Most charities are not short of data. They are short of a clear line between the money they raise and the beneficiaries they help, and according to our guest, very few can draw it. Welcome to Episode 4 of Something to THINK About, the charity podcast about strategy, leadership and change in fundraising. Hosts Matt Smith (Managing Director at THINK Consulting Solutions) and Tim Beynon are joined by Sameer Rahman, founder of DataMonet and one of the UK’s leading voices on data, analytics and AI. Sameer has been named a top 100 global data leader and Wales Data and Tech Leader of the Year. He has held senior data roles at organisations including the Royal Mint, Go Compare, Lloyds Banking Group, Legal & General, Jaguar Land Rover and BT, and has worked with charities such as Marie Curie, the Royal British Legion and Anthony Nolan. His mission is to get data and AI into the boardroom, so that more decisions are backed by evidence. This conversation starts with databases and dashboards and quickly becomes a discussion about strategy, people, culture and decision making. The central question is whether charities are using the data they already hold, or simply collecting it. Sameer explains why the CRM so often takes the blame for problems that actually sit with business processes, training and culture, and sets out the order in which charities should tackle a big systems investment. He also demystifies predictive modelling for fundraisers, draws the line between personalisation and the creepy kind, and offers practical, grounded advice on AI for a sector that is both curious and cautious about it. In this episode: Three quick tests of whether an organisation is genuinely data-led: do you argue about the trustworthiness of the data more than the decision, how long does a simple data request take, and does the evidence show up in your recent business cases?Why technology is “the least of the problem”, and why business process is the most underrated issue in charity dataThe case that CRM is not a piece of technology but an approach to supporter relationships, and why blaming the system often misses the real issueA four-step sequence to follow before any big CRM spend: the business problem, the data, the architecture, and only then the technology, with people and process running alongsideThe difference between segmentation (descriptive) and predictive modelling (which scores individuals), and how legacy and regular giving models put it to workHow to approach AI without fear or hype: fix your data foundations, run a tightly boxed pilot, and be transparent with supporters about how their data is usedLinks & Resources DataMonet: https://datamonet.uk/Sameer Rahman on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/sameer-rahman-dataBe a part of the show We really want to hear what you think of the show and what you'd like us to cover. So if you have thoughts on this episode or ideas for future topics you'd like us to cover, here's how to get in touch... Use the contact form HERE - https://somethingtothinkabout.transistor.fm/get-in-touchSend us a voice message HERE - https://www.speakpipe.com/SomethingToTHINKAbout Produced by The Good Studio - thegoodstudio.co.uk
