A frustrating co-worker

If you have been involved in professional fundraising for any length of time, you have worked with one. You have worked with them for hours trying to get them to do what you need. It can be a very emotional relationship. Some days all you can do is just stare at them in frustration.

You know that member of your team that I am talking about. It is your donor management system. Yes, this is an important part of your team that can be extremely frustrating, yet also has the ability to make your life easier. If you just invest the time, like with any team member, together, you can increase revenue results. No matter what name your Donor Management System (DMS) goes by, they are powerful tools and have significant support systems to help you get the most out of them.

As a consultant, this is often where I begin. If there is no system, I recommend one. If there is a system, I get lost in the data. If there is a system and it is unused, I stare into the voids. These systems can provide a wealth of information. Both what a non-profit is doing and what they are not doing.

My anecdotal research has taught me that these often only serve as a transactional database. However, many of these systems offer many more resources. Here are 6 ideas on how to make your DMS a part of your plan and your team.

Start with the end

Figure out what you want to accomplish in your development efforts. Think about what questions you have when you look at your annual contributions.

• What segments of donors do you want to know about (board, staff. Alumni, giving society, etc.)
• What information do you need to add to your donor profiles (emails, employment, volunteer interests)
• What campaigns do you have planned (growth, capital, new programs)

Use “Custom” fields

Now that you know information you want at the end of the year, now make it easy to gather this information. Most of these systems have the opportunity to add “custom fields” to the system. These fields will help you to pull out information you know you will want in an easier way.

A custom field may be “Donor Groups” where you can select where people should be included. A donor group would be your staff, board or giving society members. Another may be program interest like children, environment, and financial stability.

Another group may be members of your monthly giving. By adding this custom field, you can search by this field rather than remembering how to query for donors who give multiple gifts a year.

Create Reports

As diverse as the list of standard reports are that are available, chances are you regularly customize them to get the information you need. Take a moment and save these customizations and make them available for others.

Save these report configurations. Chances are you will need them again. Hopefully you have a regular development meeting where pull reports like ‘monthly donations’ or ‘last week’s interactions’ to stimulate your discussions.

Every interaction needs a next action

Every time you meet with a donor, of course you should log it. You should also schedule the next activity. We all know that we should be touching donors multiple times a year. Often, many of our mid-level donors (that are ripe to become major) get forgotten. By scheduling your next activity in 3 – 4 months, you help to retain that donor.

Eventually, you have your week planned and work pro-actively rather than reactively. Imagine walking in on Monday not trying to figure out what donors you need to reach out to, but having the list generated from your activity from the last several months.

This is planning beyond the thank you note or event follow-up. These are true touches about impact and updates on the organization. Remind yourself to ask about the trip they were planning or the progress on the big work project.

To get really advanced, create a territory plan.

Make it central

Today’s Donor Management Systems have the ability to integrate with your web pages with online donations or event registrations. Attempt to use these tools before going to a third party like PayPal or Eventbrite. If they are missing features you like, then make a suggestion to the software company. They are constantly making upgrades.

If you choose to use a third party tool, try to use one that integrates with your donor software. Campaign systems like Mailchimp, Constant Contact, and others often have integration tools.

The more you can keep information about your interactions with donors in one place, the greater the opportunity for regular growth and success.

Include it in your plan

If you are using your DMS on a daily basis then include it in your annual development plan. Instead of your annual goal divided by 12, why not look to your monthly DMS reports and set your goal based off of what you recorded the same month last year.

Pull a 10-month out report. Know what significant gifts came in and plan to engage their donors. I have 2 great stories about this. The first one, s donor had regularly given a 5-figure gift around tax time each year. The donor just had taken custody of his grandkids due to an unforeseen circumstance. Because we had set this meeting as a result of the 10 month out report, we learned we would not get that significant gift, however he did give us a credit card number to make a $500 monthly gift. The second story, in pulling this report, we saw a number of donors that gave in memory of a treasured volunteer. As a result, we made a phone call and visited with her husband, we talked about a project at the organization in passing. A week later we received a $1000 check from the husband.

There are many other pieces of data that are valuable in your systems. Consider what data may be valuable as you create your annual development plan. For instance: “pull last year’s gala attendees reports”. Why? That may seem like common sense, but when you are in the throws of event planning, these notes (which can make your life easier) can be forgotten. Make them a part of you checklist or planning calendar.

Clearly, PB&J marComm is passionate about the value of donor management systems and the resources they can provide. Please share your greatest donor system success or frustration in the comment section.