Researching CRM features can be overwhelming, so we pulled together some of our favorites to get you started. Here is a list of the top features your nonprofit should consider in order to maximize your group management activities and productivity.
Fundraising, Member, and Donor Management – Nonprofits manage relationships, where businesses manage products and services. Choose a nonprofit CRM designed with donors and fundraising in mind.
Features to look for:
- Look for a CRM that speaks your language and understands that you’re building relationships with members and donors. If your CRM forces you to use sales lingo like “lead” and “prospect,” it may be time to look elsewhere.
- Smart tags, so you can stop email blasting your entire contact list. Smart tags let you organize people into specific groups so you can send them only the communication they need.
- Accept payments, manage member registrations, and renewals on line, from any device.
- Contextual research tools like donor history, propensity to give, and recent donor activity will allow you to personalize your donor “ask” based on what was previously given.
Communications and Marketing – The ability to track a member from initial contact to active participant, volunteer, or even board member should be built into your CRM. These features can help:
- Timing and scheduling options let you deliver the right message to the right person at the right time.
- Ways to easily subscribe to your newsletters
- Mobile-friendly formats so you can reach people on the go
- Targeted email newsletters sent based on member preferences
- All member information in one place for the lifetime of their relationship with your organization
Tip: Our NonProfit Easy solution does all of the above so you can target lists and track communications all in one place.
Simplified Giving Capabilities – We predict that online giving will increase in the coming years as more people give in online, mobile-friendly, and instantaneous ways. According to Funraise and Nonprofit Tech for Good, 97% of nonprofit organizations in the U.S. & Canada have a website and of those, 85% accept online donations. Organizations need to meet these givers right where they are.
Step into the future with:
- Peer-to-peer fundraising (aka crowdfunding)
- Easy mobile giving
- Text 2 give options
- E-store capabilities
Data reporting – Offering online giving methods is not enough. Nonprofits need to streamline data and quickly compile reports for #GivingTuesday and other fundraising campaigns throughout the year.
Features to look for:
- Robust reporting options deliver insights into households and the relationships between data points including recency, lifetime, and largest gift given
- Track individual engagement with comprehensive reports
- Use data to maximize impact and personalize outreach to constituents through segmentation
Integrations – Boosting your CRM with integrations allows data to flow seamlessly between tools especially if you are using separate donor, volunteer, or event-specific solutions that don’t connect all your contacts. Choose a CRM that provides a 360-degree view of all of your contacts (members, volunteers, and donors) in one place.
Integrations to look for:
- Event and volunteer sign ups with SignUpGenius
- Crowdfunding
- Advocacy
- Accounting (Quickbooks Online)
- Zapier custom forms integrations
- Volunteer Management
- Point of Sales
- Matching Donations
- Donor Search (360 match, wealth engine)
Tip: With the NonProfitEasy and SignUpGenius integration, data flows seamlessly and your nonprofit contacts can grow with your organization. People who sign up may want more ways to engage with your nonprofit. The right CRM allows you to offer those opportunities and manage information all in one place.
Plan for the future and increase efficiency and stewardship with a CRM designed for and by nonprofit leaders. Keep in mind that the social good community is innovative and adaptable so your CRM should facilitate this work and organize data, making it is easy to pivot and scale campaigns accordingly. Get every feature you need with Lumaverse for Nonprofits.
