With more organisations raising money from a smaller pool of donors, research-based major gift fundraising is taking centre stage. This focus on major gifts and prospect research brings with it a responsibility to make sure you treat your donors’ data with care and respect. We have over 26 years of experience working with major gifts, so we’re sharing our top tips to get data protection right for major gift fundraising.
Data minimisation
Data minimisation is one of the key principles of the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) and the first rule of successful data protection for major gift fundraising. Only collect and process the minimum amount of personal data you need to achieve your specific purpose. This applies to wealth screening, prospect research and all fundraising activities.
The second rule of successful data protection for major gift fundraising? Tell your supporters about your research. We promise that they won’t mind! Your high-level supporters are used to this type of research, and it means you can make more informed asks aligned with their interests.
Data protection as part of your process
It’s hard to believe it’s been over seven years since GDPR came into place. We hear from lots of organisations that audited their processes at the time and haven’t done anything since. If you’re in the same boat, it’s time to review data protection processes to ensure they’re still fit for purpose and being adhered to.
We recommend undertaking a data protection impact assessment (DIPA) for your major gifts programme. This helps you:
- Understand the impact of data processing on your supporters.
- Develop and implement research processes which are compliant with data protection requirements.
- Identify any areas that are high risk so you can mitigate these and amend your practices.
As legitimate interest is often used as a ground for lawfully processing data, we recommend you also undertake a legitimate interest assessment (LIA) to make sure you really do have a legitimate interest in undertaking the processing. This ensures:
- Your research does not override the fundamental interests, rights and freedoms of the individuals.
- Your organisation’s interest is balanced with the impact on the individual whose data you’re processing.
- You have documented your assessment of this balance and include reasonable expectations of the subject of data processing based on their relationship with your organisation.
- You are not causing your data subjects unwarranted harm or disproportionate impact.
A culture of privacy-by-design
Taking a privacy-by-design approach to your supporters’ data isn’t just best-practice fundraising; it ensures you build long-lasting relationships with your donors. Trusting donor relationships can take a career to build, and a reckless attitude to data can cause them to crumble.
Once you educate your supporters on the importance of research and wealth screening through open communication, they’ll understand why it’s a fundamental part of good fundraising. Make your privacy policy accessible to assure them that their data is safe with you and that any processing is optional. Done right, research enables you to deepen donor relationships, which is key to successful major gift fundraising.
Ready to learn more about getting data protection right for major gift fundraising? Join our free webinar on Thursday, 25th of September, covering:
- Major gifts, prospect research and regulation
- The legal basis for your activities – how you can do prospect research and still comply with GDPR
- Legitimate Interest – what does it mean and how to demonstrate it
- Data Protection Impact Assessments – why, how and when
- Fair processing information – getting it right
- Using publicly accessible data sources
- Applying this to wealth screening, desk research, and due diligence
- Data retention and minimisation