Software-article

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

How many technology gurus does it take to “help” a non-profit spend their
technology budget wisely? Three: one to make you and your staff and board feel
totally in the dark, one to find the coolest, newest, most esoteric technology nobody
will ever figure out, and one to demonstrate just how inadequate your budget really
is!

The Luddites were a social movement of English textile artisans in the early
nineteenth century who protested — often by destroying textile machines —
against the changes produced by the Industrial Revolution. Sometimes we are all
tempted to eschew technology because of the sheer frustration of trying to make it
work for us. But If you can’t get your hands on donor information without waiting for
days, if Joe Smith never got thanked but Joe M. Smith got thanked three times for
his gift, or if the last time your donor software was updated Bill Clinton was in the
White House and an Ipod was something related to gardening -- it’s probably time
for a review of your fundraising software.

Before your non-profit agency embarks on a search for the perfect software to get
the most from today’s technology, it’s wise to start by looking at your needs, not the
software itself. Forget about bits and bytes, flash Web sites and ASP-hosted (Web
based) data management that gives you access to your data from the moon if you
think you need it. The first questions to ask are those that any mere mortal, or
Luddite, can tackle, no technology guru needed (not yet!).

What’s CRM Software Anyway? Anything To Do With Cuddly Red Mice?

If you haven’t searched for fundraising software for a few years, there’s a term
being bandied about that can make you feel downright inadequate: CRM. It has
nothing to do with the mouse on your computer, or the kind kids might find cuddly.
It stands for ‘constituent relationship management’ software. For non-profits, that
means our clients and donors. It is really just a database management tool,
storing lots of names with connected facts that can be sorted and searched in any
way imaginable.

Consider the type of data you already keep, who needs access, and what
difficulties you are facing right now. How do you manage your data now? Many
use a spreadsheet program such as Excel. That’s kind of like using a butter knife
to cut your steak. Even a tender steak won’t cut very well, and even an organization
with a small list will soon find the inadequacies of this approach.

Those that sidestep the Excel issue may opt for a very expensive program that
requires extensive training. Soon, the person that advocated for that is gone, no
one knows how to use the software, and we have a situation worse than the butter
knife: a plastic butter knife that breaks into bits the moment you slice! Due to their
frustration, people go around the software, using it sometimes, using
spreadsheets at other times. Pretty soon you have an unmanageable tangle of
data silos where key information is lost or very time consuming to retrieve for
those who need access.

A Policy Is the Best Policy

To avoid these pitfalls, you must understand and embrace a policy about how your
agency will handle information. Data management policy is as important as the
type of software you use, maybe even more so. There must be a flow chart, a plan,
some sort of rational way your data is to be handled for even the most rudimentary
software to work for you.

Let’s look at the fictional Regional Artists Guild, (RAG), which just got a $1,000
donation. The RAG receptionist opens it, gives it to the bookkeeper, who copies it
for the development director, who tells the RAG CEO of the gift, who then writes a
thank you letter. The administrative assistant requests a copy from the
development office, prints the letter for the CEO and copies the development
office. Whew! A lot of steps for one gift, but I’ve seen even more. It could go on
where the RAG AA records it in a spreadsheet, gives it to the CEO who copies it for
a committee, who makes notes and changes to the report, which stays with the AA
and never gets entered into the CRM software. The poor RAG development
director tries to piece together giving history, and ‘rags’ on her assistant when she
discovers it’s everywhere!

To avoid this scenario, the CEO needs to insist that information first goes to the
development office and then, that required information comes from the
development office only. To benefit from this huge investment in technology, the
CEO must set the tone! A key step to streamlining your office is declaring the
development division the recorder and keeper of donation information and history,
and making sure, by example, that information is not kept in some binder or
spreadsheet. Of course, to do this, your accounting software must be linked,
preferably in an easy and intuitive way.

The second step is making the information available to everyone that needs it from
the PC on their desk. Easily accessible information that can be updated in the
software as needed will eliminate data silos before they begin to fill up. Make it
inaccessible or difficult to figure out, and people will take the ‘easy’ way out -- Word
documents, spreadsheets or even index cards and sticky notes! Try doing a
search on those for potential high givers!

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?

Call the MDMS direct line anytime (914-261-1238)! We work with clients with large
budgets and whose needs are very comprehensive, to smaller clients with tight
budgets. We are familiar with the capabilities of packages like Raiser's Edge and
DonorPerfect, as well as an inexpensive but capable package such as GiftWorks,
available for less than $300. Call and we will help you sort through the maze and
find the right solution for your organization.

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!

This article appears in the April/May 2007 edition of the Association of
Development Officers Newsletter. All rights reserved. © 2007 MDMS