Technology? Who Needs It? YOU Do! Here’s Why.

Most people don’t want to give you anything. In fact, of the 6 billion people on earth, 5,999,985,000 (give or take a few thousand) don’t want to help your cause.

So doesn’t it make sense to treat the few who do extremely well? And on top of that, do as much as you can to save some time and money? That’s where technology comes into play. Technology has the ability to improve every aspect of your operations, but you must understand where to rely on it the most.

Examining a gift horse.
Some say not to look a gift horse in the mouth. But if your business revolves around receiving gifts, you should probably examine as many of them as you can. Who’s behind these gifts? And how many ways do they interact with your organization?

Donors, prospects, members, patrons, alumni, etc. — it’s pretty likely that many of your constituents fall into more than one category, but you don’t want to treat them like they are more than one person. Separate systems have a tendency to cause data silos. So the ideal solution is to manage all your interactions with supporters within one database.

What beekeepers understand.
Keeping bees for the purpose of collecting honey has been around for thousands of years. But it wasn’t until the 19th century that beekeepers discovered a way of collecting the honey without destroying the entire colony. Until then, after every collection, they had to start over.

Successful fundraising, like beekeeping, revolves around the ability to cultivate and manage relationships with your constituents instead of looking for new ones time and time again. Technology can help you with this by providing you with the means of tracking valuable biographical information and ensuring that each touch you have with your supporters is helping the cultivation process.