How healthy is your nonprofit's data? Most leaders can feel the answer. Reports take too long, numbers disagree with each other, and one person seems to hold the whole database in their head. But a feeling is hard to prioritize against. This checklist turns it into a score.
The Nonprofit Data Health Checklist is a free PDF self-audit covering 33 items across 7 sections. Work through it in about ten minutes, check the box for each practice your organization has covered, and tally your score to see exactly where you stand. No email address required, no form to fill out. Just download it.
Download the free checklist (PDF) →
What it covers
The checklist walks through every area where nonprofit data lives and breaks:
- Data quality: duplicates, formatting consistency, entry standards, and whether anyone owns the problem
- Donor and fundraising data: retention tracking, lapsed donor flags, gift attribution, and communication preferences
- Volunteer data: where volunteer records live, whether they're connected to donor records, and whether they meet the same quality bar
- Program and impact data: participation tracking, outcomes, and grant-ready reporting
- Reporting and visibility: board reports, dashboards, and whether staff can answer basic questions without digging
- Data strategy and governance: whether leadership uses data in decisions, privacy policy, staff training, and a plan for what to improve first
- Systems and tools: integrations, email list sync, backups, and single-person dependencies
Who it's for
Executive directors, development directors, and operations staff at small and mid-size nonprofits. You do not need a data background. Every item is a plain yes-or-no question about how your organization works, with a short note explaining what good looks like.
How the scoring works
Count your checkmarks and land in one of four bands, from a strong foundation to time for a reset. Each band comes with a clear read on what to prioritize next. Most organizations land somewhere in the middle, with a handful of unchecked items that explain a surprising share of their day-to-day frustration.
What to do with your score
Whatever you find, you have options. If quality items dominated your unchecked list, Why Dirty Data Is Costing Your Nonprofit is the right next read. If the leadership and decision-making items did, start with the Nonprofit Data Maturity Model.
And if you would rather walk through your results with someone, we do that for free. A 30-minute discovery call with Prismatic is an honest conversation about what your score means and what fixing it would take. No pitch, no pressure.