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Why Invest in a Fundraising Database?

Posted by Redbourn Business Systems on Thursday, July 16, 2015 Under: Fundraising Database



Have you outgrown the use of spreadsheets to manage your fundraising supporters and activities? Is it time to invest in a fundraising database?

Let’s look at how your organisation will benefit from a fundraising database.

Search & Filter – For example, if you want to find out how many supporters gave over a certain amount to a particular campaign. You don’t have to scan through an Excel spreadsheet to find the information. Fundraising software allows you to set up a query to extract all of the supporters meeting this criteria in your database.

Record & Log – In a fundraising database you can record all communications not just the last contact, without having to overtype any previous information. You can log all correspondence including links to letters, emails, SMS text messages, etc. with a date and time recorded. Thus allowing you to create a more accurate picture of your supporters and their involvement with your charity.

Share Information – Depending on your setup, but often using spreadsheets means that you hold and store the information on your own PC, so no one else has access to it. With a fundraising database, the data will be stored in a central location, either on a server, networked PCs or in the cloud, allowing everyone access to all of the data all of the time. Fundraising software makes data easily accessible and transparent assisting communication within your organisation.

Management reports – A fundraising database will allow you to run reports for your CEO and board of trustees in just a few clicks, saving you time and effort. Key performance indicators (KPIs) are displayed on your dashboard when you first open up your fundraising database, providing you with a snapshot of how you are performing, which can help you focus your fundraising efforts.

These are just a few of the basic benefits of having a fundraising database, ultimately it will allow you to become more efficient.  However, there are many more benefits for fundraising staff, including management of direct mail and email campaigns, managing events, income processing, regular giving, gift aid, tax reclaim, high value giving, trust funding, major appeals, volunteer management, gifts in kind and much, much more.

Things to consider when choosing the right fundraising database for your charity include, the number of staff using the system as pricing is often based on concurrent licenses. How much money you can afford to spend on fundraising software, but you must also take into account how much time staff have to set up, learn and maintain a fundraising database. A database that is cheap or free may need more internal resources to set it up properly or external resources to do this for you. You need to check whether the supplier provides good training and support as part of the fundraising software package.

Shop around, ask the supplier for referees and ask other charities of a similar size what fundraising database they use, how they use it and whether they would recommend it.

If you would to discuss your fundraising database needs in more detail, then please call us on 01582 794229 or email marketing.

In : Fundraising Database 


Tags: "fundraising database" "spreadsheets" "record communications" "management reports" 
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