Using Tech to Fundraise Faster, Better, Cheaper
OAI’s Tech Taskforce meets every Tuesday morning at 8:30am. Charged to come up with ways to help our clients fundraise faster, better and cheaper, topics under discussion range from the latest wealth analysis software, to graphic design tools (for impactful event invitations and case statements), to new innovations in CRMs to improve donor data collection and analysis. An hour is never enough time to discuss and investigate the new tech tools that are proliferating in the nonprofit world and decide which to add to our Tech Toolkit!
Setting Priorities
So, what is a nonprofit COO/CDO to do, faced with so many new products and software tools? The most important tech tools for any organization are going to depend on its strategic goals. COOs and CDOs need to consider where the majority of their revenue comes from. If fundraising events are the backbone of your development operations, then tools like Zkipster and AllSeated that automate the invitation production process, guest lists, seating and event check-in, can help streamline what can be a nightmarish experience. Organizations with a strong online donor base will want to consider marketing tools to better manage donor communications, like Constant Contact. Looking at internal systems, nonprofits with nationwide offices should consider implementing conference-calling software like Zoom to increase efficiency and enhance communications capabilities.
Relationships Are Still Key
But the heart of nonprofit fundraising continues to be an organization’s ability to identify new donors with an interest in its mission and build relationships with them. Many new relationship software vendors are offering, for a fee, to help you figure out “who knows who”. Once you’ve narrowed in on your prospect shortlist, their software can help you dive deeper to understand your “ideal donor” and how, when, and how much to encourage them to give.
At OAI, we’re committed to working with you, our nonprofit partners, to identify the tools that will deliver the greatest benefits to you and rigorously test them in real-life applications. We’ve road-tested products in all of the categories shown in the toolkit, and subjected them to daily use. In the coming months we’ll be developing survey tools to gather more data from you about your tech pain points. We want to be better equipped to help you integrate the right software into your operations, teach you how to use the tools, and even manage them alongside your fundraising team. Please give us a call if you’d like to discuss the best tool(s) for your needs and we look forward to continuing to provide updates as the tech space evolves.