Strong relationships between a nonprofit organization and its supporters drive successful nonprofit development, but these relationships aren’t built overnight. Luckily for development teams, tech tools to strengthen relationship-building have become much more common in the last decade.
But if you’re unsure where to start with selecting tech tools for your nonprofit, you’re not alone. With today’s diverse array of tech tools for nonprofits, it can be challenging to decide which tools best fit your organization.
Here are our top tips for building your nonprofit tech stack, no matter the size of your team:
1. Invest in scalable CRM tech for nonprofits.
Above all, CRM (customer relationship management) software tools are essential tech for nonprofit development. A CRM system allows you to store and organize all your supporter data, including contact information, total giving amounts, and each communication touchpoint between your organization and your supporters.
You might already be familiar with one of the largest CRM software systems, Salesforce. Thousands of for- and non-profit organizations alike use Salesforce for customer or supporter relationship management, and it offers almost all of the tools that your organization could possibly need. However, Salesforce is extremely complex and not particularly user-friendly; there are other CRM tools built solely for nonprofits, like Bloomerang, EveryAction, and NeonCRM that might be a better fit for your organization. To pick the best CRM for your nonprofit, consider things like who will be using the CRM, what types of data it will store, and how much you’re willing to spend.
2. Search for communication management software.
Tactics like in-person events and direct mail solicitations remain strong pillars of nonprofit development, but the outreach ecosystem has evolved rapidly to include social media, email, and text messaging. While managing multiple channels takes a lot of time and energy, development teams can use tech for nonprofits that specifically facilitate communication with supporters:
- Social media management tools like Hootsuite or Later can help you post content on multiple channels at once.
- Email management software like Sendinblue and Constant Contact can help you segment your audiences and send optimized emails to target segments.
- Text messaging tools like Impactive can help you reach supporters directly on their phones with up to 99% open rates.
3. Adopt a robust peer-to-peer fundraising tool.
Peer-to-peer fundraising is a tactic in which fundraisers reach out to friends, family, and other peers they know to raise donations for a cause or organization. Since people are far more likely to take action if someone they know prompts them, peer-to-peer fundraising can be a high-impact fundraising strategy.
Peer-to-peer fundraising tech can help you streamline and simplify the process of creating peer-to-peer fundraisers. For example, Impactive allows administrators to set up scripts that supporters can use to send out peer-to-peer fundraising messages. These scripts can keep your messaging consistent, and save time for your volunteers.
4. Leverage volunteer management tools.
Stats like the number of donors and total dollars raised are attractive top-line metrics, but they don’t give credit to the foundation of all nonprofit success: supporters and volunteers. Many times, committed and active supporters are the driving force behind the success of a nonprofit organization. These are the volunteers that not only donate but also mobilize during critical moments to spark awareness and additional donations for your team.
That's why it's important to provide these volunteers with a home base where they can gather. This doesn’t necessarily have to be a physical space; it can be a dedicated online space that allows volunteers to communicate with each other and the organization. That’s where volunteer management tech for nonprofits comes in — tools like Slack and Impactive can act as volunteer hubs for your organization.
These four types of nonprofit tech can facilitate better relationships with donors, increase fundraising opportunities, and enhance the overall quality of your nonprofit development.
