Five Tips for Responsibly Collecting Data
According to Nonprofit Hub, 90% of nonprofits report that they are collecting data. However, 49% of those groups also say they don’t know how the data is being collected.
For organizations whose value comes from relationships with the people they serve, bad or irresponsibly-collected data can have far-reaching ramifications.
So how can you responsibly collect and steward data? Here are our top five tips.
Know Who Is Collecting Data
Every organization should have a centralized system to keep track of who is authorized to collect data from your constituents. From your volunteers on the ground at events to your digital fundraising coordinator who is creating lead acquisition forms, you must have a mechanism by which you can easily see who is engaging with Personally Identifiable Information (PII). Creating this database of staffers is step 1 and informs all steps to follow.
Mandate Regular Training Protocols
Every person on your team who engages with audience data needs to know the value of the information they're holding -- in terms of the legal and business risks, as well as rewards. Without a basic understanding about why audience data is so privileged, staffers are unlikely to follow the protocols that will both protect you AND ensure you're getting the most out of the data you're collecting. That said, create a regular cadence of staff trainings that help your team understand their responsibilities in terms of data stewardship. Keep track of who attends these trainings and make completion a required step before they're able to capture audience data in any way.
Centralize the Systems Ingesting Data
While many team members may collect audience data, you need rigor around the system into which they input it. Centralizing staff toolsets will ensure a consistent audience lifecycle experience and allow you to better track the performance of various tests you put into market. If there is a reason one team needs to use a bespoke tool, that tool must be set up to integrate well with your CRM of record and your team should have a valid business justification for using a different tool than is most common.
Create Consistency in Data Fields Being Collected
Not all data is created equal, and just because you CAN collect more data doesn't mean you SHOULD. Your business owners and legal teams should be in agreement about the fields that are most valuable for achieving mission objectives and that all teams are aware of the responsibilities of acquiring and caring for that data. For example, certain demographic or health data carries with it legal mandates to re-ask for consent from your audience once annually. If you don't have a great reason for housing that data, it's possible that you shouldn't be housing it at all.
Review the Data You Have On-File
At least once annually, you should audit the data fields you're storing to ensure that you're actually using them. Per the point above, this will help you understand which fields are of value and which are just opening you to risk. In aiming for a data minimization policy, you'll want to keep what's useful and know what's not. So if no one has looked at the results of a survey featured in your email welcome series in a year, it's safe to say that it can go.
What are your organizations policies around data collection and use? We'd love to talk about how we can help you make sense of what you're already soliciting, what you should be soliciting, and what you can probably stop soliciting.