Donor Management
Donations, both large and small, make up a substantial portion of the budget for your organization's work. Monitoring, tracking, and building relationships with donors over time can support sustainable giving and increase your nonprofit's effectiveness. But what’s the right tool to use to track all those relationships as well as plan for giving campaigns and growth? The resources below feature many options as well as basic principles for getting any donor management system to work for your bottom line.
Articles
Most organizations have some kind of database to track the donors and constituents they work with, but is it the right one? Without an effective system, you can spend too much time figuring out who to contact and miss out on fundraising opportunities. This article will walk you step-by-step through the process of assessing your needs, comparing them to what you have, and determining the benefits — and costs — of moving.
The right donor management software can make a big difference in your ability to raise funds. We asked six different nonprofit technology experts about donor management software that have worked well for their nonprofit colleagues. Learn more.
This guide from Idealware and NTEN compares 33 systems costing less than $4250. Learn more.
How do you choose a donor database that will support successful fundraising? Learn more.
Many small organizations are looking for an inexpensive way to manage constituent data. Here, nonprofit technology experts recommend solutions for a variety of nonprofit needs. Learn more.
Blog Posts
Idealware published an article urging nonprofits to look before they leap into new donor management software. Learn more.
If you're looking for a donor management database or want to share your experiences using specific tools, check out this wiki where you can read about others' experiences and offer your own. Learn more.
Webinars On-Demand
Are you looking for a new donor management tool, but aren't sure where to start? Attend this free webinar and learn about three popular donor management tools for nonprofits and libraries. Hear from executive and development staff directly about their favorite features, tips, and strategies for managing and tracking donor relationships using GiftWorks, DonorPerfect and eTapestry.
Are you tracking your data through multiple spreadsheets, emails and sheets of paper found throughout your office? You're not alone. View this archived hour-long webinar to get a peek into using Telosa's Exceed! Basic donor management software – from the perspectives of nonprofits using it.
There are nearly two hundred donor databases on the market. Each has its own strengths and weaknesses, fans and foes. The challenge is to find a system with strengths that meet your needs, weaknesses that won't get in your way, and a price you can afford. This webinar covered what to expect from a fundraising database, when to consider a change, how to make the decision, and why NOT build your own database.
Mission Research's GiftWorks donor management software is one of a variety of donor tools available for donation through TechSoup. Learn more about the tool in this hour-long webinar where you'll hear about the features and benefits of this program from GiftWorks nonprofit users as well as Mission Research staff.
We all know that it's important to collect information about our donors, vendors, volunteers, partners, and members. But we don't always have a good system for capturing this information. In the perfect world our data would be stored all in the same place, in the same way, and be easily accessible by key staff and board members. It would also show relationships and connections. Learn about CRM (customer relationship management) and how it can help increase your impact.
Databases are crucial for organizing client information, generating reports, and keeping track of financial records. Many times, you can find affordable software to suit your needs, but sometimes a custom solution may be more appropriate. Either way, these articles can help you pick the right database application.