Real Stories & How to Keep Your Data Ship Sailing Straight
We’ve all been there. Getting a merge field wrong in an email. A typo in a letter. A report that doesn’t quite give you the info you need.
The worst data mistake Craig was involved in was a mailing file where the name slipped down a row. This meant everyone (over 20,000) got a mailing with the wrong name on it. It was a printer error that we didn’t know about until we started getting phone calls!
However, those are small fry compared to the five real life stories and examples we share below.
Listen to an audio discussion of this post generated using Google Notebook LM.
1. The Security Scare: When Data Isn’t Locked Down
Imagine this: a trusted charity software provider suffers a cyber attack. Personal donor information from thousands of organisations is suddenly exposed. In another case, a platform left nearly a million records unprotected online. No password, no encryption.
What went wrong? Weak security, poor data retention, and slow disclosure. The charities weren’t the ones who got hacked, but their donors still felt the impact.
What you can do:
- Only collect the data you actually need
- Choose software suppliers with proven security (ask for certifications!)
- Set clear data retention limits
- Run regular security audits and penetration tests
- Have a breach response plan in place
Donor data is as valuable as money—treat it that way.
2. The Consent Crisis: Using Data Without Permission
Some UK charities found themselves in hot water for using donor data to “wealth screen” and swap lists. All without telling supporters. The result? Big fines and reputational damage.
What went wrong? Donors weren’t asked for consent. They didn’t expect their generosity to be rewarded with secret profiling.
What you can do:
- Be transparent about how you use supporter data
- Clearly explain what consent you’re asking for—and why
- Use opt-ins, not assumptions
- Make it easy to update preferences
Respecting privacy builds trust. Surprise does the opposite.
3. The Segmentation Slip-Up: Treating Everyone the Same
One charity sent a big fundraising ask to all supporters, including people who had just donated. Another kept calling a donor who had already opted out. Small errors like wrong names or ignored preferences add up and lead donors to stop giving.
What went wrong? Poor segmentation and dirty data. One donor felt insulted, another frustrated. Others just tuned out.
What you can do:
- Keep your supporter records clean and up to date
- Use segmentation based on giving history, engagement, and preferences
- Honour opt-outs and contact rules across all systems
- Add human checks for high-touch communications
When donors feel known and respected, they stick around.
4. The Payment Panic: A Costly Decimal Disaster
In a real incident, a charity mistakenly charged donors 100x their usual direct debit amount. Imagine pledging £17 and seeing £1,700 vanish from your bank account! It must have been a nightmare. However, fair play to the charity. They did refund everyone and made sure no-one was out of pocket.
What went wrong? A simple administrative error in batch processing, but it affected thousands.
What you can do:
- Put caps and alerts on gift amounts
- Test batches before full launch
- Have a manual review stage for large transactions
- Respond fast, take responsibility, and refund fully if something goes wrong
Mistakes happen, but donors will forgive you if you act quickly and openly.
5. The Hidden Cost of Dirty Data: Bad Reports and Missed Thanks
Poor data entry or inconsistent coding can mean your reports are wrong and you might not even realise it. We see all the time with BINGO client.
Or, worse, you leave someone off a thank-you list or get their name wrong in your annual review.
What went wrong? Multiple systems, manual entry, and no consistent standards.
What you can do:
- Set and train to clear data entry rules
- Deduplicate regularly
- Run monthly data health checks
- Use dashboards to track campaign KPIs and supporter journeys
Great fundraising starts with great data. Garbage in = garbage out.
Turning Mistakes into Motivation
These stories aren’t shared to scare you. They’re here to help. Every error is a reminder that data is not just techy back-end stuff. It’s personal. It’s powerful. And when used well, it helps you build stronger relationships and raise more money.
Take these lessons and turn them into action:
- Review your data security today
- Revisit your privacy notices and consent flows
- Run a segmentation check before your next campaign
- Audit your payment and processing workflows
- Fix one data quality issue this week
Let’s keep your fundraising ship steady. Because when your data works, everything works better.
AI Disclosure: We ran deep research on GPT-3o and Gemini 2.5 asking about charity data best practices and trends. We then uploaded this with other reports and work we’ve done to Google Notebook LM. We then created a first draft of this blog, which we edited to include our own experiences.
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