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Fundraising Tuesday: Is Your Nonprofit Tech Savvy? 5 Types of Software You Need

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A guest post by John Killoran of Clover Leaf Solutions

Nowadays, there’s software for everything — including for the work that you do as a nonprofit professional. Whether you want to more easily connect with donors, grow your revenue, or just have a home base for all of your information, there’s software that can help.

However, because there are so many software options available, you might be wondering which platforms are worth the investment. The latest nonprofit trends show that technology is essential for organizations like yours, but where should you even begin?

We’re going to review 5 of the major types of nonprofit software so you can get a sense of the variety of offerings out there. Our top 5 picks are:

  • Donor Databases
  • Online Fundraising Tools
  • Matching Gifts
  • Marketing Software
  • Volunteer Management

Ultimately, these tools allow you to spend less time on paperwork and task management and more time on doing what you love.

1. Donor Databases

Let’s face it — keeping track of all of your donors and transactions is difficult. You want to show each supporter how much you value their contributions, but attempting to personalize every thank-you note or donation request would be incredibly time-consuming.

That’s where donor databases come in. Also known as constituent relationship management (CRM) software, donor databases can help you keep track of your supporters’ donations and involvement with your organization. Using a donor database allows you to:

  • Easily personalize your communications: With a donor database, you’ll have a record of every donor’s name, contribution amount, and any other information you request during the donation process. With everything organized in one place, it’s much easier for you to automate personalizing direct mail, email, or text-to-give campaigns.
  • Build better relationships: Now that you can keep track of each donor’s information in a readily accessible database, you can focus on getting to know your donors. Using your database’s personalization and communication tools, you can build better relationships with your donors.
  • Re-engage disconnected donors: A database can help you find patterns among your donor base. You’ll be able to see who is engaged and who isn’t so you can strategize on how to rebuild relationships.

2. Online Fundraising Tools

Practically every nonprofit is using the internet to connect with donors, accept donations, and grow their audience these days. Raising money online is essential, especially if you want to expand your nonprofit beyond your local community.

Online fundraising tools can make it easy for donors to engage with your organization and for you to manage your different fundraising campaigns.

With a wide variety of tools — including peer-to-peer campaigns, text-to-give, crowdfunding, and more — this type of software can help you diversify how you fundraise. You can also:

  • Stay organized: If you’re launching a major digital campaign, online fundraising software can help you keep track of the influx of donations, monitor new donors, and consolidate your marketing materials in one place.
  • Develop an online presence: This software can also help you grow your online presence. By directing donors to your online platforms through your text-to-give campaign, for example, you can increase the traffic on your website.
  • Easily engage donors: Online fundraising software makes it easy to send personalized thank-you notes or updates about your campaign to donors.

3. Matching Gifts

Matching gift programs and other forms of corporate giving are extremely underutilized by nonprofits despite being an easy source of revenue. In fact, according to 360MatchPro, over 18 million people work for companies with matching gift programs!

Not only do matching gift programs boost your bottom line, but they also help donors grow their impact, which then deepens their attachment to your organization. With the help of matching gift software, you can make it easier for donors to determine their eligibility to get their contributions matched.

Other benefits of a matching gift software include:

  • Increasing revenue: Matching gifts are a great way to increase your revenue. Not only are your supporters’ gifts essentially doubled, but donors are also more likely to contribute higher amounts if they know their gifts are being matched.
  • Connecting with more people: With a matching gift program, your supporters can serve as advocates for your cause in their workplace, which might encourage more people to donate.
  • Strengthening relationship in the community: Involving the business world in your nonprofit’s work can help you better situate your nonprofit within your community. Doing so will help you grow your network, which could create additional event opportunities or partnerships.

4. Marketing Software

It’s great to have a donor database, online fundraising tools, and software for tracking matching gifts, but these platforms won’t be very helpful if you can’t actually reach your supporters.

Marketing software makes it much easier for you to reach your donors in a timely, engaging, and consistent manner. Your supporters have already shown interest in your nonprofit, so they want to hear from you! Here are some key benefits of using dedicated marketing software:

  • Easily reach your supporters: Marketing software allows you to easily contact your donors. You can send updates, thank-you notes, and donation requests with the click of a button. Plus, with marketing software, you can be sure to personalize your messages by using your donor’s name or specifying their donation amount.
  • Determine effective strategies: Using the metrics from your marketing software, you can also see which types of campaigns are the most successful among your donors.
  • Stick to consistent branding: With all of your marketing materials in one place, you can also ensure that your branding remains consistent. A memorable brand reassures donors that they’re in the right place and can increase your visibility in your community.

Marketing for your nonprofit is not just important for donor acquisition, it’s also crucial for donor retention. Marketing software can help you to keep your donors engaged so that they continue to support your cause.

5. Volunteer Management

Volunteers are the backbone of your organization. They’re passionate individuals who generously donate their time and energy so that your nonprofit can continue to forward the social good.

