Keeping up a database during lean times

I recently talked to a FundRaiser user who told me the story of how, in the middle of a capital campaign, their fundraising efforts plummeted. They put the campaign on hold. Now, three years later, things are looking up and they are getting ready to start up again. During the lean years, they didn't give up hoping for better times. They channeled their energy into their core programs, which grew. They also kept the data current in FundRaiser so that it is all there to begin the capital campaign again.

Although this particular organization uses FundRaiser Select, there is nothing that they did which you can't do in Basic.

Judy made sure that she kept things in good shape by

• updating the records when she got notification that people had moved
• updating when she heard that people had died. She learned this primarily by reading local obituaries.
• adding names of people that they thought would be interested in their organization's work. She kept this in mind when interacting in her community.
  
• adding names of volunteers who worked on various projects over the years
• reminding other staff members of the importance of keeping the records up to date.

I hope that you have nothing but good years, and that any project or campaign you engage in goes as smoothly as a hot knife through butter. If this doesn't happen, though, you are in good company. Things go hard for everyone at times. By maintaining your records in FundRaiser, you will have the data you need when you are ready again.