CRM
Background on CRM
The most important function that a Donor CRM has is to organize your donors. It helps you record donations, and it helps you keep track of whose gotten receipts, thank you letters, etc.
We can’t keep that information in our brain. So it becomes our extended brain, keeping track of donor contact information, gift information, and whether or not they were thanked.
As CRMs got to be more sophisticated, they were able to make life easier for us. They could automatically record a gift from an online donation. They could track how many times your communicate with your donors and how many times your donors give you money.
It could prompt you to reach out to them for birthdays and other special occasions.
Then, you were able to group similar donors together and tell the CRM that you want to send a communication just to a certain group, based on whatever criteria you decide.
Many even built an email system directly from the CRM replacing Constant Contact and other email providers allowing you to engage your donors without leaving the platform.
So functionality grew and since it has the ability to record gifts, it could also keep track of fees. So it could keep track of Hebrew School signups and JLI sign ups.
But the primary and fundamental important aspect of a CRM (based on this) is the ability to manage donors.
There are two things here that need to work. You. And the platform.
If the platform is fantastic but you can’t work it, then it’s not so helpful.
Now, there are no platforms that you will be able to use “out of the box”. There is always a hill to climb before you can know how to “do stuff”.
In summary; when considering CRM options, remember that there are two important parts 1) does the platform do what you need it to do? 2) Can you use the platform?
TIPS
The most important thing you can do is to learn how to use and actually use a crm. If you have one and you're happy, great. Keep it up.
Its important to really understand and know what you need and most significantly make sure your current data is clean before you migrate.
a good option is to start with a very controlled small set of data in any new crm to test it out
Below are a number of options.
1) ChabadOne
https://www.chabadone.org/platform/crm/default.htm
Monthly Pricing $51- $110
2) Chabad Suite
Monthly Pricing $165- $350
3) Chabad Management
Reach out to them for pricing
Below are some free options
4) HubSpot.
5) Monday.com is free for nonprofits, it's more of a project management tool than CRM
6) When using Salesforce for basic functions, the learning curve is minimal.
7) There are shluchim that created their own spreadsheet that are willing to share.
Video
Fundraising with a CRM - Is it Really Better?
https://video.merkos302.com/node/8271
Presenter: Rabbi Yosef Romano
Discover how a CRM can help you fundraise better. Learn tips and tricks as well as how to successfully use a CRM whiling avoiding common pitfalls.