Fundraising Software:

A Donor Management System or Nonprofit CRM is a means of organizing, analyzing, and strategically implementing communication strategies with nonprofit supporters to maintain and grow those relationships.

An effective donor management system is an essential piece of software for any nonprofit organization. Big or small, it’s absolutely crucial that your nonprofit accurately record and track its donor data. Since most nonprofits operate on very tight budgets, investing in your ability to record and use data is among the smartest decisions you can make. As with any important purchase that will have a major impact on your operations, don’t go into it unprepared. Knowing what features to expect before even considering different software options will go a long way to ensure your nonprofit ends up making the best possible choice.

Key Features of Fundraising Software

• Detailed Contact Information – Including Supporter History
• Custom Notes – Keep Track of Specific Contact Details
• Individual Campaign Metrics – Donor Traffic Sources, Gift Size, and More
• Supporter Interaction History – Engagement Frequency and Details
• Offline Donations Attribution – Account for Donations Made by Cash or Check
• Contact Segmentation – Group your Supporters with Strategic Criteria
• Customizable Tags – To Better Understand Your Supporters
• Tasks and Reminders – To Keep You on Track
• Email Marketing – Get your message out there

Benefits of Fundraising Software

• Organize Donor and Donation Data. Depending on the size of the nonprofit, you could be managing thousands of data points, from donor names to transaction data. It’s important to quickly organize this data in a way that makes sense to the organization. Tips include customizing donor databases to fit the organizational needs by adding unique fields and developing reports that streamline data into a more digestible form. Make sure everyone in the organization is familiar with the procedures to guarantee that you’re using the fundraising product to its fullest benefit.
• Manage Duplicate Listings. Duplicate listings can be a time-suck for organizations when someone has to manually eliminate the duplicate donor profiles. If this is a problem your organization faces, you might consider using a fundraising product that has a duplicate remover, which will handle the issue for you, or other safeguards to prevent donors from signing-up multiple times.
• Leverage reports to save time. According to reviewers, reporting functionality is one of the biggest benefits a fundraising software product can provide. The process of compiling and analyzing pledge data is automated, allowing you to focus on what matters most: engaging donors, fostering relationships, and progressing the mission of the organization. Many fundraising products offer custom reporting, allowing the ability to compare and share the pledge and donor data that’s most relevant to the organization in a straightforward format.
• Integrate to scale. A number of fundraising products integrate with other software programs such as email marketing, CRM, social media marketing, and more. Users find that programs offering integrations help to streamline and automate the process of fundraising and managing donor databases. To make the most out of integration opportunities, it’s important to consider how a fundraising program fits within the tech stack of the organization.