Incorporating a volunteer management system into your organization can give you the tools you need to oversee your volunteers and to show them that you value their hard work. For example, this type of software allows you to:

  • Keep track of volunteers and their hours: Handwritten hour logs are a thing of the past. With volunteer management software, you can keep a detailed record of how many hours each volunteer has contributed for the month.
  • Easily contact your volunteers: Your volunteers are among the most engaged of your supporters, so you want to be in close contact. This software can allow you to send quick updates or thank-you messages to your volunteers, which can add a personal touch to your volunteer program.

Keeping your volunteer program organized is also a great way to demonstrate your professionalism and how much you value your volunteers’ time. No one wants to waste time checking in or trying to figure out which days of the week they should come in. With this software, your volunteers won’t have to worry about that.

If you want to learn more, this Galaxy Digital guide outlines the tools you should look for when selecting your volunteer management software.

 

Takeaway: Investing in nonprofit software can save you time, earn you more revenue, and enhance your connections with donors. Click To Tweet

John Killoran Snowball softwareJohn Killoran is an inventor, entrepreneur, and the Chairman of Clover Leaf Solutions, a national lab services company. He currently leads Clover Leaf’s investment in Snowball Fundraising, an online fundraising platform for nonprofit organizations.

Snowball was one of John’s first public innovations; it’s a fundraising platform that offers text-to-give, online giving, events, and peer-to-peer fundraising tools for nonprofits. By making giving simple, Snowball increases the donations that these organizations can raise online. The Snowball effect is real! John founded Snowball in 2011. Now, it serves over 7,000 nonprofits and is the #1 nonprofit fundraising platform.

Nonprofits and COVID-19: Where and How We Can Help

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A guest post by Mike Barros of Lumaverse

Nonprofits play an integral role in providing resources for COVID-19 relief in their communities. From streamlining appointment registration to managing volunteers through their CRM, there are countless ways charitable organizations are helping in the face of crisis.

Even further, positively communicating with your team and donor base speaks volumes about your appreciation for their efforts. That will positively impact your organization after normal life resumes.

Since the pandemic began in 2020, organizations have used their donor CRM data to contribute to COVID relief efforts in many ways. Specifically, optimized data and communications strategies can help streamline the following operations:

  • Volunteer management
  • Appointment & vaccine scheduling
  • Expressing gratitude and raising morale

Regardless of your organization’s core mission, we’re all serving the greater good in the face of the current social, economic, and healthcare crisis. Read on to find out more about how you can help your community in the face of COVID-19.

Volunteer Management

Volunteer management is the process of finding, engaging, and retaining helpers for a cause. Whether you’re looking for a group to help expedite the COVID testing process or to collect supplies for those out of work, your volunteer management strategy is crucial to your impact on the community.

When looking for help, optimize your data to find out which of your supporters would rather (and can) give money and who would instead give time. For example, if you’re looking to put together a group of volunteers to gather supplies for your local food bank, you can use your data stored by your software to know who you can ask to help. 

For example, your organization can use volunteer management software to keep your team organized and informed when searching for COVID-19 relief volunteers. Your volunteer management software can also help your organization:

  • Build connections for relief efforts into the future
  • Find the right people for your specific cause
  • Deliver data based on your volunteer relationships
  • Manage donations and giving histories

With these features in mind, you’ll have no problem finding and putting together a volunteer base that can serve whichever issue you’re working to solve.

Appointment & Vaccine Scheduling

Scheduling appointments has been a struggle for many organizations during the pandemic due to the overwhelming need for help. This includes helping those who are seeking vaccine and testing appointments. Too often, people eligible for a test or vaccine struggle to get a time slot and receive the help they need.

Efficient scheduling software can help you expedite the fight against COVID-19 in your community. Consider the following benefits you can provide for your supporters with your know-how and powerful appointment scheduling software:

  • Easy-to-use calendar interface
  • Automated email reminders
  • Confirmation receipts
  • Around-the-clock sign up opportunities

With these benefits and more, your organization can help those frustrated with signing up for COVID-19 related appointments and take the load off of those who are already dedicating their lives to providing medical support.

Talk to your local healthcare providers to find out more about how you can help schedule anything from volunteer shifts to appointments. According to  Double the Donation’s guide to coronavirus resources for nonprofits, there are endless ways to get involved in this effort.

Expressing Gratitude and Raising Morale

Last but certainly not least, your organization should provide support for those who support you. Everyone is sacrificing their usual ways of life to help prevent the spread of disease and aid others during this time. On top of this, people have to isolate themselves in their homes and deal with the hardships of our current world. Therefore, showing gratitude is as crucial as ever because it:

  • Encourages repeat giving. Because your supporters have already contributed to your cause in one way or another, they’re highly likely to give again. They’ve already seen how their efforts have positively impacted the community through your outreach and are familiar with your giving process.
  • Increases volunteer retention. When you retain patrons as you continue to pursue your efforts, you’ll have a dependable support base, saving time and money. According to Lumaverse’s guide to volunteer appreciation, supporter retention should be around 40%, and working to increase your retention rate will help your organization secure long-term giving.
  • Expedites future planning. As you retain your supporters, they’ll become your go-to’s for your future needs! No longer will your team have to worry about having enough people to run a fundraising event, so you’ll have people who regularly give time and money.

