Nonprofit software trends are improving donor retention and fundraising efforts. The biggest trend has been implementing nonprofit data integration.
Historically, nonprofit data integration has been laborious and expensive. Separate systems have often been used for accounting, payroll, CRM, social media, email marketing, volunteer management, crowdfunding, events and other needs. But now, with cloud computing and integrated data, nonprofits can streamline operations, improve donor targeting, retention and reduce costs.
Nonprofit Software Trends – Data Integration
Today’s nonprofit software platforms act as the central nervous system for operations. The migration to these new platforms—for nonprofits large and small—has begun in earnest over the past couple of years and will surely increase in the coming years.
There’s a lot of competition in the nonprofit software industry. We will continue to see more integration of services between software providers. Nonprofits are just looking for the easiest ways to grow their donor bases, and if that means using two separate software subscriptions that are able to communicate with one another, then so be it!
In addition to seeing more software integrations, we’re going to see more software providers providing a holistic nonprofit solution that serves the bulk of a nonprofit’s needs. What nonprofits are beginning to expect, and what 2018 will deliver is software that encompasses all of their needs all in one place.
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In the past, many nonprofits tried to get by with off-the-shelf software such as Excel or Quickbooks for Nonprofits simply to keep track of mailing lists and donations. While these are great products, they are not designed to provide the type of reporting necessary to run a nonprofit.
Nonprofit data integration helps your organization:
- Gain insight into donor data
- Improve online fundraising
- Engage and nurture donors
- Boost revenue from fundraising
- Improve donor retention
- Become more accountable to funding sources
Nonprofits are switching their software in favor of more functionality and data integration. According to Janna Finch, senior market research associate at Software Advice, “accounting software is the most common first purchase for nonprofits. The most requested functionality of nonprofit organizations is donor and constituents tracking with integrated communication tools.”
Any sort of communication is the heart and soul of a nonprofit organization, so any way to streamline those communications, any way to automate in some cases and better target is going to have a big impact in smaller nonprofits”
Janna Finch
senior market research associate at Software Advice
Minimize Cost – Maximize Efficiency
To minimize the cost of nonprofit specialized software and maximize the efficiency, data integration provides the best solution. For most nonprofits, data or databases integration means that your data can seamlessly transfer from one type of information management to another.
Nonprofits want databases to communication to one another. Nonprofit funding is going to those who can demonstrate accountability to funding sources. In order to demonstrate accountability, integrating a system of data collection, data sharing and data reporting is essential.
Additional benefits which impact daily operations include:
- Elimination of duplicate data entry
- Reduce potential for data input errors
- Streamline workflow
Schedule a FastFund Online Demo: Learn more about our unique software approach to nonprofit accounting, payroll and fundraising.
Bottom Line
With cloud-based Software as a Service (SaaS) affordable monthly licensing, nonprofits of any size can afford seamless database integration using multiple tools for accounting, fundraising and payroll under one roof. SaaS solutions have lowered the barrier to entry, reducing overhead costs.
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