What is a nonprofit database manager?

 In Capacity

To Build Consulting, a nonprofit database manager (or “data manager”) is someone with the business and technical skills to navigate both the complexities of their organization and the database systems (or “information systems”) that support the organization’s activities.

Desired outcome of the database manager role

Database managers help organizations bring their data closer to providing an accurate and accessible representation of activities and outcomes. This means bringing consistency and efficiency to data collection, maintenance, and reporting.

Empowered and capable database managers, working within organizations that understand the importance of good data management, can help improve the performance of every other department.

Other titles for “database manager”

Someone in the “database manager” role might also be called a “data manager,” “database administrator,” “information systems manager,”—or, more rarely, “information manager.” Their title is often prefaced by the major system or department with which they are associated—for example, “Raiser’s Edge Database Manager” or “Accounting Data Manager.”

Primary focus areas for the database manager

The database manager might perform some day-to-day tasks, such as simple data entry, imports, exports, and reports.

But the primary areas of emphasis for the data manger role are:

  • Policies and practices
  • Project task management
  • Process documentation and improvement
  • Data quality and accessibility
  • Information systems implementations and integrations

Read More: Nonprofit organizations often have difficulty hiring and retaining good database managers. Why is that the case, and what can nonprofits do about it? See “A good nonprofit database manager is hard to find.

Improving Donor DataNonprofit Database Manager