Case study · The Waldorf School of Atlanta
DASL fundraising (Advancement) reporting
Every fall, independent schools report their fundraising to DASL, the NAIS benchmarking survey: what came in, for what purpose, from whom, and how many families gave. Mae Hill, development director at The Waldorf School of Atlanta, was facing her first DASL fundraising entry with the deadline two days away.
1 week
given back
2 days
from data to submitted
12
tabs, one clear picture
The school's giving records lived across a dozen tabs of a spreadsheet built from its donor system: board giving, faculty and staff, leadership gifts, grants and an all-donations import. DASL wants those same gifts sliced its own way, by purpose, by donor group, Annual Fund, new pledges and family participation. Mae expected to lose a full week of eight-hour days just getting her records in order.
With a signed confidentiality agreement and the school's written OK to use AI, SageRock worked in a private copy and never touched her live sheet. AI matched households across tabs, applied NAIS's own counting rules (gala sponsorships count toward the Annual Fund, donor-advised funds are counted by sponsor, stock is valued on the day it was given) and laid the answers out in DASL's order beside her own numbers. The judgment calls went to Mae as a short list of questions.
Mae submitted the fundraising section on time, understood how each number came together, and felt confident in the figures. When the work ended, every copy of the school's data was deleted, as the agreement required, and we confirmed it in writing.
No charge. It was early DASL work for us, and it taught us which counting questions come up at every school, so the next one goes faster.
“Going into my first DASL data entry for Advancement, I expected to lose at least a week of full 8-hour days just getting my records in order. SageRock gave me that week back. They took data spread across a dozen spreadsheet tabs and turned it into a clear, organized picture that matched what DASL was asking for. The process was simple and easy to follow, and I never felt like I was handing my work off. I was part of every decision, and I understood how each number came together. I submitted with real confidence in our figures. SageRock has used AI in the best possible way: as a partner that does the heavy lifting while keeping you in the room. I recommend them to any school that wants to report well to DASL but doesn’t have the time or the data expertise to do it alone.”
At a glance
We worked in a private copy. Mae decided what went into DASL.
Counting questions were settled from NAIS's own template notes, not guesswork.
Every copy deleted when the work ended, confirmed in writing.