Uncensored & unsolicited advice about why changemakers should take data seriously ASAP - so that we can reach the right people at the right time, save money and frustration, and WIN!
Dupes / dupes / dupes (Excel)
Part 3 in a mini-series exploring the great, big world of “de-duping” – or, how to handle repeated info in a spreadsheet or database. In this installment: using Microsoft Excel to highlight duplicates and summarize data.
Data cleaning is a “contact” sport
Like contact sports, "Contact Segmentation" has rules to learn and skills to develop... and sometimes it can make you feel sore/grumpy/bruised. In this post, I offer 4 "Rules of the Game" and 3 Skills that will help you make it to the clean data finish line.
Re-member-ships
Some ideas for "best practices" on managing memberships from The Spreadsheet Whisperer. If you structure your data properly, you won't have to remember when people re-member. Are you with me?
Duped, again!
Part 1 in a mini-series exploring the great, big world of “de-duping” - or, making sure that you don’t repeat the same information twice in a spreadsheet or database. This post includes "instant-gratification" links to tried and true de-duping resources.
Merge, baby, merge! (in Google Sheets!)
This is the third installment in a series called "The Mail Merges Are Alright" featuring the National Student Walkout and the mass-email sending tool, GMASS.
Mail Merge and the Office, Sweet!
Read on, for a tutorial and step-by-step instructions about how to Mail Merge a fundraising letter using Microsoft Word and Microsoft Excel. Next week, we'll cover merges using Google Drive - part of an on-going series dedicated to Mail Merge for Changemakers.
Thank a nerd
I hope that some readers will think, "Just like we don't accept the political status quo, we also don't have to accept the systems/technology status quo in our organizations/movement." Those systems are ours and it is up to us to keep them healthy!
From “Confirmation Confusion” to “Confirmation Champion”
Confirmation Confusion wrote to Dear Spreadsheet Whisperer for help with hiding fields on their Newsletter Sign Up form. Now, they're ready to become Confirmation Champion!
“I want a sign-in sheet that *does the work for me!*”
How can we make better sign-in sheets that minimize the work for organizers and maximize our capacity to follow up?