FUNDRAISING SOFTWARE
Even a Luddite With an eBay Budget Can Find Great Fundraising Software

Super-sizing or Right-sizing?

Establishing policy and workflow will be an ongoing process, but after discussion and starting a plan, you can begin considering what packages are out there and what they can do.  First, good software selection starts with knowing a little about the information you need to store and what you need to do with it, so the exercise above will help.  Let’s start with quantity.  Are you managing a list of 500 names, 5,000, 50,000 or more?  These are big differences, but here’s a hint: A spreadsheet isn’t good for any of those sizes!  Your budget size and your fundraising budget will also determine what you need and can afford.

The next factor is the amount of data per record.  Does your agency do one or two things and need to store a limited quantity of data on each person?  Or, do you have many special events, do direct mail, advocacy, etc?  The more you do, the more robust your program should be. 

After answering these questions, it’s time to move on to features.  What do you want your program to do?  While any good fundraising CRM will handle donation recording, mail-merge letters and reporting, some will do that extra special tabulation your agency may need, and some will not.  It’s time to make a chart and determine your “must haves.”  You can start with a vendor’s chart or make one up with people in your office that use your current software.

The Internet: My Space, You Tube and Your Organization

We all know it’s become the driving force behind almost everything we do, so the next big question to ask is: How will you integrate your CRM, your database, with your online activities?  While it’s great to register people online for your walk or golf outing, it’s not so great to have to re-enter their information in your CRM software so you can track them and develop a relationship. At a minimum these days, you must look for a link that allows you to import e-mail, name, address and phone numbers that have been harvested from the Web, without needing a guru or re-typing.  This will become even more important as time goes on, because what is now relatively new, quickly becomes normal and expected. 

Touchy-Feely Is Better Than Pie-in-the-Sky

Now that you’ve done your homework, the next step is to look at the actual software.  Before you call the gurus in to help, however, you should do some more homework (sorry, but this is really important!).  Consider the look and feel of the programs you are considering.  Ease-of-use is not something you need a professional to judge.  Here is where you are at a real advantage if you are not a geek.  Try a few programs out with the least computer savvy on your staff.  How easy is it to get into the program and begin to make sense out of it without a manual?  If several people are totally baffled, move on!  There really can be a huge difference in ease-of-use, and while you will need training and a manual to get set up, any good software should work the way you would logically work, not force you to relearn how you do everything.  Even a relative computer neophyte should be able to look up a name or change an address without too much guidance.  If a program looks too complicated, chances are it is and there will be much resistance to using it. 

Next is the reliability and stability of the software and the company that manufactures it. Many providers are publicly traded companies, so research is quick and easy when you are ready to check on financial stability, how long the company has been in business, how many clients they have, how good their technical support is, etc.

Now you are finally ready for the “geek” squad, but don’t be overwhelmed or overly swayed by their analysis.  While there are many important technical considerations such as the platform the software is written on, how it’s hosted and backed up, will it run on your network, etc., you should keep in mind that today’s technology is pretty robust and adaptable.  If you are impressed with a product and your guru comes up with a deal-killer, like it won’t run on, fill in the blank – get another opinion.  There are workarounds for most situations.

A final word of advice: cheap is dear!  Software that is free is usually not very good. “Home brew” software that a volunteer or a friend writes for you usually won’t do much of what you need and has no way of staying current.  Software is living and breathing in the sense that it has users whose needs change.  It must be supported, updated and developed as new needs are uncovered or evolve.  Your software company is as important as the software itself.

Where Do You Get Help?

Fortunately, there’s lots of help out there, from consultants like myself with years of technology experience, to self-help sites like www.techsoup.com.  For smaller organizations on a very tight budget with more limited needs, there are inexpensive but capable packages available. You can find a link to one such package on a special page of our Web site: www.martindms.com/GW.html. 

You’ve already taken the first step by reading this article, and you can take the next steps without having to learn about bits and bytes.  The benefits you’ll receive when you get the right CRM package installed are much more efficiency, happier donors and clients, and best of all…more money! 

By David Martin,
Martin Development & Marketing Services
A consulting firm that provides development, marketing, communication, grant writing and software HELP