Monday, May 2, 2011

Best NonProfit Software

Customer relationship management software (CRM) has helped businesses of all sizes make more from their customers and contacts with much success. Now CRM for non profit organizations is gaining in popularity, only for them the software is described as constituent relationship management software, designed for groups that receive and track donations.

Non profit CRM works a lot like business CRM except with the aim of targeting the right donors at the right time in effort to raise needed funds for various good causes. This is done by tracking donor behavior to see what programs or causes inspire each individual donor. The data collected via CRM helps direct expenditures in the most effective ways. 

Pledge management modules are another key differences between commercial and non profit CRM solutions. These allow donors to pledge an amount to give in advance, usually stipulating a certain monthly or weekly amount. Another key feature is the ability to manage and track volunteers mingled with employees whose schedules and roles can be very different from for-profit environments.

CRM for non profit organizations has more to do with just raising money. Non profit CRM software packages can prove valuable to tracking distributions and expenses of the organization. Proper accountability can boost the respectability of an organization which can easily result in additional donations, just one more way non profit organization software is well worth the expense and effort it takes to implement.

Thursday, March 17, 2011

Should Non-Profits Outsource IT?

Though a business may be called a non-profit, it can hardly be expected to eschew good business practices, especially because the nature of the non-profit tends to much more directly effect causes that most need efficiency and organization. Dealing with issues of technical malfunctions and maintenance is much better left outsourced to a company that can provide customized information management services at a low cost.

Because most non-profits need all of their available man hours geared towards the business, there are often very few in house solutions when it comes to IT for nonprofits. As non-profits are also expected to be online, the most low cost solution is usually simply to let an outside IT company do what it does best while the hours of the company employees are focused on the business of the organization.

Customized information management services should include maintenance of all servers, guaranteed up-time through regular backups of information, password management, site upkeep, automatic security updates, and many other services. IT for non-profits is no cakewalk, and any company that is looking for information technology services should thoroughly vet all companies it is considering doing business with.

With the man hours of company employees focused on administration of the product or service that the non-profit offers, everyone benefits from IT outsourcing.