On the surface, Excel seems like a great tool for donor management, especially for small, cash-strapped nonprofits. Here’s the problem with using Excel as a donor database – A spreadsheet is not donor management software. A spreadsheet is for storing and organizing points of data. Donor management software is for building and maintaining detailed constituent relationships and improving your fundraising strategies.
What Is Donor Management Software?
Donor management software goes beyond simple data storage. It provides a platform to manage each intimate detail about your donor. It paints the who, what, why and when of every fundraising strategy. And, it allows for cultivating long running, heartfelt donor relationships. What’s more – Unlike Excel spreadsheets, donor management software is designed specifically for the nonprofit community. Essentially, it’s a nonprofit customer relationship management (CRM) system.
For example, Eleo Donor Management Software can be your historical record of giving, communications and engagement hub, event management tool, calendar, reporting platform, and more – all rolled into one. Eleo is also cloud-based, meaning you can access your donor management software from virtually anywhere.
Your Donor Management System Allows You to…
- Manage and update your donor data – from biographical information and donations to communication preferences and a history of interactions.
- Implement and automate recurring giving programs – allowing your donors the choice to give weekly, monthly, and yearly.
- Automatically sync online gifts to your donor record – seamlessly transitioning online donors to your database, while simultaneously checking for duplicates.
- Generate and send “thank you” emails – streamlining your communication strategies.
- Create and share custom web forms – increasing your online presence via donation pages, event registrations and more.
- Track and manage volunteer hours – from teenagers completing community service to retirees helping you full time.
- Create and track letters and emails – allowing your nonprofit to develop custom, branded communications.
- Integrate with popular platforms – such as, Constant Contact, Mail Chimp, QuickBooks, Google Calendar, Stripe, and DonorSearch.
- Plan and promote events – from galas to golf outings, analyze the success of your fundraising events.
- Segment supporters – creating lists based on custom criteria.
- Use your calendar to track tasks and to-dos – allowing your team to stay on the same page for various programs, events, and donor stewardship initiatives.
- Develop access levels – control which staff, volunteers, and board members have access to various types of data in your system.
- Generate customized reports – learn more about monthly giving, donor retention, event activities, volunteer hours, and more.
We could go on and on, but you get the picture. These features and capabilities translate to deeper connections between your nonprofit and your donors. You can fundraise more effectively and operate more efficiently.
Most importantly, your nonprofit will make a bigger difference in this world. You can do more of the work you’re passionate about and allocate more resources to those in need.
Time to Replace Those Spreadsheets
Excel is a very useful tool. It’s just not the same as donor management software. Eleo Donor Management Software is incredibly attuned to your organization, because it was developed with small nonprofits in mind. You get a robust donor platform, plus included live support, and minus the huge price tag.
Ready to make the leap to Eleo Donor Management Software? Schedule a free demo!
