Technology has made it easier than ever for nonprofits to track donations, manage donors, and enhance their fundraising communication strategy. However, the latest research indicates some noteworthy trends when it comes to how many nonprofits are actually leveraging technology to operate more effectively.
The Latest Report on Technology, Donor Management, and Fundraising
Software Advice recently released their 2014 Fundraising and Donor Management Report which highlighted some very important trends. The study was developed to analyze the most common pain points that nonprofit organizations with annual revenues of $100 million or less have when it comes to finding the right software to manage and communicate with donors.
Here is the statistic they uncovered that I found most fascinating:
38% of nonprofits are currently using manual methods to track fundraising and donor data.
That means that over one-third of nonprofits less than $5 million in public donations are largely still using excel spreadsheets and paper ledgers to manage donor relationships. It’s no surprise then that many struggle to effectively engage and retain when you think about the time, energy, and effort it takes for a fundraiser to manually update and monitor their donor file.
What does this mean for nonprofits?
It’s more important than ever for nonprofit organizations to know your donors, why they give, and what they expect from your organization. Embracing technology as a way to manage data and donors doesn’t mean your organization is diminishing them to data points. In fact, technology provides nonprofits with the opportunity to enhance their relationships with donors.
Nonprofit leaders should recognize how beneficial technology can be when it comes to developing donor acquisition and retention strategies and make it a priority to find the right technology for their organization.
If you want to learn more about how today’s nonprofits are approaching the ideas of technology and donor management, I’d definitely encourage you to check out the report from Software Advice.
How much could your organization be missing out on by sticking with managing your fundraising efforts and donors manually?