Hands up, are your donors on a list on Excel or Access somewhere? Don’t worry, you're not alone! Thousands of non-profit organizations have yet to take the logical step of moving to a CRM (customer relationship database) system which is adapted for non-profits.
Are you ready to jump into the world of CRMs? If you tick at least one of these signs then you are!
1. Your donor base has increased rapidly – perhaps you ran a successful fundraiser and now have a lot of donors to keep engaged.
2. You’re wasting ridiculous amounts of time entering information because the data is in multiple locations.
3. You’ve given up even trying to segment donors and just send everyone the same email – bad move!
4. One error and all the calculation fields go crazy – and so are you!
5. Producing reports becomes a nightmare you would prefer to avoid.
If you can identify with any of the above, you need a database – sorry, CRM! You’ll be able to manage all of your data in one place, search and manipulate it any way you like - run reports with ease, alert users of tasks, and depending on the program you choose, may have extra features such as email marketing, event management, donate forms and wealth searches included in the cost.
Now that you’ve come to the realization that it’s time to invest in a CRM, you need to ask an honest question: What do I want to achieve?
The software you choose will contribute directly to how successful your future fundraising will be. Your needs will depend on your organization’s unique goals and requirements, so ask yourself a couple of questions such as:
· What do we want to improve by purchasing a nonprofit CRM? As obvious as the answer may seem, it actually is more complicated and it’s a good idea to discuss your specific situation with an experienced consultant.
· Other than keeping donor records, what do we need our CRM to do? You may want to be able to segment your data into different pots – from when they were last contacted to the amount of contribution, so that you can run a report for marketing purposes or to enable your fundraisers to jump on those phones! Or you may want a simpler system. Agree your key deliverables and choose a system that fulfils them.
· How many users will there be? Many systems place a cap on the number of users who can access them, but all systems will come to a solution that fits your needs, but be clear from the outset as the more users the pricier the software is going to be.
· How tech savvy are our users? Are you blessed with an IT team that can handle the initial upload of all your data and understands all the tech-stuff in the background, or will you need a good customer support team? Are the staff who will be mainly using the CRM experienced on various platforms or will you need a CRM that is geared toward the “novice user''?
· How many records do we think we will have within the next 3 years? Like the price of CRM software can be influenced by the number of users, it also tends to be affected by the number of constituents it can store. Some platforms have a pre-set number of users built into the cost, while others will charge you a small fee per constituent profile. Bear in mind that constituents aren’t just donors, they can also be volunteers, members, corporate sponsors, service recipients and anyone else who has a hand in furthering your mission. But also you need the system you choose to be able to grow with you, if you only purchase enough space to accommodate the data you have now, you’ll have to buy new software within a short space of time.
· What’s our budget? I kept this for last for a very good reason: Once you’ve worked through the above points, you should have a clearer understanding of what your requirements are. At this stage it is a good idea to work with your fundraising consultant to see what options are available within your budget. Have a look around online as to approximate costs so it will give you an idea.
As a non-profit fundraising consultant. I’ve worked with various CRM systems over the years and I constantly research new platforms. There is no such thing as one-size fits all. Each organization has its own dynamic needs and my goal is to help your organization move to the next level and turn your vision into donations. You can contact me at suzanne@suzannelieberman.com; let’s start a conversation.
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