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

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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:

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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.   

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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).

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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.

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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.

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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:

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

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