5 Benefits of Keeping All Donor Data in One Place

When your nonprofit first launched, your team probably started with a few software tools to perform the various tasks involved in fundraising like creating spreadsheets, email programs, payment processors. As the organization grew over time, you likely added more tools to make management easier. This mishmash of tools has led to donor data being spread out in many different places, making it difficult to keep donor information up to date everywhere, find what you need when you need it, and create reports that involve different types of data. 

Many teams end up moving their data to a single platform that serves as a hub for all donor-related activities, including communications, fundraisers, events, and transaction processing. With an all-in-one platform, all your data is automatically kept in one place, and you can easily manage activities in that platform. 

Are you still wondering whether the transition is worth it? Here are five benefits you can expect to see when you keep all your donor data in a single location.

1. More Easily Keep Data Clean, Complete, and Consistent

The nature of an all-in-one platform is that all information is automatically updated. For example, when a donor sends a text-to-give, the system will automatically record the transaction, send a receipt, and note the gift in the supporter’s giving history. And when you update a donor’s address in an all-one-platform, you only need to do it in one place — so there’s no chance of accidentally forgetting to update in other locations, leading to returned mail.  

2. Manage Communications More Efficiently

With an all-in-one platform, you can manage all communications in one place, including promotional emails, video messages, bulk text messaging, direct mail, and event communications. Some platforms, like Network for Good, also offer built-in fundraising communications plans, automated donation receipts, external email tracking (for Gmail, Outlook, etc.), and donor communication tracking. Additionally, your platform should provide email templates, such as Network for Good’s email gallery, which gives you access to emails that other nonprofits have successfully sent for inspiration.

3. Segment Your Donors for Personalization

Segmenting your donors enables you to send highly relevant, personal communications, which, in turn, improves engagement. For example, you can filter your donors to see who should receive an appeal for major donations, who would be interested in a new program you’re launching for children, who needs to be updated on the completion of a project, and more. You can also segment by lapsed donors to send communications designed to re-engage them (and be sure that no current donors accidentally receive this communication!). There’s no end to the ways you can use segmentation to improve donor relationships.

4. Make Reporting Simpler

As the old saying goes, you can’t improve what you don’t measure, and it’s very difficult to create reports when your data is spread out across multiple spreadsheets and software tools. All-in-one platforms offer reporting features that make the process of creating reports much simpler. Platforms like Network for Good offer reporting and filtering capabilities that allow unlimited users to create at-a-glance reports that can quickly demonstrate the success of your fundraising campaigns, as well as suggested filters to help you get started on segmenting so you can customize your donor outreach efforts.

5. More Easily Comply With Data Privacy Regulations 

Supporters care about the security of their personal data, so it’s vital that you have protections and controls in place to keep donor data secure. Security is another reason to choose an all-in-one platform since you only have to focus on locking down a single system. Because security is such a concern, many vendors make it easy to manage privacy controls. Whether you choose an all-in-one or choose to use multiple software programs, be sure that the vendors you select have robust security features in place. For example, vendors should have a published privacy policy and should have certifications such as Level 1 PCI Compliant and SSAE16 (SOC I).

An All-in-One Platform Lets You Focus on Fundraising

The biggest reason to use an all-in-one platform is that it allows you to focus on fundraising rather than on managing data. The best platforms that are built specifically for nonprofits streamline tasks so that much of your processes are automated, freeing up time to get more done on your to-do list. 

Download our eGuide, Donor Management Strategies: How to Organize Your Donor Data, to learn more about how you can use donor data to grow your nonprofit!

Published: August 31, 2022