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title: About Contact Standardization
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version: current
locale: en-us
portal_url: https://docs.salesforce.com/admin/current/en-us/sfdo/264-0-0/ip_about_contact_standarization_header.md
canonical_url: https://help.salesforce.com/s/articleView?id=sfdo.ip_about_contact_standarization_header.htm&release=264.0.0&type=5
source_site: help.salesforce.com
content_type: documentation
content_hash: b00826e9850878b90ce675c06cde672d6650729e07fd0703cd6fdc7ef833daa9
description: Learn about how to update data about your Contacts.
products:
  - Nonprofit
release: "264"
---
# About Contact Standardization

Learn about how to update data about your Contacts.

- **[About Contact Standardization](https://help.salesforce.com/s/articleView?id=sfdo.ip_about_contact_standarization_header.htm&release=264.0.0&type=5)**  
    Contact Standardization offers a scalable solution that flags, and updates, inaccurate email addresses and phone numbers so that you can either fix the Contact records or remove them from the email or phone lists.
- **[Email Addresses and Phone Numbers](https://help.salesforce.com/s/articleView?id=sfdo.ip_about_contact_standarization_header.htm&release=264.0.0&type=5)**  
    Contact Standardization helps ensure that nonprofits have constituent's correct email addresses and phone numbers. The ability to promptly and accurately reach prospects or donors can exponentially increase a nonprofit's ability to fundraise and spread awareness for causes they are passionate about.
- **[Deceased Contacts and Planned Giving](https://help.salesforce.com/s/articleView?id=sfdo.ip_about_contact_standarization_header.htm&release=264.0.0&type=5)**  
    At some point, you will have contacts who are deceased or others who have asked to be removed from your contact lists. In either of these cases, you need to update your mailing lists to cease contact. For a deceased contact you need to ensure that the contact's name doesn't appear in outgoing communications to avoid upsetting family members.

## About Contact Standardization

Contact Standardization offers a scalable solution that flags, and updates, inaccurate email addresses and phone numbers so that you can either fix the Contact records or remove them from the email or phone lists.

- For email, this improves deliverability and decreases the odds of emails being marked as spam - even for those recipients with valid email addresses in their database.
- For phone numbers, it saves time for fundraisers and improves trust in the system and the data.
- Furthermore, this scheduled job enables nonprofits to manage effort around constituent deceased status and planned giving in a more effective and timely manner.

## Email Addresses and Phone Numbers

Contact Standardization helps ensure that nonprofits have constituent's correct email addresses and phone numbers. The ability to promptly and accurately reach prospects or donors can exponentially increase a nonprofit's ability to fundraise and spread awareness for causes they are passionate about.

Inaccurate email addresses have a far greater negative impact on fundraising efforts than merely going undelivered or unopened. Bad emails cause a nonprofit’s email appeals to be labeled as spam, which can decrease deliverability, even to valid constituents. This costs the average nonprofit thousand per year in lost revenue.

Similarly, inaccurate phone numbers can impact voice calls as well as the success of new marketing plans implemented using Short Message Service (SMS) outreach efforts. Though individual SMS messages are cheap, incorrect data in the database prevents a new donor from ever making their second donation if the "new donor welcome SMS" program is sent to the wrong number.

## Deceased Contacts and Planned Giving

At some point, you will have contacts who are deceased or others who have asked to be removed from your contact lists. In either of these cases, you need to update your mailing lists to cease contact. For a deceased contact you need to ensure that the contact's name doesn't appear in outgoing communications to avoid upsetting family members.

You also build relationships with donors who are considering or have committed to a planned gift. Sometimes when the donor passes away, you might be unaware of their intentions because nonprofits are typically not the first organization that is notified. Contact Standardization alerts you when a donor with a planned gift passes away. Then you'll know to look for a notification from the estate, or reach out to inquire about the planned gift.