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The post Fundraising Transformed appeared first on Bloomerang.
This article originally appeared in Bloomerang. See the original article here.
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The post Fundraising Transformed appeared first on Bloomerang.
This article originally appeared in Bloomerang. See the original article here.
Let us know if this scenario sounds familiar: You and your team have decided to invest in a donor management and fundraising software solution. You’re ready to buy, but you’re not sure where to start when it comes to choosing the right software for your nonprofit.
Like most of us, you probably turn to Google to learn more. But instead of feeling empowered to make an informed choice, you feel overwhelmed by all of the options out there.
We’ve been in your chair before, and we know exactly how you feel.
If you’re ready to talk to someone right away, you can go to the provider’s website and request a Demo or demonstration of the product. We recommend this option for nonprofits that already know exactly what they want out of a software solution.
If you’re not there yet, don’t worry! We put together a helpful playbook that you can use to help make an easy donor management software purchase. Keep reading to learn more.
Having a document detailing the must-have tools and features that your organization needs provides you not only a good visual and reference point, but also allows you to collaborate internally with your organization to make sure you are all aligned on what you’re hoping to get out of your software.
In this playbook, you’ll detail what you need from the providers. Then you can base what you have covered in your playbook against the information you learn both in the demo and on their website and come to a conclusion on whether or not you want to move forward with their software.
This will vary from nonprofit to nonprofit because it depends on your unique needs. Before you compose your playbook, sit down with your team and see which features or functionalities matter most to them.
As you’ll see below, you can compile those into a comprehensive list that will make it easier to compare different products and their offerings which you can then rank. We’ve included some examples but remember: You should focus on what your nonprofit needs.
You should also come up with a list of questions to ask the providers. For example, you could ask about their customer support options, the processing fees, or the cost of add-on services. Don’t be afraid to include a lot of questions. The more information you have, the better.
You can find a guided playbook template below or you can download a free blank version of the template here.
Keep in mind that your playbook should be tailored to address the needs of your organization. You don’t have to use any of the examples below.
Add the individuals in your organization who are responsible for the selection and approval of your new donor management software.
Detail the timeline in which you will expect final feedback from project leaders and the expected date that the software selection will be made.
Talk to your team to determine what pain points they have with your current fundraising software or, if you’re not currently using any software, what your team needs to fundraise more effectively.
Examples:
When thinking about the features a software provider offers, which ones will address your pain points? Which features do you absolutely have to have? Those are your key requirements.
Examples:
After you’ve documented your paint points and key requirements, it’s time to lay this all out in a playbook. This will help you put together a visual comparison of the providers you’re considering.
Below you’ll find several examples of categories. Once you’ve created your own categories, mark how important each is to have:
Use this table to track the key functionality of each of the software solutions. Rank the functionality on a scale:
0 – Does Not Offer this functionality
1 – Offers part of this functionality
2 – Fully offers this functionality
Example:
The pricing structure for donor management software varies based on the solution. Typically when purchasing donor management software you should expect to budget for a monthly recurring fee as well as a one time onboarding or implementation fee. Let’s break down how this investment is typically calculated.
An implementation fee is used to cover the costs associated in moving your data from your current system or spreadsheet into your new software. The fee can very based on:
As your talking with potential software providers be prepared to discuss the state of your donor data. Being able to provide a clear picture of the data will allow your new provider to offer a clear cost estimate associated with migrating your data into your new donor database. In some cases if you’re a brand new nonprofit you may be able to simply start without an implementation fee, but this will vary based on the software you’ve selected.
Monthly maintenance fees for donor management software allows your new software provider the abiility to ensure everything continues to run smoothly. Additionally, this fees is often used to continue to build out the software providing your organization with new features and functionality. The monthly maintenance fee is usually based on a number of key factors which can include:
Having this information when you’re talking with potential donor management software providers will make the pricing conversations easier. Because each software provider may price slightly differently this can make it challenging to compare each provider. However, having this larger context on how pricing works can help you maximize the value each provider offers your organization.
Whether you’re a team of one or many an investment in donor management software is one that will ensure the sustainability of your nonrpofit organization’s mission. By using the playbook laid out above to you’re already headed in the right direction. You’ve got this!
The post The Buyer’s Playbook to Donor Management Software appeared first on Bloomerang.
This article originally appeared in Bloomerang. See the original article here.
Disclosure: Bloomerang is one of several software providers that helped the Fundraising Effectiveness Project collect the data analyzed in the report we discuss in this post.
The Fundraising Effectiveness Project (FEP) recently released its Second Quarter Fundraising Report, which is full of insights and giving trends that can help you and your team with your donor acquisition and retention efforts. You can download the report by visiting FEP’s website.
In this post, you’ll learn more about two key insights from the report. You’ll also find our recommendations for how you can use your nonprofit organization’s data to fundraise more effectively.
Let’s start with the good news: The number of dollars raised increased by 6.2%!
