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Donor Management System

Page history last edited by Dan Cooperstock 1 yr ago
A donor management database system helps you manage relationships with donors and prospective donors by keeping records of correspondence, archiving your relationship's history, tracking grant proposal deadlines, and producing reports. 
 
  • Data conversion from current system (other donor management system, Excel files, etc.) is sometimes difficult, but can usually be done by the vendor for an additional fee
  • Training is important for any donor management system and should be considered in the overall cost
  • Donor management systems often have add-on modules that help you with volunteer management, membership management, alumni tracking, etc.
  • Some donor management systems are programs you install on a local computer, while some are hosted and accessed via the Web
  • Some accounting packages contain donor tracking functions while some can integrate into your current accounting software 
 
 
Choosing a Donor Management System:
 
  1. Document your current system’s strengths and weaknesses – Can you track and extract all the information you need from your current system? Could a more comprehensive database improve your effectiveness in managing donor information?
  2. Decide if your donor system should be integrated with volunteer, accounting, event, or membership functions – Since donors can also be people who volunteer with your organization, attend your events, and are your members, it may make sense to seek a comprehensive database solution or one that easily integrates with your current database.
  3. Develop informational, technical, and functional requirements – At a minimum, you’ll want a donor management system that will allow you to track a donor's basic contact information, easily contact your volunteers in their preferred manner (email, phone, mailings, etc.), track donations, and produce reports that help directors with budgeting, funding proposals, staffing, recognition, etc. Beyond that, make sure your current computer systems and infrastructure can handle the system. Would an online, hosted database that allows access from any internet connected computer be useful in your organization?
  4. Select vendors and evaluate against your budget – Decide which vendors offer the mix of services you require and compare pricing. Be sure to inquire on multi-user licenses, ongoing maintenance fees, etc.
  5. Choose finalists for demonstrations and reference checks – Many vendors have provide free demonstrations on their websites, but if you are seriously considering a vendor, ask for an agent to demonstrate the system for you. Ask for references.
  6. Implement the system and attend training – Once you’ve decided on a system roll it out to the organization and permit access to those staff members that need it. In order to fully utilize the capabilities of your new system, it may be necessary to attend training. Often vendors will provide training on their systems for an additional fee.
  7. Ongoing support and maintenance - Future technical support and database maintenance should be considered when choosing and budgeting for any database.

     

 
Sample Donor Management Software Vendors
  • Network For Good's Donor Management Suite (http://www.groundspring.org/services/dms.cfm) - Network For Good is offering a complete donor and constituent management package which includes a customized Donate Now page to collect donations via the web, a email marketing campaign via VerticalResponse, and a customizable SalesForce template designed for nonprofits. The cost is about $100 a month. The Donate Now, VerticalResponse, and SalesForce tools are integrated together for ease of management, tracking and reporting.

 

  • Donor Perfect (www.donorperfect.com ) – Offered in both local and hosted modes. Includes fundraising tools (sort by giving history, intelligent solicitation), reporting, mailings, more.
  • Etapestry (www.etapestry.com ) – Free for under 500 records. Internet software application for fundraising, donor, and prospect management. Since it is web based, it is accessible from any Internet connection.
  • Exceed Premier by Telosa (www.telosa.com ) - Premier edition includes donor management, fundraising management, volunteer management, event management, mailings, and reporting. The basic edition contains good donor management features, but is not eligible for add-on modules. See TechSoup for special discount price for the basic edition.
  • Giftworks by Mission Research (http://www.missionresearch.com/ ) Inexpensive donor management system with ability to track donors, send mailings, and run custom reports. Volunteer management module is available.  
  • Raiser’s Edge (www.blackbaud.com ) – Enterprise donor and fundraising database with operational management, relationship cultivation, and communication tools. Suitable for larger organizations ($3 million + budgets). Multiple add-on modules for volunteer management, accounting, customer relationship management, etc.

 

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