What features can the best donor management software for nonprofits offer?

Why would a not for profit require donor management software? 

Prior to choosing the best donor management software for nonprofits, you must first identify the reasons for requiring this solution. It is important to note that donor management is a key feature within most specialist Charity CRM solutions, and is usually a topic considered as part of a larger project to manage data within a charity, with a key benefit being an enhanced donor experience. However, this article focuses on the specific topic of donor management as it is a key theme for most charities.

In order to provide context, we share common scenarios you may experience that can potentially see tangible improvements via the implementation of donor management software. 

Poor donor engagement 

After a period of time, you begin to notice that there is a lack of engagement from potential donors across key areas of your website such as event and appeal pages. 

You may be using a Microsoft Excel spreadsheet as a database that is missing crucial information surrounding your donors, leading to a lack of visibility relating to how they initially engaged with you and where they are within the donor journey.  

Without this data, it will be difficult to accurately strategise your messaging when creating personalised campaigns surrounding events, donation opportunities and impact stories that resonate.  

You may even be unsure of how to contact these individuals – or if they wish to be contacted at all! 

Discover the 10 ways a charity CRM can increase donor retention 

Neglected tasks and communications 

It is becoming increasingly prevalent that certain donor management tasks are being neglected and cause a negative impact on the donor experience. 

For example, you find that regular, personalised interactions with your donors are not being conducted – even after they have made a donation or submitted a form. You may not understand where your donors are at in their donor journey, either individually or by viewing as a group such as ‘regular donors’, ‘lapsed donors’, or even ‘legacy donors’, making follow up tasks difficult to implement.

You acknowledge that you require a system that upholds quality control across your processes as failing to stay on top of these tasks is alienating your supporters and therefore failing to keep them engaged. 

Find out how to build donor relationships that stand the test of time 

Unclear campaign results 

In addition to donor information, you also lack analytics into campaign performance and giving patterns which make it challenging to report on results and learn from these to devise future campaigns. 

Without analytics data, you may find it difficult to pinpoint how your donors interact with your various engagement touchpoints such as web page visits or email opens, and therefore the path of their donor journey. Lacking visibility of this information can result in not understanding why your donors engage with your campaigns and how your messaging can be improved. 

Lastly, this also means that you won’t be making the most of the reports you share with key stakeholders – if you create any at all. Unclear reporting will lead to departments being unsure about how they can collaborate to enhance your campaigns, which creates regular missed opportunities to engage with your supporters. 

Read our whitepaper and learn how to get closer to your supporters 

Impractical use of time 

In certain instances, you feel frustrated by the amount of time you put into certain tasks, feeling that it could be prioritised on more relevant areas such as donation campaigns and event management. 

The elephant in the room is that your donor lifecycle isn’t as linear as you would like, as key elements of your donation management processes are comprised of several separate platforms. This leads to these respective areas not being in sync with one another, requiring you and your team to manage them manually. 

Additionally, you may find that the unaligned nature of your organisation leads to various departments not collaborating efficiently, which is contributing towards supporter campaigns not reaching their potential. 

Read our ultimate guide to successful donor relationships 

What are the best donor management software for nonprofits features to look out for? 

At its core, donor management software provides deep insight into your supporters that includes personal information such as their contact details, interests, and how they have interacted with your organisation. From here, you can then process this information by segmenting these supporters to ensure your targeted campaigns include messaging that resonates with your intended audience. 

This fundamental purpose comprises of several key elements that allow you to focus on certain information when managing these campaigns. Below, we outline solutions to the issues in the previous section by sharing the best donor management software for nonprofits features you should look out for when either looking to switch to a new platform or undergo your first implementation. 

Insightful donor database 

Donor management software streamlines your process of recording and tracking donor information within a centralised database. This serves as a repository for all donor-related data and facilitates efficient data management in line with your organisation’s requirements.  

The features and functionality associated with donor databases support the planning of your campaigns by approaching your donors with suitable, personalised information that makes it more likely for them to engage with your organisation. 

Key features 

• Donor profiles – Create individual profiles containing essential donor information including names, contact details, giving history, communication preference, demographics and interactions. 
• Donor segmentation – Place donors within their own specialist groups based on their personal details and interests to ensure your campaigns resonate with them. 
• Imported data entry – Save valuable time by importing donor information from sources such as spreadsheets and online forms. 
• Automated communications – Having the ability to set up workflows to automate communications based on certain triggers such as a new donation means that your donors will have timely, relevant communications from your organisation. 

Find out more about donor management functionality 

Strategic donor relationship management 

A donor relationship management feature helps you to assign tasks that are focused on enhancing the donor journey through relevant, engaging content. In turn, this assists you to remain organised and maintain regular communication with donors, ensuring timely and personalised interactions. 

Donor relationship management features support effective donor stewardship by providing the required tools for task management, reminders, and follow-ups which can lead to stronger donor relationships and increased support. 

Key features 

• Communication tracking – Track communication activities with your donors by logging notes, emails, phone calls, meetings and website interactions within the donor profile. 
• Personalised donor recognitions – Create personalised campaigns for donors including birthday acknowledgements and ‘thank you’ notes. 

Find out how Access Charity CRM compares with Salesforce 

Real-time campaign analytics 

A suitable donor management platform will provide you with robust analytics and reporting capabilities, enabling you to identify key trends and accurately report on their impact. This can empower you to make data-driven decisions that can lead to donor loyalty and a significant improvement in your retention rate.  

Campaign analytics provide you with a holistic view of every stage of the donor journey, encouraging cross-departmental collaboration to identify what elements are successful and the improvements that should be made for future campaigns. 

Key features 

• Analytics dashboard – Refer to real-time analytics to discover how donors interact with your organisation. 
• Comparative analysis – Compare key metrics across multiple campaigns to identify where improvements can be made. 
• Reporting capability – Compose reports to share donor analytics and giving patterns with key stakeholders. 

Find out more about engaging with deeper analytics 

Additional functionality that supports donor management 

Donor management software is generally part of a wider CRM solution, allowing you to positively influence the overall donor experience. For this reason, there are typically additional features that work alongside donor management functionality including those relating to charity event management and fundraising.  

Third party integrations can also be applied to assist your software in operating to its full capacity. Integrations that enable automated campaign management such as email marketing platforms or your website provide you with the opportunity to schedule relevant information that engage your donors at a time that suits them. 

Functionality such as these allow you to swiftly act on the areas that require improvement, making it more likely that your future campaigns will show an improvement in donor engagement. 

Key features 

• Related donor management features – Apply additional features that make up the entire CRM management software experience. For example, Access provides additional features such as fundraising management, marketing automation, charity event management, direct debit payment processing, reporting & analytics, income & Gift Aid management, and calling application. 
• Supporting integrations – Apply relevant integrations such as email marketing platforms to further personalise your messaging. 
• Automation capability – Trigger automated actions such as donor database profile creation and scheduled email campaigns based on donor actions. 

Find out more about the benefits of CRM - website integration 

Implement the best donor management software for nonprofits 

Identifying and implementing the best donor management software for nonprofits can successfully align key areas of your organisation and transcend your processes to the benefit of you, your team, and your supporters. However, to avoid implementing an unsuitable donor management system, it’s crucial that you understand your own organisation’s requirements, in order to accurately identify the desired features.  

At Access, we understand that one organisation’s requirements can differ from the next and embrace you comparing the reviews of other providers. But why not start with us? If you wish to gain a better idea of how much this software costs, or simply want to find out more about our product, Access’ experts are on hand to support you.