For many non-profits, fund raising software helps them fundraise more effectively than ever before. Fundraising software essentially manages all the components of non-profit fundraising, leaving you with more time and actually reminding you of things you need to be reminded of. This software is often custom-designed by a software developer, and is created specifically for the needs of your grouping. This software can do a lot of things (depending on the actual program):
- Keep track of grant applications and remind you when to apply or start applying
- Keep track of your donor list (no matter how large or how small) and remind you when to contact specific donors. The fundraiser software will even permit you to print out address labels for part or all of your donor list and the word processing software will allow you to send pre-written letters to donors you choose from a database.
- Easily keep track of all donations, expenses, bills, funds. Most software will even graphically represent money data so that you can see from a glance at a chart how you are doing with fundraising.
- Keep track of volunteers and workers and print off to do lists for all your fundraising volunteers.
- Keep track of your fundraising efforts and “remind” you (you program the software when you want to be reminded of certain things) when particular tasks must be done.
- The software can offer virtual files where you can keep your receipts, research, and other data.
- Provide full cross-over to other computer programs, so that you never have to retype data over and over again.
This type of fundraising software can be pricey, but if you are not great with keeping organized the user-friendly software can effortlessly help keep you on track. If you can pay for it, it can make a lot of sense for your non-profit, especially if your donor list is getting quite big (which it hopefully is).
If you decide to use fundraising software, shop around for a company who has created software for non-profits with needs similar to yours. Also make sure that the software has security features that will keep your donor’s personal information safe and secure.
If your software is breached by hackers and credit card numbers stolen from your database, your donors are not likely to trust you with their money in the future. Also make certain that you have the time to learn to use the software well. At first, fundraising software can take some time to learn because it has lots of features. For many non-profits, though, this effort is well worth the hassle.
Recommended Resources:
www.efundraising.com: Browse through proven fundraising products and even create a fundraiser campaign online!