Donation management software is something that every charitable organization should have in order to assist with the fundraising process. If you are running or working at a nonprofit or a charity that depends upon donations in order to maintain operations, then there is a good chance that you are using donor management software or that you should be using donor management software if you aren’t already.
Nonprofit software is specifically designed with the unique needs of charitable organizations in mind. As such, it has a lot of features that can help charities and nonprofits to fundraise faster, to be more effective in fundraising and to be successful with keeping donors happy. You should be familiar with the features of donor management software that can help your organization and you should make use of them whenever possible in order to ensure that you are getting the most bang for your buck in terms of fundraising time and effort.
While there are tons and tons of features that exist in this software, here are three features that you should strongly consider taking advantage of:
1. Tools for keeping track of who your donors are.
You will, of course, need to have a list of your donors with their names and their contact information. This will allow you to keep in regular contact with those who might give you money or who have made contributions. However, you want to do more than just have a list of names. You also want to have information about who those people are on the list and what they have done for your organization. For example, are they volunteers? Do they give money? Are they potential donors you are courting for a donation.
Donor management software lets you keep track of who your donors are and of additional important information about them. The software also makes it easy to search and organize your list of names so you can fundraise effectively.
2. Tools for keeping track of who has made pledges and where your money is coming from.
Different kinds of donations are received, from one-time gifts to monthly pledges or contributions. Some people will donate at regular intervals while others will only donate occasionally, and some will only donate if they are prompted by a phone call or a letter.
Because there are so many different sources of money and because different donors behave differently, you need to keep track of where your money is coming from, who owes a pledge and who might give if you gave them a call. Fundraising software helps you to better keep track of the sources of your money and of the donations coming in so you can ensure you get the most you can.
3. Tools for identifying major donors
With reporting features in donor management software, you can see at a glance who your major donors are and you can recognize them for the important contributions they have made to your charity or nonprofit. This will ensure they stay happy and donate more in the future.
All of these features will help you run a more efficient and more effective nonprofit organization!