choosing a constituent relationship manager technology capacity webinar series january-march 2014
TRANSCRIPT
Choosing a Constituent Relationship Manager
Technology Capacity Webinar SeriesJanuary-March 2014
ZeroDivide is a social impact consulting organization that stays true to our original community foundation mission of improving the health, opportunity and civic engagement of underserved communities through the innovative use of technology.
About ZeroDivide
January 23: Intro to Salesforce
January 30: Networking and Security
February 13: Filesharing and Backup
February 20: Tech on a Budget
February 27: Tech for Program Service Delivery
Upcoming Tech Thursday webinars
Logistics
Logistics
Logistics
Wait for the recording to start…
Choosing the Right Constituent Management System
January 2014
Introductions
Elizabeth PopeIdealware’sDirector of Research and Operations
www.idealware.org
A Consumers Guide to Donor Management Systems
http://www.idealware.org/reports/consumers-guide-donor-management-systems
Constituent Management
You need some way to keep track of your constituents…
Excel is Not a Constituent Database
Having unorganized data won’t get you anywhere!
Manage Your Constituent Data With a System
What We’ll Cover Today
Thinking Through Your Needs• Tracking Information• Getting Information Out• Ease of Use• CostHow the Systems ComparePlanning for Your Selection
Thinking Through Your Needs
Some Key Considerations
How does it track information?How can I get
information out?How easy is it to use?
How much does it cost?
Tracking Information
Managing Information
• Do you like the way it displays information?
• Can you track the information you need?
• Does it track relationships in a way that works for you?
Salesforcehttp://www.salesforce.com/
Can You Expand It?Can you use custom fields or other features to support more constituents and processes?
This will depend a lot on the systemCiviCRM civicrm.org
Do You Have Other Specialized Needs?
Do you need to track other information in the same system? Event attendance? Volunteers? Communications?
Getting Information Out
Mail Merging & Emailing
• Can you easily send one letter or email?
• Can you easily send a lot of letters or emails?
• Can you do complicated mail merges?
• Can you customize the look of your mailings?
Querying & Reporting
• How easily can you find specific information about your donors?
• Can you generate reports of relevant information quickly?
Integration with your other systems?
• Can your systems seamlessly integrate?
• Can you manually get them to talk?• Can you integrate by hand?
Ease of Use
Online vs. Installed
Does your organization need a system accessible from anywhere?
Is there value in having the system installed on your own server?
Vs.
System Organization
• Do the sections make sense?
• Is the layout tabbed, or all on one page?
• Can you get it to summarize the information you want?
Salsa by Salsalabshttp://www.salsalabs.com/
Ease for New Users vs. Power vs. Speed
• Will tons of people use the system? Or just a few power users?
• How would you prioritized ease vs. power?
Support & Training
• What sort of learning curve is expected?• What kind of initial training does the
vendor offer?• How does the vendor offer support for
problems?
Cost
Cost
• Can you afford it?• Can you budget to make sure the system is maintained?
• There is no documentation.• You cannot demo it.• There is no evidence that anyone else uses it.• Everyone who does use it hates it.• Nobody is supporting its continued growth and development.• It does not meet the needs in your database plan.
When Inexpensive Means “Cheap”
How Do the Systems Compare?
The Top Tools
1. CiviCRM2. Salesforce NPSP3. Neon4. DonorPro5. PowerBase6. Salsa
Salesforce Nonprofit Starter Pack
DonorPro by TowerCare Technologies
PowerBase by PTP
$2,000 - $17,000 per year depending on level of consulting needed. http://ourpowerbase.net/
Built on CiviCRM.
Designed for
community organizing
groups, strong
relationship and
membership tracking.
Salsa by Salsa Labs
$1,000 startup fee and $100 - $500 per month depending on number of supporters. http://www.salsalabs.com
Designed for advocacy group. Strong donation and event management.
Help me make my short list…
Planning for Your Selection
Do you really need a new system?Is it a problem with:• Training• Support• Understanding
Or is it really:• Too Weak/Robust• Too Expensive• Out Of Date• No Longer Supported
Is it a problem with:• Training• Support• Understanding
Or is it really:• Too Weak/Robust• Too Expensive• Out Of Date• No Longer Supported
Identify a Team of Stakeholders
Make sure everyone who will use or be affected by the system is represented
Understand your current processes.
Make a detailed list of all constituent relationship processes.
Then, standardize them.
Use best practices. Eliminate redundancies before you invest.
Prioritize a Features Wish List.
What does the software have to be able to do? What’s nice to have?
Make a detailed list of what you’re doing.
Do Your Research
Make a shortlist of 3 or 4 viable systems.
… and schedule vendor demonstrations.
Use real examples to see how each system will work for your needs.
Rank the systems against your wish list
And choose the right one for you!
January 23: Intro to Salesforce
January 30: Networking and Security
February 13: Filesharing and Backup
February 20: Tech on a Budget
February 27: Tech for Program Service Delivery
Upcoming Tech Thursday webinars
Questions?