Here’s an interesting look at which donors contributed to that increase and which showed the smallest decline in donations:
Given this information, we recommend taking these steps:
1. Define: Sit down with your team and define your criteria for small, midsize, and major donors. These segments will be unique to your organization as they will be based off of your yearly fundraising revenue and your organization’s average donation size.
2. Report: With those numbers in mind, use your donor database to pull reports that segment those groups of donors. You may also want to run reports based on the average donation size for each group.
3. Analyze: For each segment, find the number of donations they made, dollars raised, and other factors you deem relevant. Then look at the data you’ve collected to answer questions for each segment like:
4. Adjust: Now that you know where your fundraising efforts are succeeding and where your opportunities for improvement are, adjust your fundraising plans accordingly.
5. Act: Once you know how you’d like to proceed, it’s time to implement your ideas and see if you can increase the number of dollars raised and number of donors by each segment. Make sure you show the relevant data to your team so they know why you’re implementing these strategies and tactics.
Bonus recommendation: You don’t have to wait an entire year to review your data. We recommend that you collect and analyze this information monthly or quarterly so you can adjust your fundraising efforts as the year goes on.
Even though the number of dollars raised increased, the number of donors who gave decreased by 7.0%.
Here’s a breakdown of that data:
But wait! There’s good news here too: Once they receive and review the late data, the FEP is anticipating they’ll see an increase in the number of major donors.
Just like above, we recommend taking these steps:
1. Define: Take the segments you created for small, midsize, and major donors. Remember: These groups will be unique to your organization as they will be based off of your yearly fundraising revenue and your organization’s average donation size.
2. Report: With those numbers in mind, run reports in your donor database that segment small, midsize, and major donors based on the factors you find most relevant.
3. Analyze: Look at the data you’ve collected and ask questions like:
4. Adjust: Look at what acquisition and retention efforts were the most successful last year and put more resources there. As far as the areas you have for improvement, try out new strategies and tactics that you think will increase the number of new donors in each segment and retain more donors this year.
5. Act: Empower your team by sharing the data you’ve collected and start implementing your proposed tactics and strategies.
The same bonus recommendation applies here: Set aside some time to review this data monthly or quarterly and make adjustments to your fundraising plans accordingly.
In addition to the recommendations above, we encourage you to:
Here are a few Bloomerang features that can help you find major donors and retain current donors:
We’d love to hear from you about the giving trends you’re seeing and show you how Bloomerang can help you meet your fundraising goals. Schedule a live Demo now and a member of our team will get in touch with you ASAP.
The post New Fundraising Effectiveness Project Report Shows An Increase In Dollars Raised Despite A Decrease In Donors appeared first on Bloomerang.
This article originally appeared in Bloomerang. See the original article here.
Bloomerang, the complete donor relationship management solution for thousands of small and medium-sized nonprofits, today announced they welcomed Tommy Vacek as the company’s Chief Technology Officer (CTO). As Bloomerang’s CTO, Vacek will lead all aspects of enhancing the value that Bloomerang provides to small and medium-sized nonprofits. He will focus on finding data opportunities and insights to move the software solution forward, improve the customer experience, and help nonprofits save time so they can focus on what matters most: increasing their impact.
“The nonprofit sector continues to feel the strain of increasing demands and limited resources. It’s vital that we have strong leadership and innovation to make a bigger impact on the nonprofits we serve,” says Ross Hendrickson, Bloomerang’s Chief Executive Officer. “Tommy is uniquely qualified to drive our research and development teams forward as well as accelerate our ability to help nonprofits achieve their mission.”
With more than 15 years of technology, software, infrastructure, and leadership experience in fintech, web hosting, and influencer marketplace companies, Tommy has successfully scaled and matured product, engineering, and data teams to accelerate innovation and business growth. Most recently, Tommy was the Chief Technology Officer at Opendorse where he led the development of a consumer-facing NIL (name, image, and likeness) marketplace to maximize endorsement value for athletes. His commitment to leading product initiatives, modernizing infrastructure, and ensuring software systems can scale will support the expanding needs of the nonprofit community Bloomerang serves.
“I was drawn to Bloomerang because of the opportunity to continue to build a culture focused on creating impact, modernizing infrastructure, and setting clear paths of growth for the team,” says Vacek. “Overseeing and driving the go-forward structure of the team coupled with the advancement’s we’re making with Bloomerang’s solutions will play a significant role in improving nonprofits’ quality of life when they’re using our system.”
Tommy joins Bloomerang in the midst of an exciting phase of growth for the company. Earlier this year, Bloomerang was named a “Best Place to Work in Indiana” in 2022, and launched a new brand identity to better articulate the value and services offered to the nonprofit community. Bloomerang’s suite of online fundraising tools also strengthens nonprofits’ ability to cultivate deeper relationships with their donors and increase the impact of their fundraising campaigns.
Learn more about career opportunities at Bloomerang.
The post Bloomerang Appoints Tommy Vacek As Chief Technology Officer appeared first on Bloomerang.
This article originally appeared in Bloomerang. See the original article here.