So you’ve just started a nonprofit. You’ve come up with a plan, and you’ve found people who share your vision and want to get involved. As you grow and increase your network of donors, you may begin to have difficulty keeping track of all the people who help to keep your nonprofit growing and thriving (and keeping their names on a spreadsheet just isn’t working). You’re looking for a solution to organize your expanding group of donors and stay on top of your fundraising efforts.
Or maybe your nonprofit’s been around awhile. You know that one of the most important aspects of nonprofit success is preserving positive relationships with donors, and even though you have a system of donors in place, you’re struggling with how to stay in touch. Your constituents need to know that their contributions are appreciated, and periodically recognizing their efforts can go a long way. Regular communication is incredibly important to developing and maintaining relationships, and without communicating effectively with your donors, you may be at risk to lose their support. You need a way to not only manage your donor information, but also to let them know that their contributions are important.
That’s where CRM comes in. A Customer Relationship Management system is invaluable when it comes to managing your workflow and keeping track of your donors and volunteers. These programs not only organize and store donor information, but also can reveal past giving habits, event attendance, and track how long the donor has been involved with the organization. Wherever you are in your journey, a CRM can help.
So which CRM is right for you?
We believe that the best CRM available to nonprofits today is Salesforce. It’s a cloud-based management system, so you can access donor information anytime, anywhere. It also acts as a workflow manager, and allows you to prioritize your most important tasks on a customized dashboard. You can set reminders for essential tasks, receive emails based on criteria you set, and print reports tailored specifically to your needs.
It’s also perfect for coordinating your volunteers and managing your programs and events. In essence, you can have nearly every aspect of your organization in one spot, and you can access it from wherever you are.
Salesforce also plays well with other systems, so if you have an existing financial system in place, often it will easily integrate with Salesforce. You can also use it to standardize your giving processes, so you can manage your donation cycle, from payment to thank you. Best of all, if you’re a 501(c)3, you can receive ten licenses free of charge, so you can get started managing your donors right away.
In other words, it’s awesome.
So is Salesforce right for you? If you’re looking for an intuitive and cost-effective way to manage your workflow, organize your donors, and customize your reports, the answer is yes.
To read more about Salesforce and see the contrast between other CRM systems available, check out our CRM comparison guide here.
Want to optimize your Salesforce experience?
We’ve talked before about the 40,000 nonprofits who are currently using SalesForce, and we’ve mentioned how many of these organizations aren’t using the system to the best of its ability. Even though you’ve taken the first steps and become licensed to use Salesforce, it can take time and effort to make it do what you want— time that most nonprofits would rather spend helping others.
So let us help you.
If you want to optimize or customize your existing system, or if you want to begin using a CRM system from the ground up— we’ve got you covered. We’ll help you get the best out of your donor management system, and you can get back to doing what you love. Questions about other systems? We can answer those too.
Give us a call for a free consultation, and let’s do good together.