Do you trust the data quality of your database? Do you ever pull a list of donors and question the validity or accuracy of the data? You are not alone. In a competitive fundraising environment, it can be challenging to build a pipeline of future donors, but some of your best prospects might be hiding in your database. In this hands-on workshop, attendees will be guided through ways to identify messy data, how to build a plan for cleaning the data, and strategies for building processes and procedures for not only keeping data clean but using it to prospect for new donors. Participants will be challenged to think about ROI of cleaning certain aspects of the database, no matter what database system they use. As you prepare for this session, take this data self- assessment to see how accurate YOUR donor database is.
Speaker Bio:
Stephanie Willis - Senior Manager of Prospect Development, Creative Fundraising Advisors: Stephanie is passionate about helping nonprofits understand how to effectively use data and research to enhance fundraising. She has over ten years of experience in prospect research, prospect management, and data analytics at both higher education and nonprofit organizations. Stephanie is the author of the upcoming book, The Art and Science Approach to Fundraising Data and Research (Amplify Publishing Group, 2026). At Creative Fundraising Advisors, Stephanie’s main responsibilities are establishing strategy, procedures, and processes for the areas of prospect research, prospect management, and data analytics, while also providing operational support for client campaign and fundraising initiatives.
Stephanie is Blackbaud certified in Raiser’s Edge NXT and Raiser’s Edge, and has a master’s degree in library science. Additionally, she is a Gallup-certified Strengths coach and enjoys helping others understand, apply, and integrate CliftonStrengths results into their lives and work. Stephanie has also been an Apra member and volunteer since 2013. For six years, she served on the Apra Indiana Board in roles including webmaster, programming chair, treasurer, and vice president. In 2019, Stephanie co-founded the Apra Great Lakes chapter to launch a new regional experience for local state chapters. She has been a regular attendee and speaker at the annual Apra PD conference and served on the Curriculum Planning Committee for three years. Stephanie is currently serving on the Apra International Board and is the President of the Apra Foundation.