For example, the TY Thursday column of this blog helps explain how to best appreciate your volunteers in such challenging times. The key takeaway of saying thank you is recognizing that your donor is still giving time, resources, and money to others despite the hardships they may be facing. Some ways to show this can be through outreach, such as:

  • Thank you notes
  • Follow-up input surveys
  • Branded merchandise
  • Sponsor recognition
  • Social media shout-outs

These are just a handful of ways to show gratitude for your generous donors and volunteers. When you strengthen your connections with them, you’ll have a reliable task force to help with relief efforts, especially during the COVID era.

Nonprofits play a considerable role in COVID-19 relief in their communities. Whether they help find volunteers for related tasks, expedite appointment registration, and retain helpers for future endeavors, their impact is immeasurable.

Remember, time, supplies, and financial donations are integral parts of keeping your community afloat during hardships. Be a resource of relief both internally and externally for your organization, and stay safe!

 

Mike Barros LumaverseMike Barros is the President and CEO of Lumaverse Technologies. Before joining the Lumaverse, Mike was the President of Education Brands at Community Brands, the CEO of Diamond Mind, and the Chief Revenue Officer at JackBe. He resides in the DC-Metro area.

Fundraising Tuesday: If You Do Only One Thing in 2021…

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do one thing

Back when I was in college, a professor told our class, “If you read only one thing this semester, read this….”

He said it every week–about a different book!

Here's the one thing your nonprofit should do in 2021 to raise more money. Click To Tweet

If You Do Only One Thing, Record Donations

I hope you had a great month of December, and the end-of-year donations poured in day after day. But…

Did you just deposit those checks in the bank and forget about them?

Did you just mark those online gifts in your bookkeeping system, so your accountant knows who gave what, but nobody else does?

Aha. Perhaps you made a list of donations, or even put them into a spreadsheet. Congratulations! Except–how easy will it be for you to find out:

  • who gave money in 2019 and not in 2020?
  • who gave more this year and who gave less?
  • who gave once a year, once a quarter, once a month?
  • who moved (or changed their email address) since the last time they made a donation?

Knowing these data will allow you to figure out which lapsed donors you need to try to win back, and which current donors might be candidates to give major gifts (or leave you money in their wills). It will keep you from sending out communications that never reach the people you want to feel appreciated and important.

Knowing these data will make more money for your nonprofit.

If you only do one thing in 2021, start recording your donor information in a donor database or CRM. Find one that works like you think, then use your new technology to make your relationship with your donors more personal. And by the way…

If You Do Only One Thing, Get to Know Your Donors

Good fundraising is relationship fundraising.

Yes, you might occasionally have a windfall. Your issue moves to the center of public attention and a bunch of people give money to you in the heat of the moment.

But for the long term, those people need to feel seen.

Donors don’t want to be the ATM on the wall you hit up when you’re short of cash. They don’t want to be one “dear friend” out of hundreds or thousands you address exactly the same way.

Donors want to know that you know them and value them. They are giving because they want to think of themselves as good people–and you can help them see themselves that way.

If you only do one thing in 2021, find out as much as you can about your donors. Don’t just send them a thank-you note–not even the ideal thank-you letter. That’s a one-way communication. Beyond the letter:

  1. Pick up the phone and call them. Ask them: what are they interested in? Why did they choose to give? What would they like to see happen as a result? (And record all that in your database!)
  2. Send them surveys, a couple of questions at a time, by email.
  3. Research your donors online. Find out what you can about their lives and interests outside of your organization.
  4. Take a look at your followers on social media. Which of them resemble your donors the most? (Those are your best prospects to become new donors!)

Getting to know your donors will let you segment your list into different audiences who care about different things. Recognizing your different audiences will let you send the right messages to the right people at the right time. And that means…

If You Do Only One Thing, Communicate!

Maybe you have a friend or a family member like this: you never see them. You never hear from them. Then one day, your phone rings, or your doorbell, and it’s them. You groan inside, because the only reason they ever show up is to ask for money.

You don’t want to be “that guy” to your donors. You need to show up for them between the times you ask.

If you have them in your database, you can be sure to send the mail or the email to the right address. And if you know which of your audiences they belong to, you can send them content that matters to them personally.

But even in a more broadcast format, like a newsletter or a social media platform, you can share stories, photos, facts, how-to’s, and other content that makes your donors (and prospective donors) glad to hear from you, every time.

If you only do one thing in 2021, communicate more often with your supporters. Aim for a newsletter every month, an email every week, a Facebook post every day, a tweet multiple times a day.

Does that sound like a lot of work? Yes, it is. But:

a) I can find out who your audiences are and what they want, by doing the research for you.

b) I can help you make the right decision about a database that will work for you and make your communications more powerful.

c) I can teach you to turn one story, photo, news article, or quotable quote into multiple ways to reach out and touch your donors.

d) I can show you ways to get the right kind of content delivered to your email inbox every day, so you can re-package it for your audiences.

If you do only one thing different in 2021, make that 'one thing' getting the help you deserve. Click To Tweet

 

 

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