Dedicated Data Entry/Database Manager
Hello,
I'm researching how other Community Foundations manage keeping CSuite profiles updated, do you have a dedicated team member? We are looking to hire a dedicated person to do all of our data entry/profile updates + pulling reports and lists and managing campaigns etc. I'm wondering the following
- Do you have a Dedicated person
- If you have a dedicated person, what department/team do they sit on?
- If you have a dedicated person, do you have a job description you would be comfortable sharing with me? Plus how is it going?
Comments
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We have profile specialists in each department. Each of these 3 people have dotted line connections to the Admin department. We hold profile management meetings each week to discuss any tricky/complicated issues that arise.
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@Jennymolyneaux that's really interesting! May I ask how big your organization is/how many staff members you have? The more I learn about CSuite, GLM, and SLM, the more I think we could benefit from a "database manager" role.
Program & Nonprofit Relations Manager
The Community Foundation of Muncie and Delaware County, Inc.
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We have a staff of 15; I am the Database Administrator for CSuite and work part time (20 hours per week). Grantmaking, Finance and Development each have an admin/specialist person that manages profiles (among their other support duties). They report to each department head, however, they also share admin responsibilities and we meet weekly to review profiles and updates. I think hiring a dedicated database manager is great!
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With a staff of 20, we have a role specific to our database but they are not the data entry person. They focus more on the organization's holistic use of data, including reporting and analysis as well as data quality, governance, etc.
Each person in their respective lane has roles to play with data entry. (For example, the Accountant enters and processes gifts, the Donor Engagement Officer enters manually received grants, and the Grants Manager enters due diligence information). We have a cross-departmental group that meets monthly to discuss internal database issues, review processes, integrate new releases, etc.
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We are a staff of 12 and I am the database manager, although my title does not reflect this, I sit on the Grants team. Everyone on the team is responsible for their own data entry as the work would be too cumbersome for me alone along with my other duties.
I advise my team members on entry guidelines - ex. Profile Types. I keep an eye on data integrity through a series of maintenance reports to ensure consistency in coding so that the data is reliable when specific report requests are made.
I don't have my own job description handy, but the Technology Association of Grantmakers started a job description library last year. You can access this library if you are a member here: https://www.tagtech.org/general/custom.asp?page=jobdescriptions. I've also attached three that closely match my duties at the Foundation I work for.
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@MichelleCollins Can you share more about what you said here: "I advise my team members on entry guidelines - ex. Profile Types. I keep an eye on data integrity through a series of maintenance reports to ensure consistency in coding so that the data is reliable when specific report requests are made."
I'm seeking examples of how reports can help us maintain our data quality as part of an org-wide data quality plan. I'd love to hear how you're doing this and what you've learned along the way.
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Hi there. Sounds like you need a database manager and/or someone tasked with that as part of their current job! I am the part-time Finance director and database manager - mostly because I gravitate toward database work. I am tasked with keeping up with updates/changes and disseminating the information. We have 1 FTE and 2 PTE, $17M in assets so we are smaller. The admin assistant does most of the profile updating - but I usually take care of things that are less common (like when a spouse dies - I have the workflow to update the profile).
Establishing cheat sheets and SOPs are critical to keep things consistent no matter who is tasked with the work. I work my cheat sheets almost daily! Creating reports to audit consistent work is a good idea too (as someone else mentioned).
I do some consulting on the side with CSuite (I have worked with three different Foundations in the USA). This is something I could probably assist with (reviewing situation, setting up a plan for database management). I am not available until January 2025 though.
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Hi Laurel,
Here are a few of the Custom Reports that I run regularly to keep on top of things:
- Service Area
- Grant Type
I run these Custom Reports to clean up the discrepancies that Stripe leaves once donations enter the database from outside donors:
- Salutations
- Prefixes (people often don't know the difference between a prefix and a suffix)
- Addresses
- Phone Types - Defaults to Main but team members want to know if they are reaching out to a cell, business, or home landline
- Email Types
- Individual Profiles that are actually Households (Donor lists both spouses names in the First Name field)
- Improper Addressing - Canada Post provides guidelines for addressing, so I ensure that all of our addresses adhere to these. Not sure if US Postal Service has something similar?
I also find that I have to stay on top of Profile Types. The team likes to set up a Type corresponding to a current initiative but then forgets to go back and update the type once it is no longer relevant. The same applies to Event Campaigns. I try to review these areas early in the new year to keep the list from getting too long. The Archive button is my best friend here.
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