Welcome to Part 1 of our brand new “Actually Useful Maths for Data Work” series.
Written by our very own Anthony Fawkes, this five-part series will provide fundraisers, data managers, analysts, and CRM heroes holding charity operations together with easy-to-apply solutions that strip away the stress from maths. The aim is to show you how everyday calculations (and a bit of logic) can level up your data confidence.
Let’s be honest: Excel gets a lot of stick. But for database people – especially those working in fundraising – it’s one of the most versatile tools available. It’s not perfect (no, it’s not a database), but it can do a significant amount of the heavy lifting if you know your way around it.
I’ve used Excel in various ways; from data wrangling, to makeshift CRMs, to mini reporting apps with macros and forms, and even data capture (yes, I know…). Thanks to how widely it’s used in most UK charities, it’s still one of the easiest ways to share working tools with non-techy teammates. It also now comes with Power Query built in, which is massively useful for connecting to APIs and cleaning up messy data.
The Not-So-Obvious Functions That Save My Bacon (Regularly!)
We all know about SUM, AVERAGE, and COUNT, so let’s skip the basics. Here are a few of the slightly nerdier functions that I keep coming back to – especially when I’m helping fundraisers make sense of data.
=IF
If you’ve ever needed to flag values based on conditions (e.g. donations over £50), IF is your go-to. Example:
=IF(A2>=50,”Top”,”Bottom”)
=LEN
Want to know how long a postcode or phone number is before importing it into a database with field limits? LEN tells you the character count.
=SUBSTITUTE
Allows you to swap part of a string. Example: =SUBSTITUTE(“Anthony”,”hony”,”onia”) -> Antonia
=COUNTA
Counts the number of non-blank cells. Handy for reporting completeness.
=COUNTIFS and =SUMIFS
COUNTIFS = count if multiple conditions are met. SUMIFS = total up values when specific criteria apply.
=NETWORKDAYS
Returns the number of working days between two dates. Useful for turnaround time tracking.
=LEFT / =RIGHT
Pulls characters from either end of a string. =LEFT(“Anthony”,3) -> Ant
=ISDATE
Checks whether something is a valid date.
=ISBLANK, =ISERROR, =ISNA
Error handling functions. Good for catching blanks or invalid results.
=VLOOKUP
Used to bring data from one table into another using a shared value. Classic and still powerful.
New(er) Stuff Worth Knowing About
=XLOOKUP
The more flexible cousin of VLOOKUP. Works in both directions and allows more control.
Excel 2021 & LAMBDA
Includes new functions and advanced custom logic via LAMBDA.
What Have I Missed?
This list covers what I use the most, but Excel has a function for almost everything. If I’ve missed your favourite, let me know.
Coming Up Next in the Series…
- Post 2: Maths for Database People (Without the Stressy Bits)
- Future Topics: Forecasting, Attrition Modelling, and Python Automation
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