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.

Save Time and Minimize Errors using Recurring Gifts in FundRaiser Software


The Sacred Heart Radio case study includes a reference to a feature in FundRaiser, called Recurring Gifts, and I want to point out to everyone that you don't need the Donor Portal version of the program to take advantage of it.  It is particularly helpful for those with Donor Portal, since it not only allows a donor to set up their own regularly-scheduled donations, including bringing them into FundRaiser, but also allows for special "thank you" letters dependent on whether a payment is accepted, rejected, a card is expired, or about to expire.  But even if you don't have the Donor Portal, recurring gifts can save you a lot of time, if you have one of the following situations:

Donors on a payroll deductionDonors who supply credit card or bank info for regular withdrawals

If, for instance, you have 50 people who give on a monthly basis, regular as clockwork, the same amount each time, you can save a lot of time by entering the donation only once per person (as a Recurring Gift setup) and then have FUndRaiser produce the actual gift entry each time it comes due.  You can offer each of the donors a preference on what day of the month they'd like their gifts processed.  Once a Recurring Gift is established, it's just a matter of running the utility to process Recurring Gifts to have FUndRaiser build the gift records.

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Case study: Ease of use for staff and donors of online donations helps Sacred Heart's fundraising thrive

logo for Sacred Heart Radio

Sacred Heart Radio is fortunate in their problem—they need to process lots of online donations. For this reason, Beverly Hill, office and database manager for Sacred Heart Radio, was eager to implement the automatic entry of online donations that is offered through the FundRaiser Donor Portal. Sacred Heart Radio is a national Catholic radio station. They are users of FundRaiser Professional with the Donor Portal for online donations.

Successfully promoting online donations

“We promote online donations strongly and it is working for us. As a radio station, we have access to the airwaves. We use public service announcements that say ‘visit us online and click donate’,” explains Beverly.

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7 steps to increased donations for schools using a donor database

increasing donations for schools large and small

Schools can significantly increase incoming donations by clarifying who their most generous constituent groups are and then focusing development efforts on those donor segments. Several FundRaiser users have done this, with excellent results.

1.    Enter your donation amounts into your database

The first step to locating your most generous donors is easy. “It’s a simple matter of entering your checks into FundRaiser. Then all that information is there,” says Ellen Bouye, Administrative Assistant of Oklahoma Christian Academy and a FundRaiser Select user.

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Looking Ahead

The brilliant colors of Fall are beginning to blaze here in the Ozarks.  I see crimPiawacket helps himself to his son blushed sumacs nestled among the stalwart green of the oaks.  Oaks are the last trees to change color, calmly keeping their glossy green raiment as a lovely backdrop to the riotous colors of less sedate trees.  Acorns and walnuts rain down and the grass grows with spring-like abandon.

All of this color and abundance tends to make me forget we are heading into the cold, drab days of winter.  Days when all is quiet and still and where growth happens unseen below fallen leaves and brown grasses.  I always long to take some green with me into winter and this year I am determined to do so.  I have spent the last month designing a hydroponic system for growing wheat grass.  The idea was to be able to feed the few critters I want to add to our home without having to depend on outside hay.  I accomplished this, but since I am currently “critterless” with the exeption of a few cats, I am now considering using it to grow salad greens all winter.  What can be better that eating a fresh picked salad as I watch the snow fall outside? 

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Grow Where You Are Planted


I love weeds. That may seem very odd to hear from someone who enjoys gardening, but perhaps I am not a typical gardener. I must confess I’m terribly fickle when it comes to my garden. Each spring I succumb to the passion of lush, green spring and gaily plant far more than I can ever take care of. Inevitably the oppressive heat of summer squelches my enthusiasm and only those plants that survive the minimal tending I care to give them live to benefit from my renewed vigor with autumn’s chill.Despite these serious flaws in my gardening technique, I’m never without green in my life. For intrepid weeds soften my failures. Perhaps my favorite is the wild morning glory. Its rich green leaves cover a vine as tough and tenacious as barbed wire. These tendrils coil from dry, barren ground and climb to the sun upon anything they can reach. Yet from this ruthless creeper spring delicate ivory blossoms that sing to the sun for only one day. It is truly heartening to see beauty spring from what seems to be nothing.

Nonprofit organizations often have the same issue with hardware and software. You spring out of what seems to be nothing, pulling resources from volunteers and donations from the community you serve. Purchasing up to date computers and hiring someone to set up and maintain them is frequently out of your reach, financially, although I’ve seen some pretty amazing things done with the bare minimum.

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

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