FundRaiser Blog

The FundRaiser Software Blog is an excellent resource for nonprofit organizations looking to learn more about fundraising, donor management, membership management, and much more.

How Gilda’s Club uses campaign management software to stay organized on simultaneous events

Gilda’s Club of Western Pennsylvania has a dedication to improving the lives of cancer survivors that inspires me. They keep up a very active schedule of fundraising to pay for the services they offer to cancer survivors and their families. They started small, using FundRaiser Basic, and over the years have built momentum so that they now are running several events at once. Staying organized is a challenge, and they have done it by skillful use of special campaign management features in FundRaiser Software.

Using the Campaign Management Console is straightforward, and in doing so, Gilda’s Club of Western PA is able to easily view campaign ROI, and make adjustments as needed to their campaigns. Debra Markovich, Executive Assistant at Gilda’s Club Western Pennsylvania uses FundRaiser Professional on a daily basis and explains how they stay organized while running several simulaneous events:

1. Set up all events in the campaign console

Enter campaigns into FundRaiser. At the time of this interview, Gilda’s Club of Western Pa had two big campaigns going, a capital campaign for mortgage reduction; and the annual fundraising campaign. These are entered as top level events into the Campaign Management Console.

2. Add sub-events to cover smaller initiatives within the overall campaign

These are recorded under the campaign to which they belong, for instance the mortgage reduction campaign or the annual appeal campaign. “This lets us easily see how much money we raise from each activity,” says Debra. Sub-events can be any activity that raises money, such as

  • Direct mail campaigns
  • Special events like walk-a-thons, bake sales, spaghetti dinners, etc.
  • Money coming in from specific foundations and grants and United Way
  • Initiatives to bring in money from memorial giving.

“If you want to be able to know the amount of money raised from a certain initiative, it is listed separately,” says Debra “The people I report to like to know the raffle brought in so much and the cook book sale brought in so much.”

Breaking it out in this way, makes it easy to create reports. “When Development Committee wants a report on any of the sub events, I just need to print it out. The information is all there,” says Debra.

3. Keep tabs on campaign progress with reports

This allows you to make midcourse corrections. “Development Committee might have a target for what they want to raise in a campaign, so I enter a target amount for certain campaigns. I give them a report to show them how they are doing. Maybe they want to raise $20,000. If I give them a report to show them they are at $10,000, they make decisions on how to take action. It lets them see what’s working and what’s not working,” says Debra.

4. Default coding helps with data entry accuracy

Keeping data entry accurate is highly important in creating good reports. The code set-up feature makes this easy. “Being able to set a default code is very helpful. When you use it, you don’t have the tendency to put the same thing under different codes at different times. Before I used it, I’d think ‘where should I put that?’ Sometimes I’d choose one thing, and another time, I’d choose another,” says Debra. Keeping codes consistent makes reports much easier to produce, and is important to keep the data useful over the long haul.

5. Compare campaign ROI to plan for even better fundraising next time

Having the ability to report on the status and effectiveness of past campaigns is very useful for future development. “The Development Committee makes changes based on reporting from prior years. They decide which areas need to improve or haven’t made as much as they’d like. They use it to reflect on what the next year’s budget will be,” says Debra.

With the love and skill of the staff and good tools like FundRaiser Software, Gilda’s Club of Western Pennsylvania is making sure that people touched by cancer can receive social and emotional support they need.

See how you can do the same for your organization by taking an online guided tour of FundRaiser:

Free FundRaiser Software Evaluation

Not sure where to start with evaluating new donor management software for your organization? Start here.

Complete the form at right and one of our fantastic FundRaiser Representatives will give you a call right away to learn more about your organization and your needs and goals for new fundraising software. We'll talk with you about how you are currently tracking your donors and donations, your plan for moving your data into new software, your timeline for implementation, and your budget.

All of this information will help us determine which of our software packages will be the best fit for you. Then we'll help you set up a demo and map out a custom evaluation process for you so that you can hit the ground running and meet your implementation goals.

People Are Talking!

"I am happy to recommend your software. In the interests of appearing non-partisan, I keep trying to find a software program that is as good as yours, but I can't. The main problem really seems to be the technical support. I have NEVER heard a complaint about your technical support. I cannot say that about ANY other software company. Some I can say I have only heard complaints about!!" -- Kim Klein (fundraising consultant, author) Berkeley, CA
How your non profit organization can record campai...
Tips for helping several people share the work in ...

Related Posts

Wait a minute, while we are rendering the calendar
transparency building donor relationships donor targeting development director data analysis new donors look and feel Reminders holiday annual maintenance plan foundations user spotlights how to handle auction gifts endowment campaign In-Kind gifts donor retention rate advanced tab Excel technical support membership benefits planned giving communications segmenting donors training auction in honor of donations National Change of Address password protection welcome packet Alternative Addresses customer service general ticket sales upgrade Personalizing the Ask giving history passwords appeal letters repeat donors spreadsheets case study FundRaiser Basic Snow Birds new features LYBUNTS customer portal new nonprofit backing up data announcements Thank You vacation New Year training tip alumni reports event management letter templates donor engagement nonprofit fundraising ROI annual campaign salutation office Company culture NCOA processing entering auction gifts support volunteering pictures board members happiness Congratulations donor slip grassroots campaign grants adding personal notes to letters word processor moves management prospects donor recognition targeted mailings donor prospects social media Donor Portal banquet premiums disaster relief community supported gardens product news #GivingTuesday Volunteer module large donations ticketsales user interface Reporting to IRS tax summary letters donor profile change of address updating charity golf tournaments online donations donor attrition government grants tribute gifts recurring gifts increasing giving amounts gift acceptance policy merge notes solicitors animal rescue updates membership programs holiday letters mode code corporate sponsors budget capital campaign Facebook campaign community broadcasting donor donor retention anonymous donors arts data conversion donation history email flash sales data entry mission driven GoFundMe project campaign importing csv community arts nonprofits motivation code how-to videos pledges gift entry Tickles texting donors gift notes field memorial giving FundRaiser Hosted Groupings major donors donor attrition rate FundRaiser Spark donor relations small donations phoning donors publicity materials donor source online donations correspondence End of Year Letters Crowdfunding Campaign accounting software mailing role of nonprofits new leadership operating systems legacy giving motivation raffle fundraising letters Codes relationship tracking GivingTuesday merge fields direct mail monthly giving operational costs features holiday giving appeal PayPal donor loyalty follow up custom page tech tip Constant Contact correspondance membersip benefits security brick campaign on site training Importing Data Cloud new version Network for Good letter SYBUNTS personalizing letters donor contact information planning donor advised funds Resiliency add ons Facebook upgrading donors donor preferences understanding giving trends major gift prospects volunteers giving levels thank you letters overview campaign management Thanksgiving Task List spare fields lapsed donor fundraising

Connect With Us

  800-880-3454 ext 3
  Email Us
  Request More Information
  Monday-Friday
      8:30AM-5:30PM CST

Customer Portal Login Form

User Name:
Password:

If you are not sure about your Customer User Name, please call 800-543-4131 and we will be able to help you.

Or you have lost your password, Request Password