Spreadsheets are Holding You Back: Why Managing Donors Feels Like a Full-Time Job

You just wrapped up a fundraising campaign. Donations are coming in, and that's great… until you open your spreadsheet.

Now you’re stuck adding each donation row by row, and double or triple-checking that every entry is correct. What should be a moment of celebration turns into a tedious, error-prone task.

For many growing charities, spreadsheets like Google Sheets or Excel, start as a simple, accessible, and cost-effective way to track contacts and donations. But as time goes on, what once seemed like an easy solution becomes an overwhelming burden.

In this blog, you’ll learn why spreadsheets take up so much of your time, the pitfalls of messy data, and how charities can move toward a more efficient system.

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Nearly 90% of spreadsheets contain errors, yet many charities still depend on them for contact and donation management. Spreadsheets might work fine when you only have a handful of donors, but keeping records up to date becomes overwhelming as your list grows. Instead of helping, spreadsheets turn contact and donation management into a time-consuming burden.

Why it’s a Problem

Every entry in a spreadsheet is manual, and that’s where things start to go wrong.

It’s easy to mistype a donor’s name, enter the wrong gift amount, or accidentally delete important data. Formatting inconsistencies also creep in when multiple team members update the same file. When one person writes “Street,” while another person writes “St.”, suddenly, your data is a mess.

Duplicate records create confusion and prevent your organization from accurately tracking donors. If your team doesn’t have strict data entry standards or software with built-in controls, the same record might be entered multiple times under ever-so-slightly different names. And if you aren’t regularly checking for outdated info, you might just end up mailing tax receipts and thank-you letters to someone who moved years ago.

How to Fix It

If managing data in a spreadsheet takes too much time or leads to errors, it’s a sign that you need a system built for contact and donation management.

Switching to CanadaHelps’ purpose-built system eliminates the guesswork and keeps donor records structured from the beginning. That way, you only track what actually matters accurately and efficiently.

The longer your organization relies on spreadsheets, the more chaotic your data becomes. Spreadsheets may start as a simple, cost-effective solution, but over time, they become a barrier to personalized outreach, relationship-building, and donor retention.

Messy and inconsistent data is one of the biggest pitfalls of spreadsheets. Still, 46% of charities believe adopting software, such as a contact and donation management tool, isn’t a high enough priority compared to everything else on their plate.

And that’s understandable. When your organization is stretched thin, it’s hard to focus on digital tools and software when there are more immediate needs.

But messy data doesn’t just affect your organization internally, it shows up in missed thank-yous, impersonal outreach, weaker donor relationships, and ultimately, a decline in donor retention.

Why it’s a Problem

Stewardship shouldn’t feel like guesswork.

But when your contact and donation data lives in a spreadsheet (or worse, across multiple files and folders), it’s easy to lose track. Who did you thank? When was the last time someone gave? Are all members of that household up to date on receipts and thank-yous?

These are the kinds of questions that slow you down and finding the answers shouldn’t require a deep dive into your spreadsheets.

Most small teams have the best intentions. But when things get busy, even basic stewardship tasks start to slip through the cracks. Here’s what often happens:

• Late thank-you messages
  You receive a donation but forget to record it right away, so the thank-you message goes out late (or worse, you forget to send it out entirely)!
• Can’t personalize outreach
  You want to personalize outreach, but your spreadsheet doesn’t store donor preferences or past interactions, so every message feels the same.
• You miss the moment to re-engage lapsed donors
  Messy data makes it nearly impossible to sort and filter your spreadsheet confidently, making it challenging to re-engage lapsed donors

Without a system to help you track and engage donors, it’s easy to miss key stewardship opportunities when you’re drowning in administrative tasks.

And that leads to churned donors.

Retaining donors is one of the smartest investments a charity can make. Acquiring new donors often costs 50-100% more than the donations they bring in, and it can take years for a charity to break even. Meanwhile, donor retention rates remain alarmingly low–57% of donors don’t give again after their first gift. As a result, more than half of new donors never return. Every lapsed donor isn’t just lost revenue, it’s an expensive gap you now have to fill.

Major gifts don’t happen overnight either. Most major donors give for at least 4-5 years before making a significant contribution, and research shows it takes 18-24 personalized touchpoints to cultivate that level of commitment.

You’re already doing the hard work of donor stewardship.

You’ve sent the thank-yous.

You’ve scribbled memos on sticky notes.

You even followed up after every gift.

And still, donors drop off. Not because you don’t care, but because spreadsheets can’t help you steward them.

How to Fix It

The longer your organization relies on spreadsheets, the more chaotic and unusable they get over time. When you switch to CanadaHelps' purpose-built system, you can keep your data organized from the start, without all the manual work.

Keeping donors engaged is key, but managing their information securely is just as important. Without proper security measures, spreadsheets leave sensitive donor data exposed, putting your organization at risk of breaches, unauthorized access, and loss of donor trust.

