Many individuals consider the spring to be a time to clean their houses, rake their yards and go through and toss old clothes or items. Spring cleaning, however, takes on a new meaning where nonprofit software is concerned. Many administrators use this initiative to go through their databases of donors, grant givers and other contacts, deleting outreach information that is no longer valid in an effort to make room for others who pledge to help in the coming year.

According to Nonprofit Quarterly, around 70 percent of business contact data is no longer valid, so many individuals in these sorts of organizations are looking to update their systems this spring. 

NP Engage suggested organizations start by ensuring the system is backed up and the archive is working before any changes are made, just in case a mistake occurs. From there, administrators should verify the data of board members, major donators and other important individuals, then search for duplicate records to clear out space.

"You need an accurate database so that you can spend time focusing on campaigning versus trying to find the right person to hear the message to begin with," Data.com vice president Shannon Duffy explained to the Nonprofit Quarterly.

Nonprofit organizations that hope to benefit from large grant-giving opportunities can improve their chances of being selected for awards when they use nonprofit financial management programs. These solutions can generate data-driven reports for various stakeholders.