Submitted by Tim Sarrantonio on Tue, 04/02/2013 - 1:15pm
The critically acclaimed AMC television show Mad Men has been captivating audiences since 2007, showcasing the exploits of an evolving set of characters at a 1960s advertising agency in New York City. While there is a lot to unpack in regards to the socio-economic messages the show conveys, there is also much wisdom that nonprofit organizations can learn about their CRM from watching the show. We’ll examine a few of these here.
Kodak Moment: Use your CRM to get the full picture One of the series’ most brilliant scenes comes from a season one episode entitled “The Wheel,” in which series protagonist Don Draper explains to the executives of Kodak that their new invention, a slide projector enhancement, shouldn’t be called The Wheel but The Carousel.
The takeaway from this scene is that making a meaningful connection between what you provide and who it affects should be the basis of your organization’s operations. Turning your CRM into a powerful tool to connect with your constituents in a meaningful way should be a high priority. Mad Men shows us that:
Submitted by Tim Sarrantonio on Thu, 03/07/2013 - 10:19am
We’ve all experienced it - the sense that we’re starting to ask our donors for too much, too often. Multi-channel fundraising can become a double-edged sword. So what can we do to avoid donor fatigue and ensure that our donors aren’t feeling nickel and dimed?
There are a few strategies that we’ll explore below to do just that. We’ll touch on creating a strategy for your solicitations, social media usage for fundraising, and the all-important area of making sure your donors feel appreciated.
Create a strategy for your appeals process Many organizations have several projects and events occurring at the same time that have their own budgetary needs, which can create confusion as to where a donor should apply their contribution.
Formulating a plan for how your organization solicits donations is of vital importance. The ability to brand individual campaigns and events while tying it to the broader mission will give donors a streamlined understanding of where their contributions will be going. Some things to keep in mind:
Submitted by Brendan Noone on Wed, 02/27/2013 - 5:47pm
The following features were released February 25th 2013:
Below is a summary highlighting many of the important new features and improvements added to NeonCRM by Z2 Systems, Inc. released on February 25th, 2013. Since 2004, our goal at Z2 Systems, Inc. has always been to continue the evolution of the most user-friendly CRM built specifically for Nonprofit Organizations and Membership Associations and this release furthers that goal yet again. With incredible, deep database functionality and industry-leading website integration tools, NeonCRM continues to push the limits by adding new quality features for organizations of all sizes. Please read through the new features and enhancements now available to all NeonCRM users!
Submitted by Tim Sarrantonio on Wed, 01/23/2013 - 4:13pm
This is part eight of our blog series A Fundraiser’s Guide to the Annual Fund. Our team will be exploring how to turn your database into an integral tool for raising the general operation funds necessary for your success.
You’ve done your work and the donations have rolled in from your end of the year push. While you should pause and congratulate yourself and your committee on their hard work, the real test is making sure that everything is accurate and your donors are properly thanked. We’ll cover some strategies to ensure that you’re not overwhelmed with all the work that comes with a successful annual fund wrap up.
Submitted by Jeff Gordy on Thu, 01/17/2013 - 1:11pm
When it comes to membership renewal and donations, recurring transactions are critical to retention. Too often we see campaigns without an option for “auto-renewal” or “recurring”. Having a recurring option is the easiest way to ensure the donor or member will give or join again, yet it is frequently overlooked. To make a comparison to sports, why push a ticket for one game when you can push the whole season pass? With the click of a button someone can express their long term interest in your organization.
Historically donations and membership renewals were given offline and sent in via check. When giving money via check, this is just a one-time transaction, and it takes a whole other campaign or effort to get another check. In this new age of online transactions, a new emphasis needs to be put on encouraging donors to click the “recurring donation” option, and members to click the “auto-renewal” button. This saves your organization time and money on re-soliciting this person at a later point.
Submitted by Tim Sarrantonio on Tue, 12/11/2012 - 3:09pm
This is part seven of our blog series The Fundraiser’s Guide to the Annual Fund. Our team will be exploring how to turn your database into an integral tool for raising the general operation funds necessary for your success.
Sometimes your donors have an absolute intention of giving, but they just can’t do it at the time of your ask. This typically happens most often in the initial push of your annual fund process . Setting yourself up to not only track but also acknowledge and follow up on pledges throughout the year will be your strategy for success.
We’ve talked a lot about stewardship, but there are never enough ways to say thank you to a future donor. The key to pledges is that they are an intent to give and you should treat your future donors with the same level of stewardship that donations in the door receive.
Submitted by Tim Sarrantonio on Mon, 11/19/2012 - 12:55pm
This is part six of our blog series The Fundraiser’s Guide to the Annual Fund. Our team will be exploring how to turn your database into an integral tool for raising the general operation funds necessary for your success.
Any donation to your annual fund is an affirmation of the work that you’re doing, but there’s a special joy that fundraisers receive from those big checks that come in. All donors should be treated with a baseline level of respect and stewardship, but there are effective strategies to obtain and maintain major donors. While others have outlined some great strategies for thanking (and thanking again) your donors, we'll explore some ways that you can utilize your CRM to help too.
Submitted by Tim Sarrantonio on Tue, 11/13/2012 - 12:19pm
One of the best parts of being a part of the Z2 Systems community is seeing how different organizations utilize the NeonCRM to achieve the goals of their mission. We'll be spotlighting one of those today - Share Pregnancy & Infant Loss Support. We talked with Megan Nichols, their Development & PR Director, to discuss one of their biggest events - the Walk for Remembrance & Hope.
So here it is… the scariest month of the year. Ghosts and goblins, mummies and vampires, you have the recipe for a scary night ahead! Hopefully, if you keep your eyes open, you will spot a superhero or princess every now and then!
The last thing you need this month is the frightening thought of a messy data conversion while you consider moving to a new constituent management tool. Perhaps you’ve been thinking about moving to a new fundraising/member management/constituent management tool (CRM). Perhaps the CRM database tool you currently use is too expensive. Maybe it’s too hard to use, or too clunky and old, too slow. Or maybe you’re looking for an online, cloud-based solution that allows you to do your work anywhere, anytime.
Submitted by Tim Sarrantonio on Thu, 10/18/2012 - 4:37pm
This is part five of our blog series A Fundraiser’s Guide to the Annual Fund. Our team will be exploring how to turn your database into an integral tool for raising the general operation funds necessary for your success.
There are tons of statistics relating to end of the year giving trends, with a near universal understanding that many gifts are made in the final days of the calendar year. This is because many individuals save their donations to ensure they are counted in that tax year once they know how much they have leftover to give. While an annual fund may run from July to June, taxes do not. In this blog post we’ll explore ways you can maximize these trends to your advantage.
When it comes to membership renewal and donations, recurring transactions are critical to retention. Too often we see campaigns without an option for “auto-renewal” or “recurring”. Having a recurring option is the easiest way to ensure the donor or member will give or join again, yet it is frequently overlooked. To make a comparison to sports, why push a ticket for one game when you can push the whole season pass? With the click of a button someone can express their long term interest in your organization.
