 |
The Role of Fundraising Software
Specialty software, usually database-driven, can help you manage your online
fundraising efforts, and integrate them into your existing fundraising methods.
This database software can vary widely in function and price, from free shareware
to expensive all-inclusive systems.
Before you begin looking for software packages, you need to answer the following
items about your needs now, and in the future:
- What kind of computers and other peripherals do you have in your office? How
many?
- What types of fundraising methods do you plan on including in your campaign now
and in the future? (direct mail, corporate grants, fundraising events, yearly
planned giving, etc.)
- How much are you able to spend?
- How many people will be using the system?
- Who will enter data into the system?
- Internal or external?
Choosing a Software Package
The following information is from Linda Brown Rivelis, President of Campaign
Consultation, Inc., the training and technical assistance provider for SustainAbility
(Resource Development, Collaboration, Volunteers, Media and Marketing) for the
Corporation for National and Community Service (CNCS) since 1998. [printable version]
Fundraising Software Shouldn't Be Hard to Use
by Linda Brown Rivelis, Certified Fundraising Executive (CFRE)
For more than twenty-five years, I have been raising resources for many different
types of organizations and probably one of the most underrated aspects of successful
fund development is an up-to-date, easily accessible database system. Fundraising
software is necessary for growing development initiatives to:
- Communicate regularly with supporters through solicitations, newsletters, updates
to constituents from the director, etc.
- Personalize letters with appropriate giving requests to help your product stand
out and at least meet the solicitation competition.
- Segment communications tailored to the level of supporter involvement and commitment
to upgrade support.
- Prepare up-to-the-minute reports on funds raised currently vs. what was raised
in the past in order to analyze fund raising activity and make adjustments ...
among many other uses.
Here are a few observations to keep in mind as you shop for the appropriate software
for your initiative.
- Invite leadership volunteers to join you in the interview/selection process.
As a result of reviewing the software and learning what it can do for the
initiative, volunteers will become more aware of the value of regular information
sharing, multi-solicitations, targeting solicitations, reporting and the
general intricacies of fundraising. This extra piece of information will
assist them in becoming even better advocates for fund development and consequently
the mission of the initiative.
- It's never as easy as it looks.
Software programs are rarely as easy to use as what the sales staff say and marketing
kits display. Ask the sales staff to sit with you as you enter live data from
your records and then manipulate the data into gift reports and solicitation segmentations.
See how the software performs. In addition, the sales staff's response to your
request may be indicative of the caliber of service you can expect from that vendor.
- Knowledgeable technical support with excellent
customer service is the most important component of successful fundraising
software.
Contact, visit - do anything to make friends with the customer service/technical
support division. Ask these questions and be on the lookout for these signals:
- What are the hours of technical support?
Since most needs occur after normal business hours when you are preparing for
an early morning deadline the next day, you need a knowledgeable live person at
the other end of the telephone line.
- What are the training opportunities?
Ideally, it is preferable if training occurs at your work-site to help
iron out glitches. Glitches at the vendor's training site were ironed
out long ago and everything works perfectly.
- How do you like your job?
People in tech support and customer service who are treated well, treat
others well. You'll gain insight into the corporate culture and be able
to decide if you wish to invest with that software company.
- Other Factors to Consider
Are the technical assistance/customer service people courteous?
Do they give you time or are they in a hurry to get off the line?
Is there rapport or a disconnect in your conversation?
Do they have a sense of humor? You'll both need it!
- Purchase multi-version software.
Install one version in the executive director's office and the other in
the fund development hub. The initiative leader should have easy access
to supporters" profiles to know with whom they are speaking during a spontaneous
telephone call or to easily assist them in spearheading an atmosphere of
supporter cultivation within the initiative.
- Several upgrades should be expected annually.
The software vendor you select should constantly be absorbing information from
their customer base on how to improve the software and making the alterations.
These should come in the form of software upgrades and should be easily incorporated
into customers" systems.
- Do not recreate the wheel.
I speak from personal experience, don't let your initiative delude itself into
thinking it can save money and develop its own program. It will end up putting
time and resources into a program that will not work as it should and cannot be
easily adapted to meet growth opportunities. Make the investment with a compatible
fundraising software vendor who has a product that has been tested by fire through
years of experience.
Below, are several fundraising software websites to launch
your vendor research:
|
Software |
Information | |
Blackbaud |
"the leading provider of accounting and fundraising software to more than 13,000
nonprofit organizations in fundraising, fund accounting, volunteer management,
event management, membership management and school administration." | |
eTapestry |
"software that runs on the Internet, and tracks donors, prospects or alumni while
managing gifts, pledges and payments." | |
DonorPerfect
|
"screens, fields, and reports can be configured to fit your needs, so you receive
the benefits of a custom solution and the simplicity of a ready-to-install, cost-effective,
reliable and proven system." | |
Donor2 |
"a comprehensive fund raising system is complemented with optional modules for
prospect research, planned giving, special events, volunteer management, membership,
scholarships and alumni tracking." | |
MIP Software |
"manage all your fundraising needs with Paradigm's easy-to-use and cost-effective
solution" or use "Millennium for larger organizations with more sophisticated
fundraising needs. With a unique Web-based design, Millennium is easy to navigate
and can be set up as either an Internet or intranet application." |
Feel free to contact Linda at lbrivelis@campaignconsultation.com for further assistance. For more information, visit the Campaign
Consultation corporate website.
For more software options, see the article by Duff Batchelder of Management Solutions
for Nonprofit Organizations on How To Choose The Right Software For Your Organization. He discusses the costs and the type of questions to ask before purchasing software.
Building a Custom System
Unless you have a few people on staff that can handle creating
it, and supporting it, it is probably easier to find a simple software package
that can do it for you. If you are going to be building your own system, make
sure that it can fully integrate with your word processing and spreadsheet programs,
and that updates and improvements are easy to do. You may want to look into
having a contractor build the system for you. You will also want to think about
how this new database will interface with any existing databases you have in
place. |
