Many charities are under increasing pressure to do more with less. Marketing budgets are tight, teams are stretched, and every pound spent needs to show value. Yet, data, one of the most powerful tools charities have to improve marketing performance, is often underused.

According to the 2025 Charity Digital Skills Report, around 50% of charities aren’t using their website and analytics data, with 39% self-reporting as ‘poor’ in this area. And this despite 74% of charities claiming digital as a priority. Together, these stats show that digital ambition is high, but the foundations needed to support effective decision-making are absent. This is going to have a significant impact on ROI across the sector.

The good news? Improving data management doesn’t require enterprise budgets or complex transformations. Below are five practical, achievable ways charities can strengthen their data foundations in 2026, helping marketing activity work harder and deliver clearer results.

1. Centralise and clean your data

Many charities store supporter data across multiple platforms, such CRMs, email tools, donation systems, website CMSs and event platforms. When these systems don’t talk to each other, or contain outdated or duplicated records, insight quickly becomes unreliable, if anything actionable can be identified at all.

For example, imagine a charity running a high-intent Google Search campaign to recruit new monthly donors.

• The data gap: Their Google Ads account tracks conversions via a thank-you page. However, their internal CRM is where the real data lives, identifying which sign-ups actually pass a credit check, which ones cancel after month one, and which ones are already existing donors.
• The action: Because the CRM data isn't fed back into the ad platform, Google’s Smart Bidding algorithm sees every "click-to-signup" as a massive success. It begins aggressively bidding on a specific demographic that converts cheaply on the website.
• The ROI impact:
  • Inflated success metrics: On paper, the PPC campaign looks like a hero with a low cost per lead.
  • The reality: The CRM shows that 40% of those new sign-ups were duplicate records of existing donors who just wanted a free sticker pack, and another 30% failed to pass the first payment.
  • Wasted budget: Our hypothetical charity is essentially paying premium CPCs (Cost-Per-Clicks) to acquire donors they already have or who provide zero Lifetime Value.

Without a unified data loop, the agency is optimising for platform conversions rather than actual revenue, leading to a high volume of low-quality data that drains the marketing budget.

Related – How nonprofits can make their Google Ads grant work harder

Simple steps to improve the lack of clean, centralised data include:

• Consolidating data where possible, or improving integrations between platforms
• Removing duplicate or inactive records
• Agreeing basic internal rules for data entry and regular data clean-ups

2. Improve website tracking and analytics setup

This is often where the current data challenge shows up most clearly. Charities may have analytics installed but not configured in a way that reflects real organisational goals.

Let’s say an animal welfare charity ranks #1 for the high-volume search term "How to take care of a kitten."

• The tracking gap: Their GA4 is set up to track "Page Views" and "Time on Page," but it isn't configured to track scroll depth or micro-conversions (like clicking a "Download Care Guide" button or signing up for a newsletter).
• The false positive: The marketing team sees a massive spike in organic traffic. They report it as a huge success to the board, claiming their content strategy is boosting brand awareness.
• The reality: Because they aren't tracking the user journey, they don't realise that 98% of these visitors read one paragraph and "bounce" immediately. The traffic is mostly students doing homework or casual browsers — none of whom are converting into supporters.
• The ROI impact: The charity continues to spend thousands on copywriters to produce "How-To" articles. Meanwhile, their "Gift Aid" and "Legacy Giving" pages, which actually drive revenue, are buried on page 3 of Google because no one is optimising for the high-intent keywords and topics that actually lead to a donation.

By setting up conversion paths in GA4, the charity realises that organic traffic from the keyword "charity tax-efficient giving" results in 10x more revenue than the "Kitten" article. They shift their SEO strategy to focus on high-intent, low-volume keywords, resulting in a lower total traffic count but a 300% increase in organic donation revenue.

Key areas to focus on to improve website tracking:

• Ensuring GA4 is properly implemented and collecting reliable data
• Going beyond GA4 where necessary to fill data gaps
• Setting up meaningful conversion events (donations, sign-ups, downloads)

Tracking donation funnels, form drop-offs and key engagement points

3. Use segmentation to personalise campaigns

Many charities still rely on broad, one-size-fits-all messaging. Even basic segmentation can dramatically improve performance without adding complexity. Let’s look at an example to understand the difference in practical terms:

Useful segmentation starting points:

• Donation history or frequency
• Engagement levels (email opens, site visits, volunteering)
• Programme or cause interests
• Demographic or geographic data (where appropriate and compliant)

4. Develop a reporting framework tied to organisational goals

Charities often collect large volumes of data but struggle to translate it into clear decisions. Reports exist, but they don’t always inform strategy.

A more effective approach includes:

• Agreeing a small number of KPIs linked directly to organisational objectives
• Creating simple monthly dashboards rather than complex reports
• Reviewing campaigns against outcomes, not just activity metrics

5. Invest in the right tools and expertise

Technology alone won’t solve data challenges, but the right tools, combined with the right skills, can make a significant difference.

This might involve:

• Using modern CRM or marketing automation platforms where appropriate
• Investing in staff training and digital confidence
• Bringing in external digital marketing expertise to support areas like SEO, PPC or social strategy

Related – How to grant agencies access to your marketing platforms

Make your charity’s data work harder in 2026

Better data foundations help charities spend smarter, learn faster, and prove the value of every marketing pound. The changes don’t need to be complex — just focused, practical, and aligned to real outcomes.

TDMP works with charities to improve data quality, tracking and insight across digital channels, helping marketing teams maximise ROI while navigating the regulatory realities of the sector.

If you’re ready to turn better data into better marketing decisions, then we’re ready to help. Get in touch with the team to get started.