Tech Tools Every Fundraiser Needs: Boost Productivity and Donor Impact
When we think work harder, not smarter, part of the solution today is absolutely the right technology. From managing donor relationships to streamlining communication and collaboration, tech tools can help you save hours and hours of time on so many different things–many you probably didn’t even think you could use technology to solve. In this blog post, we’ll explore essential tech tools for fundraisers, tips for choosing the right ones, and how to integrate them for seamless workflows that enhance both your efficiency and donor experience.
Essential Tech Tools for Fundraisers
To manage the diverse demands of fundraising, a solid tech stack is key. Here are the must-have tools:
Donor CRMs (Customer Relationship Management Systems)
A good CRM helps you track donor information, manage relationships, and analyze giving trends. A great CRM helps automate all kinds of things: from donor acknowledgements, to reminders to engage, to scheduled reports. The best CRMs have workflow automations and integrate into other tech tools to save you even more time. Here are my favorite DonorCRMs right now:
Donorbox: Full disclosure, I’m a Donorbox Ambassador and they sponsor my monthly Focus Sessions. But I’d recommend them even if I wasn’t. They offer a free donor CRM system with amazing online fundraising tools. Even better, they are on the cutting edge of leveraging AI for donor insights, and I can’t wait to see where they take that next. Best part, Donorbox has a free tier to get you started, and then premium tools you can add later once you’re ready.
NeonOne: If you’re looking to do anything beyond run-of-the-mill individual giving fundraising, most CRMs fall short. For clients that do capital campaigns, major gifts, regular events or classes, large volunteer programs, and/or memberships, my recommendation is always NeonOne. Their robust tool is not for the beginner fundraiser, but if you have a more sophisticated operation, they are the most comprehensive tool I’ve found.
Email Marketing Platforms
Engage your supporters with targeted and automated email campaigns. While both of the above mentioned CRMs also include email marketing capability, if your email list has more non-donors than donors, you’ll want a separate or complementary email marketing platform. Platforms I’ve used personally and liked:
Project Management Tools
Staying on top of day-to-day work, while also being able to see the big picture, is absolutely essential. No more relying on notebooks and post-its. Here are the Project Management Tools you can look at, which one you pick depends more on how much you like the platform than which one is better. They do the same thing, just in different ways. Whichever one jives with you is the best one to use.
Asana: Ideal for tracking tasks, deadlines, and collaboration. Very user friendly and easy to learn. Its free tier is so robust that in the 12 years I’ve used it, I’ve never once paid for the premium plan.
Trello: Visual boards for managing projects and workflows. This is great if you’re a visual learner or brainstormer, less helpful (IMHO) for tracking deadlines.
ClickUp: The king of customization, this tool is incredibly robust, but comes with a steep learning curve. But the people who love it REALLY love it. (Full disclosure, I hired a consultant to help me set mine up…it’s that big a learning curve and that customizable, but wowza it’s great once it’s set up for you. I have never felt so on top of my deadlines and goals as I do now that I’m fully operational in ClickUp.)
Additional Tools to Enhance Productivity
Beyond the basics, here are some other tools that I love to use to enhance productivity and save me time.
Zapier: Automate repetitive tasks by connecting your apps and creating workflows. You can use it to automatically add new donors from your CRM to your email marketing platform. Or notify your team in slack that a donation has been made. Or send a personal email from your gmail when someone registers for an event. Honestly, the limit on what Zapier can help you with is only your imagination.
Loom: Replace meetings with videos. Make a video to walk your board member or CEO through the latest donor report. Create a quick video to show a colleague how to use a tech tool or explain processes to your team. Or use it to amplify your donor engagement with a quick, personal video update.
ChatGPT: Save time drafting content, brainstorming ideas, or crafting donor communications. AI tools can serve as a helpful starting point for tasks. Or AI can punch up a draft communication that you aren’t in love with and know could be better. (Just please for the love of all things digital don’t use it to do the work for you…it’s SO obvious when ChatGPT did everything.)
Canva: Design professional-looking social media posts, event invitations, and donor thank-you graphics with ease. They offer their premium tools to nonprofits for free! Their social media content planner is my favorite way to automate my marketing tasks, and my clients LOVE it.
MemoryFox: This tool allows you to set up campaigns to ask your community to record video stories. You can leverage it to get thank you messages for donors, gather photos from your community event, and more. And their customer support team are literally the nicest people in the world.
Tips for Choosing the Right Tools
Selecting the best tools for your organization requires thoughtful evaluation:
Understand your needs: What specific problems are you trying to solve? List your top priorities.
Consider cost: What can you afford to implement? (Also, what can’t you afford not to? So many organizations pass on a DonorCRM because they are intimidated by the cost…but the productivity you save when you have one is priceless. I would honestly guess in the tens of thousands of dollars if you were to calculate hours of salary saved.)
Consider scalability: Choose tools that can grow with your organization. Don’t go for the cheap DonorCRM that you’ll have to migrate from in 3 years. Go for something you’ll live with for at least 5 years.
Evaluate integration: Ensure the tools can connect with your existing systems to avoid silos.
Test usability: Prioritize user-friendly platforms to ensure adoption by your team.
Get feedback: Involve your team in the decision-making process to ensure buy-in and effectiveness.
Homework: Upgrade Your Tech Game in 30 Minutes
Audit your current tools: Make a quick list of the platforms you’re using and the gaps you’re experiencing.
Identify one new tool: Based on this blog, choose a tool that could address a specific pain point.
Research your choice: Spend 15 minutes exploring the tool’s website or watching a tutorial.
Plan your next step: Schedule time this week to test the tool or discuss it with your team.