Managing donor information using spreadsheets poses significant privacy and security risks that may lead to severe financial and reputational damage for charities. Spreadsheets lack built-in security protections, making donor data far more vulnerable to breaches, human error, and compliance issues.

Why it’s a Problem

Charitable organizations are prime targets for cybercriminals due to the valuable personal and financial information of donors. Non-profit organizations are the second most targeted sector by cybercriminals, accounting for 31% of all notifications of nation-state attacks.

Despite these risks, most charities are underprepared for cyber threats. Only 18% of charities require staff to participate in cybersecurity training regularly. Without proper training, staff may unknowingly expose sensitive donor information through poor password management, phishing scams, or accidental data leaks. The likelihood of data breaches increases even further when storing donor records in unsecured spreadsheets.

How to Fix It

Switching to CanadaHelps’ purpose-built solution solves these problems before they become disasters.

Here’s how:

• All data is 100% secure, private, backed up and remains in Canada
  Servers are located in Canada, with backups, constant monitoring, and security measures in place.
• Secure data centers
  Data centers have locked cages, restricted access, and advanced surveillance to prevent unauthorized entry.
• Microsoft cloud infrastructure
  CanadaHelps uses Microsoft’s Canadian data centers, following strict security protocols and limiting remote access.
• Ongoing security reviews
  Regular security assessments (monthly, quarterly, and annually) to maintain compliance and improve protections, with external audits by a Qualified Security Assessor (QSA).
• Extended Validation (EV) certificate
  We also have an Extended Validation Certificate, so Canadians can trust we have passed a rigorous independent audit of our encryption technology.
• Vulnerability scans
  Monthly scans to identify and address security risks, with reports available quarterly upon request.
• Linked user management
  Add and remove additional users to your CanadaHelps account to ensure only the right people can see and edit information.

For more information about CanadaHelps’ security, visit: https://www.canadahelps.org/en/canadahelps-security/ 

Spreadsheets aren’t just inefficient, they’re a security risk to your organization. If you’re still using a spreadsheet for contact and donation management, now’s the time to reconsider. A proper system doesn’t just make donor data easier to manage, it protects your donors, revenue, and reputation.

The Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) has strict rules for issuing official donation receipts, and failing to follow them can result in financial penalties, audits or even the loss of charitable status.

But if you’re managing tax receipts in a spreadsheet, staying compliant becomes a huge burden on your charity. There’s no system to help ensure accuracy and track issued or cancelled receipts. Instead, you’re left scrambling to keep things organized manually, often at the risk of costly mistakes.

Why it’s a Problem

Spreadsheets don’t come with CRA-compliant receipt templates or built-in tracking. So every receipt ends up being manual, making it easy to overlook key fields, mess up formatting, or lose track entirely. And if your receipts are incorrect or incomplete, here’s what you risk: real penalties and potential suspension from the CRA.

The CRA requires receipts to include details, such as a unique serial number, the full donor name, and an accurate gift description. For cash donations, the receipt needs to have 13 pieces of information! A single mistake could invalidate the receipt.

Manually tracking issued, cancelled, and reissued receipts is an error-prone nightmare. Spreadsheets don’t update themselves, so if someone forgets to log a change, you’re left with conflicting records, missing receipts, and compliance risks. It’s easy to lose track of which receipts are valid, putting you at risk of issuing duplicates or non-compliant corrections.

And when a donor requests a replacement receipt or donation refund, how quickly can you find the right receipt version? A small error can mean hours on the phone with donors rewriting receipts, or explaining yourself to the CRA. Now imagine dealing with that in the middle of your busiest fundraising season.

If a donor asks for a copy of their receipt and you can’t confirm what was issued, you’re risking more than donor trust–you’re risking CRA penalties.

The CRA does prioritize education before penalties, giving charities a chance to correct mistakes. However, repeated errors or uncorrected issues could lead to fines and suspensions.

A purpose-built system helps prevent problems before they happen. They’re designed to keep your charity compliant, your reputation intact, and your donors confident.

How to Fix It

Issuing CRA-compliant tax receipts doesn’t have to be a stressful, manual process. With CanadaHelps’ purpose-built system, you can customize receipts, track issued and cancelled receipts automatically, and help ensure CRA compliance while cutting down on manual work.

For charities still stuck using spreadsheets, compliance can quickly turn into a frustrating mess. Tracking receipts, updating statuses and avoiding errors take up valuable time and increase the risk of mistakes that could cost your organization donor trust, hours of extra work, or even CRA penalties.

If you’re serious about CRA compliance and making tax receipting easier, now is the time to switch to CanadaHelps’ purpose-built system.

Spreadsheets Aren't Built for This.
Our System Is.

When donor details live in disconnected tabs and manual lists, things slip through the cracks– thank-yous, receipts, and donor relationships.

CanadaHelps’ purpose-built system brings everything together: CRA-compliant receipting, secure record keeping, and simple donation and contact tracking, all in one place and without the admin overload.

Built for small teams. Easy to start. Made to support your mission.

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