Every industry on the planet has been revolutionized by the development and advancement of technology. The nonprofit sector is certainly no exception. If you work in the nonprofit realm, and have an internet connection, then you have countless technological tools at your disposal to help run your organization. But what specific benefits can nonprofit technology offer?
Work Smarter, Not Harder
Taking advantage of software that helps with things like donor management for your nonprofit is working smarter, and is simply a best practice. A farmer needs a plow. Salespeople need cell phones. Similarly, nonprofits can use donor management software to make fundraising easier. Did you know 72% of charitable gifts come from individuals? Because each person comes with more information than you can memorize, you’ll have to store all of that information in an easy-to-access format.
Fundraising strategies aren’t easy to create. You have to understand your donors and keep track of all the information that allows you to understand them. Fortunately, donor management software can simplify information management and cross-team collaboration.
There’s a range of information nonprofits need, such as:
- Donor giving histories
- Reports on donor trends
- Mailing lists (email and direct mail)
With great data comes great knowledge, so a solid donor management platform should deliver the type of flexibility your nonprofit needs to acquire new donors and retain the ones you have.
Better Communication With Donors
Donations don’t just pop out of thin air. Fundraisers form relationships with prospects through a series of dedicated, determined interactions. Conversations are the heartbeats of acquiring and retaining donors. The right software can help you improve donor communications and make it easier to understand your conversations with donors. You can segment donors for email campaigns, know what thank you letters to send, and know who to send them to.
The right software can also help organizations improve efficiency by automating different parts of the fundraising process, such as:
- Automatically processing pledges
- Easily scheduling recurring gifts
- Quickly sending an acknowledgment letter
- Effortlessly viewing donor giving histories
When you integrate the right nonprofit technology into your fundraising management process, conversations will be more focused and lead to more frequent donations. And in a world with so many nonprofits, you must be more efficient about fundraising. You must track data and maintain systems. You need to talk to the right donors at the right times and send useful messages so your donors know you care about them. The less scattered all of these activities are, the easier your work will be.
