True or false? 1 in 2 nonprofits are unsure about all the ways their organization is collecting data (Nonprofit Hub Survey, 2018).
Okay, spoiler alert: the alarming statistic above? Unfortunately true. Nonprofits like these are at a clear disadvantage — if you can’t readily access all your data, your ability to make insightful decisions on behalf of your organization and your donors will suffer.
Part of this problem stems from the fact that small- to mid-sized nonprofits tend to choose donor management systems that fracture their data into various silos. What’s more, these silos are not intuitive to understand and use — and should your team run into any issues, there is limited, ongoing software support.
Is your team experiencing this issue as your nonprofit continues to grow? An all-in-one database offers the following powerful, game-changing benefits, making it superior to any system that divides your donor records into silos.
Cohesive View Of Your Donor Base
No need to say it — donor management systems that keep your data in a dozen different silos are confusing at best… and downright frustrating at worst! If you have been dealing with software like that, then you’re already familiar with the need to pull reports constantly. These splintered off systems can often lead to out-of-date, duplicate, or missing information in your donor records.
As your nonprofit continues to grow, there is absolutely no reason that the quality of your donor records and communications should have to suffer. Having access to a data collection and retrieval system that is both unified and easy to use is an invaluable investment in your organization’s future.
Comprehensive Tools & Support To Make Sense Of Your Data
Over 40% of nonprofits point to a lack of tools to help analyze their data, and this problem gets worse when an organization splinters off donor management to a hodgepodge of various softwares and teams. This decision creates a near guarantee that one of these "puzzle pieces” won’t mesh well with the other — and when this happens, your software support team(s) may not be able to guide you through what should otherwise be a simple, seamless process.
Psst! Would you believe that DonorEngine provides ongoing, unlimited support post-training? It’s just one of the reasons that our team is so motivated to make our software as easy and self-reliant as possible! :)
Automated Work Flows Save You Time… and Headaches!
Your nonprofit’s time and resources are limited and therefore precious. When these features are coordinated by separate silos, your organization inevitably experiences a massive time sink (aaaand… cue the headaches).
Your team shouldn’t have to spend countless hours labouring over things — crucial as they are — like receipting, thank you letters, and other forms of donor communication. Automating these work flows through a singular database frees your team up of hundreds of hours of tedious work each year. This allows your employees to pursue more meaningful projects and results in more of your donors’ funds supporting your core mission instead of admin work.
Use Your Data To Drive Marketing Efforts In Fun Ways
When you’ve got a strong understanding of your data, you’re able to run marketing campaigns with clear direction and — dare I say it? — they can even be fun. Yes, you read that right. It’s called data storytelling, and when done right not only attracts new donors but can increase donor retention.
Understanding your data really just means understanding your donors. Pair this with a splash of creativity and your organization has the ability to produce some pretty stellar marketing. Though it’s not a nonprofit, you can get your creative juices flowing by checking out Spotify’s clever use of data insights to share human stories that are as memorable as they are entertaining:
[EXAMPLES… can find more by Googling "Spotify How Students Listen Campaign”]
Improving Your Donors’ Overall Experience
Once your nonprofit can accurately track data and have access to an automatically updating log of every interaction with every donor (all in one intuitive, unified database), you naturally gain better and better insights into your donors’ preferences, the fundraising process, and any opportunities for improvement. Make it a priority to analyze and understand your data well — it translates into a drastic improvement in your donors’ overall experience with your nonprofit.
