Melissa Johnson
Former Executive Director, Bellevue College
We’ve been working with Donor Database Experts for a few years, and it has been nothing short of transformative for our organization. When we first reached out to them, our customer relationship management (CRM) system was a complete mess. We were looking for a partner who could help us fix the system, clean up our data, and ultimately help us track and manage our donors more effectively. That’s when we found DDX.
The most striking thing about working with Donor Database Experts has been their communication and customer service. They have been a fantastic partner throughout the entire process. They are always easy to reach and are proactive about following up to make sure things are moving forward. Whenever we hit a roadblock or needed advice, our consultants are quick to jump on a call and help us work through the issues.
Donor Database Expert’s efficiency, their team, their ability to get data, that all moves fundraising forward. We can target subsets of our database. There's a huge monetary return in being able to reach people who want to engage with you.
This has been an ongoing, long-term investment into improving our CRM system, and what I’ve appreciated most is how DDX has helped us strategize to fit our budget. Rather than trying to do everything all at once, they worked with us to identify the highest impact changes that we could make first. They helped us prioritize the necessary updates and created a roadmap for future improvements. We’re still about halfway through the process, but the improvements we’ve made so far have been monumental.
Before we started working with DDX, we had little visibility into our data. I couldn’t get reliable answers from my team about basic questions like who attended our events, who our donors were, or how they were connected to our organization. Our CRM was cluttered with thousands of duplicate entries, inconsistent naming conventions, and way too many funds. It was a mess. But thanks to DDX, we’ve cleaned up a significant portion of that data and have built a more efficient system that we can rely on.
The impact of these changes on our ability to function has been night and day. Now, we can easily target specific subsets of our database for fundraising efforts or events. For example, after making improvements to our system, we were able to invite a specific group of donors who were listeners of certain programs on our radio station to a concert. We could send them personalized invitations, which was an incredibly valuable way to engage people who were already interested in our mission. This kind of targeted outreach was virtually impossible before, and now it’s become an integral part of our fundraising strategy, resulting in a significant increase in return on investment.
DDX didn’t just help us set up a system that worked for our organization—they helped us build a system based on industry best practices that will remain sustainable over time. Another key aspect of our partnership has been their flexibility. Working in the nonprofit sector can be unpredictable—Donor Database Experts has always been responsive to our changing needs. Whether we needed to track scholarships, manage more legislative events, or figure out how to handle an influx of data from multiple events, they were there for us, offering expert advice and solutions.
To anyone considering working with DDX, I cannot recommend them enough. They’ve been transparent, trustworthy, and highly efficient, and they truly understand the needs of my organization. They didn’t take advantage of my inexperience; instead, they empowered me and my team to make smart decisions for the future. If you’re looking for a partner who will work with you, listen to your needs, and help you navigate complex challenges, Donor Database Experts is the right choice.
