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.

Using FundRaiser to Increase Mission Impact

BioChar_OACC_Event_Header

I’ve worked at FundRaiser for many years now, and for all of that time I’ve been deeply inspired by the work our customers do. Committed to a wide range of missions, the nonprofits using FundRaiser actively make a difference in our world. 

Given that sense of admiration, of course I decided to try my own hand at the fundraising part of nonprofit work. What I’ve learned is that each time I use FundRaiser to help raise funds for an organization I care about, I succeed. I also learn something new about the whole process of fundraising, and I get better for next time. That all adds up to more funds to help achieve what I’d like to see happen in the world. An example, in the first year of using FundRaiser, I learned the value of some very basic donor management practices:

Continue reading
3087 Hits

Creating My First Fundraising Mailing

Creating My First Fundraising Mailing

At FundRaiser Software, staff members are experts in helping nonprofit organizations use our software. We have learned a lot about the how-to's of fundraising from our customers... but very few of us do it ourselves. For me, over the years, I've become eager to try my own hand at it. Yesterday, my wish came true as I mailed out my own first fundraising campaign. The experience was both fun and humbling, giving me a new and deeper appreciation of the work that our customers do daily! 

Let me say at the start, that the organization I volunteer for has done well for more than 35 years tracking donors by spreadsheet and memory. It's understandable that when I suggested using a FundRaiser program they were wary. This year, however, the other volunteers at the organization agreed to let me have a go at it... as long as I was the one working with FundRaiser.   

Continue reading
6788 Hits

3 Tips for Exporting Data to Spreadsheets


Why Export Data to Other Programs??

You know, from my point of view, "why" is a question I don't always feel inclined (or capable) to answer.  Sometimes the best answer to "why" is simply "because".  Why export?  Because I want to export.  It's a valid reason, and so it behooves us at FundRaiser to make it as easy as possible to perform the task, even though it's a relatively little-used task when compared to most features of the program.  We don't need to know "why" you want to export, but YOU need to know HOW to export, and here are some tips to get the job accomplished in the best possible way for your purposes.

1.  Export or Print to File??  Choosing the right method.

Under the File menu, the "Export" option enables you to send data to various file formats that can be easily read by other programs.  The ASCII/dBase option gives you several choices, but the most common for spreadsheets is the CSV (Comma-Separated-Values) file format.  Exporting, however, has some limitations, in that you can only export fields that are available in the "Field Selection" list.  You may have noticed that only "statistical" gift data can be exported, rather than individual gift information.  So, when you need to export that type of information, the best bet is to use the "Print to Excel" option found in almost all reports (like the donation/deposit reports).  While this option will not be as "clean" as exporting to a CSV and then opening the resulting file in a spreadsheet, it WILL allow you to bring those multiple gifts into play.  So, the first step to exporting is to decide the level of detail you need, and either choose to Export (less detail) or Print to Excel, using a report (more detail, but more cleanup needed in the resulting Excel/spreadsheet file).

Continue reading
13573 Hits

2 Situations When You Might Want to Consider Using Access or Excel for Donor Management


With the proper template (and there is one for nonprofits included with Access), it's not too difficult for someone with a modicum of computer savvy to put together a program to handle the basics of fundraising using either Excel or Access. However, remember that the fundraising world is not static, and neither should be your fundraising program—continuing maintenance could become a drain on your time and resources.

In our opinion, there are two situations in which using Access or Excel (or similar products) might make sense.

Continue reading
7588 Hits

8 Ways to Know If You've Outgrown Your Homegrown Software


In this modern technological age, even the smallest nonprofits are likely to use some type of software to help with fundraising. These fall into two general categories:

commercial "off the shelf" donor management softwarehomegrown or custom programs.

The homegrown varieties are most often constructed using Microsoft's Access or Excel because they are the most readily available products from which to create a database. In our many years working with small to medium-sized nonprofits in various capacities, many organizations have come to us looking for a solution to having outgrown their homegrown programs. This experience has taught us a number of lessons that may be helpful if you are thinking it may be time to purchase fundraising management software.

Continue reading
5917 Hits

Why I want the environmental organization I volunteer for to use a donor database instead of Excel spreadsheets

The environmental organization I volunteer for is important to me, so it followed that when I discovered they were using Excel spreadsheets to track the donors who help make it happen each year, I suggested that we use a FundRaiser Software program instead.

My co-volunteers were leery about moving from Excel to a donor database. They don't know me as any kind of expert on non-profit fundraising. They feared that using a donor database would simply complicate matters. Excel spreadsheets are free and everyone knew how to use them. Their questions led me to do some research so I could tell them more clearly why I was making my suggestion. Here's what I turned up:

Continue reading
9128 Hits
Wait a minute, while we are rendering the calendar
gift entry gift acceptance policy direct mail Groupings user interface tribute gifts role of nonprofits raffle New Year new features solicitors donor contact information volunteers segmenting donors communications welcome packet donor retention alumni donor prospects animal rescue Company culture memorial giving new leadership membersip benefits operating systems tax summary letters community broadcasting Thanksgiving user spotlights donor retention rate Resiliency arts FundRaiser Hosted holiday Tickles holiday letters mailing customer portal thank you letters follow up pictures password protection prospects board members custom page technical support Importing Data capital campaign large donations event management major donors membership benefits merge fields tech tip support Facebook campaign spare fields LYBUNTS donor engagement donor targeting grants updates corporate sponsors Network for Good transparency announcements data entry flash sales entering auction gifts major gift prospects annual campaign giving levels adding personal notes to letters passwords GivingTuesday charity golf tournaments fundraising letters security Alternative Addresses planning targeted mailings In-Kind gifts NCOA processing add ons understanding giving trends correspondance product news relationship tracking Facebook pledges publicity materials the Ask letter correspondence data conversion donor attrition Reminders happiness how-to videos donor source appeal letters advanced tab building donor relationships email grassroots campaign merge notes Task List Donor Portal phoning donors disaster relief National Change of Address recurring gifts motivation code case study volunteering general Snow Birds budget endowment campaign fundraising FundRaiser Spark mission driven community arts nonprofits how to handle auction gifts importing csv lapsed donor Personalizing Reporting to IRS donor attrition rate on site training data analysis membership programs auction monthly giving Cloud increasing giving amounts moves management upgrade salutation giving history PayPal Congratulations nonprofit fundraising in honor of donations Volunteer module FundRaiser Basic accounting software annual maintenance plan foundations ROI anonymous donors Thank You Codes appeal donor donor profile premiums community supported gardens social media donation history personalizing letters upgrading donors online donations motivation training tip Crowdfunding Campaign change of address updating spreadsheets brick campaign new nonprofit donor advised funds reports look and feel operational costs planned giving government grants overview campaign legacy giving letter templates word processor holiday giving development director office campaign management Excel small donations backing up data GoFundMe project texting donors donor loyalty training SYBUNTS donor relations vacation donor slip features mode code customer service #GivingTuesday banquet gift notes field donor recognition online donations new donors new version donor preferences End of Year Letters repeat donors Constant Contact ticketsales ticket sales

Connect With Us

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

Customer Portal Login Form

   

The customer portal is unavailable. If you need support please reach out to support@fundraisersoftware.com Thank you.

 

  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