Recently I helped a small, all volunteer run nonprofit orchestra choose their first database. It was done with some delays, but we got our data from various spreadsheets put into the online database, and we started using it. It was fun to get the first appeal letters in 5 years out with this software, and we definitely got a much better return as we were able to personalize the letters we sent.
Last month I co-moderated the Small Nonprofit Chat (#smNPchat), created by Pamela Grow, and we had lots of people in the chat talking about donor databases. So some questions you might be asking yourself, if you’re thinking about getting a new database, or getting a database for the first time:
Which donor database is best for you?
What do you need your database to do?
Which ones should you stay away from?
Here are some pros and cons of different nonprofit databases:
I recommend: Bloomerang Donor Database (note- this is an affiliate link, and I might get a little money if you decide to go with them)
Here are the recommendations from the 2011 NTEN survey.
If you want to read the whole survey yourself, just click here.
Mazarine,
This and the link to the #smNPchat were perfect and very helpful this morning. Just in the final stages of choosing a system and moving ahead.
Not that I’m a sales rep for DonorPerfect or anything, but they tell me they’ve now launched their smartphone access app, so that should place them in the “access on the go” category as well in the chart above.
From my experience and research, I would say that the higher-cost system I’m looking at is more out-of-the-box ready to go – it’s what I’d buy if I were a one-man, no technical designing experience/knowledge person. It is similar to the super-sized systems I used at major universities and a lot of the thinking has been done. There’s value there.
The lower-cost system I’m looking at is highly customizeable, but not as well thought-out. Because I know what a super-system can do and how it organizes information, I’m pretty sure that I can build that functionality into this more basic one. I also have a computer programmer on my staff who is excited to work with the information handling design. If I were a “first-timer” without a tekkie person on my team, then I would think twice about going lower-end and opt for the more finished product of a more expensive solution.
The great part is that most if not all DB systems these days seem to have off-site IT and data storage, which is such a perfect fit with the small/mid-sized non-profit market and really takes a weight off our shop – that alone is a savings of tens of thousands in not having to bring in servers/hardware and IT staff.
Christina
Thank you for your comment Christina!
I think that it’s hard to choose between databases because sometimes we don’t know what we need clearly enough, we just know that spreadsheets are no longer cutting it.
And we don’t know how to compare which database will give you the most bang for your buck. How much database do you NEED? Do you NEED your grants database to be integrated? Do you NEED your volunteer database to be integrated?
I like databases that you can flag different fields in, like, “Volunteer” or “Major donor” or “In-kind donor” or “Former board member.” You know?
Peace,
Mazarine
Great post on what type of donor data base is right for you. We like using Grant Watch. It’s been very helpful on helping us find funding sources we wouldn’t have otherwise thought of.