End-of-Year Salesforce Data Governance Checklist

Close the year with clarity not cleanup.

For nonprofits, December isn’t just fundraising season. It’s the perfect time to clean house inside Salesforce. A quick data governance review saves headaches later fewer mismatched totals, fewer audit questions, and far less “why doesn’t this report match Finance?” panic in January.

That’s why I built the End-of-Year Salesforce Data Governance Checklist. It’s a straightforward way to finish the year with a CRM that actually tells the truth.

Why Year-End Data Governance Matters

When donor data is inconsistent, reporting accuracy disappears. The Salesforce.org Nonprofit Trends Report (2024) found that over 60 percent of nonprofit leaders believe unreliable CRM data hurts fundraising decisions. Meanwhile, Giving USA (2024) reported that data-driven organizations raise 23 percent more from repeat donors because their segmentation and acknowledgment systems actually work.

Clean data isn’t about perfection it’s about trust. When leadership can rely on dashboards, everyone breathes easier.

Step 1: Audit Your Core Fields

• Review Contacts, Accounts, and Opportunities.
• Spot blank fields or strange values (especially donor emails, Campaign IDs, and soft credits).
• Track completion rates in a simple spreadsheet or dashboard.

Use your Nonprofit Salesforce Data Quality Audit Template to make this fast and repeatable. Goal: Reach 100 percent completion for essential donor data before January.

Step 2: Review Automation Health

• Deactivate outdated Flows or Process Builders.
• Merge duplicate triggers that fire on the same object.
• Document owners and purposes for each automation.

The Salesforce Help: Flow Preparation Best Practices page and your Flow Governance Checklist explain how to spot risky overlaps.

Goal: A clean, documented automation environment before launching new campaigns.

Step 3: Validate Campaign Attribution

• Confirm that every donation links to a Campaign.
• Check parent-child Campaign hierarchies for accuracy.
• Apply consistent naming such as “Appeal – 2025 – Year-End Email.”

When every gift has clear attribution, you can measure ROI confidently and stop guessing what worked.

Step 4: Refresh Dashboards and Reports

• Archive outdated dashboards cluttering your list view.
• Create a “FY 2025 Board Snapshot” with core KPIs.
• Standardize field labels and filters across reports.

One well-built dashboard beats ten confusing ones. It keeps leadership focused on the right story instead of debating numbers.

Step 5: Document and Communicate

• Save final versions of key reports and exports.
• Record updates to Flows, Validation Rules, and field configurations.
• Brief new staff or volunteers on what changed.

According to the NTEN State of Data Report (2023), nonprofits that document governance processes have 35 percent higher staff retention among CRM admins. Goal: Knowledge continuity, not guesswork.

Bonus: Security and Backup Checks

• Export data monthly with Salesforce’s native tools.
• Deactivate former staff accounts.
• Verify donor privacy settings under GDPR/CCPA if applicable.

The Salesforce Security Best Practices Guide (2024) recommends an annual permission review to keep sensitive donor data safe.

What a Governed CRM Looks Like

• Dashboards tell the same story as Finance.
• Campaign reports close on time.
• Admins sleep through December without surprise errors.

That’s what data governance delivers a system that supports your mission instead of distracting from it.

Ready to Start?

Download the End-of-Year Salesforce Data Governance Checklist for step-by-step guidance, or schedule a short discovery call to plan your nonprofit’s year-end data cleanup.

By Jeremy Carmona, Salesforce Consultant (13x Certified) & Nonprofit CRM Specialist

Jeremy Carmona is the founder of Clear Concise Consulting, helping nonprofits streamline Salesforce and build sustainable data governance systems.