some I&R databases request client data that the clients, understandably, may be reluctant to provide. Creating a database that can protect the clients' privacy is a difficult and sensitive issue, particularly if government or funding agencies request demographics or other data about the population requesting information from the I&R database service.

Information and Referral databases are relatively straightforward in design, but need the investment of considerable staff time to keep current. In order for an information and referral service to operate efficiently, a fast machine and a network are necessary, as this service often entails several people simultaneously needing access to the database to match requests for information.

Donation Databases (Donorbase)

Most nonprofit organizations rely on fundraising as an important source of income; donor databases, or donorbases, track information about potential donors, actual donors and all donations. Because donors and federal tracking agencies usually require accurate reports of the destination and/or sources of donated funds, a donorbase to track this data can become complex, depending on tracking and reporting demands.

At minimum a donorbase should be able to do the following:

• Generate donation reports
• Allow you to sort your donors in a variety of ways
• Record multiple donation/donor details
• Create and sort lists of potential and current donors
• Print letters and labels and a variety of reports

Name, address and other contact information can be straightforward, but donor and donation information is more involved. For example, an organization may need to track donations from one individual over time, so as to be able to accurately refer to the donor's giving history when soliciting a new donation. Similarly, an organization may wish to analyze the success of a fundraising campaign to a new target population, to which end some method of tracking the original solicitation would be crucial. For accounting purposes, a donorbase may need to generate monthly totals, quarterly totals and year-end totals, and be able to designate multiple destinations for a single donation.

For reporting and mailing purposes a donorbase should be able to sort and select records based on many different criteria. For example, an organization may wish to send a report or newsletter to one category of donors and a different newsletter to others.

When planning a donorbase, it is a good idea to consider connecting it with the accounting system and to other databases, such as a membership or client database, and to anticipate fundraising growth and programmatic changes in its design.

Contact/Client Databases

Contact/Client Management databases are one of the most common kinds of databases that are used in organizations. They can range from simple mailing address lists or volunteer tracking systems to complex social service caseload databases. For organizations that work with a large number of individuals who need to be tracked, a Contact/Client Management database is an essential tool.

Client/Contact Management Databases can range from the very simple to the very complex. Beyond just basic contact information, organizations sometimes require additional information regarding people preferences and schedules. Examples of such information might include when is a good time to call a person, or whether a volunteer is available only on Saturdays. Sometime such tracking can be done using a regular comments field, but might require a structured weekly or monthly system with check off options for certain criteria.

The database may also require sorting options. For example, the organization may need to sort people by events, or services provided, or by school, or may need a daily checklist of people staff need to contact. Some databases have special functions that automatically generate reminders to contact people, or check to see if a subscription is overdue.

Organizations may also wish to track information about donors or clients that simply can't be standardized. Broad categories - like donation events - are often built into pre-designed packages, but small details are not. Finally, organizations may want to link their database to forms developed in other software, such as Word, in order to conduct mail merges.