16 SEPTEMBER 1, 2016 THE NONPROFIT TIMES www.thenonprofittimes.com

BY MICHAEL STEIN

The donor management systemmarket looks vastly differentthan it did 15 years ago, withmore options available. The

systems are different, too, havingevolved in response to pressures fromboth inside and outside the fundraisingcommunity.

Feature differentiation among thesystems has contracted at the top of themarket as vendors aim to address thesame customer needs, bringing systemscloser together in terms of what they do.At the other end, systems are increas-ingly differentiating themselves by spe-cializing, offering innovative solutions tomore niche areas of fundraising and tonew trends in marketing and mobiletechnology.

What hasn’t changed is that fundrais-ers still struggle to find the right solu-tions to meet their needs from acrowded marketplace of options. Thequestions include:

• What are the forces driving the mar-ket changes?

• What effect have they had on fea-tures?

• And, how should fundraisers bethinking about finding the best systemfor their needs?

PROFESSIONALIZATION OF DIGITALMARKETING AND FUNDRAISING

Donor management needs have al-ways been a function of organizationalsize, budget, and management’s ap-petite for growth. But as technology andhow we use it changes, shifting towarddigital and mobile communications andcloud-based software, so do nonprofitneeds, adjusting fundraising and com-munications staffing models to keeppace.

Digital marketing and fundraisingroles have been professionalized duringthe past decade, changing not justfundraising, but in many cases, thestaffing for it. Development staff mem-bers now regularly include digital fund -raising and marketing alongside themore traditional direct mail and tele-phone fundraising functions. Differentpeople or teams at larger organizationsoften fill the roles.

This shift is reflected in donor man-agement systems as vendors dedicatesignificant resources to improve the soft-ware to address the complex needs ofnew and prospective customers. Fund -raising and digital marketing teams atlarger organizations use sophisticatedmethods for evaluating and selectingsoftware solutions, with formal requestfor proposals (RFP) documents, needs-assessment templates, complex review

committees, and finalist selectionprocesses. They want donor manage-ment solutions that facilitate those ef-forts.

Managers at smaller organizationsmight have less influence to drive suchchanges, benefiting as the featurestrickle down.

Digital fundraising only represents,on average, less than 20 percent of totaldonor revenue. The success and growthof multi-channel fundraising programsrequires fundraising activities to be bal-anced across both digital and traditionaloutreach. The success of a fully inte-grated direct response program de-pends on getting all parts of the donorengagement process working in unison,with careful consideration for timing,messaging, audience segmentation, andpersonalization of appeals.

Donors who receive direct mail ap-peals commonly visit websites or click oncarefully-timed email appeals to maketheir donations. This shift in how support-ers make donations is both a response tochanging times and a function of howfundraisers are harnessing the tools andtechniques at their disposal to facilitateand increase supporter response.

This has naturally increased the com-plexity of the task for digital and tradi-tional fundraisers alike. An appeal in themail that asks for a renewal gift of a cer-tain size needs to be carefully timed andcoordinated with a companion email ap-peal, both of which are designed to elicita response from donors. A lack of coor-dination in timing, or a mismatch in thesize of a gift ask, can result in an under-performing response from donors.

A fundraising appeal that neglects tocorrectly identify past donor activity orwhich poorly acknowledges a donor’s en-gagement as a volunteer or activist oftenleaves prospective donors perplexedabout whether the organization truly un-derstands their interest and engagementpotential. It can put into question theirdonors’ support.

As fundraising techniques becomemore reliant upon complex mixes of digi-tal and traditional communications, fund -raisers become reliant upon a donorman agement system that can keep up.

CONSOLIDATION OF SERVICES AT THE TOPSuch changes have guided the evolu-

tion of more mature donor managementservices in the marketplace, leading tothe emergence of larger, more inte-grated systems that seek to provide thebroadest range of software tools and of-ferings. They’ve also led to a consolida-tion of donor management servicesseeking to serve the needs of larger non-

The Changing Landscape Of TheDonor Management System Market

S P E C I A L R E P O R T: D O N O R M A N A G E M E N T S Y S T E M S

What Should You Ask To EvaluateA Donor Management System?

1. When a donor calls your office, can you quickly see their involvement with theorganization on a single screen or do you need to look in multiple places?

2. How will the system help you manage integrated fundraising campaigns inmail, telephone, and online campaigns?

3. If you have an existing donor management system, you’ll need to migrateyour data. How can the new system and vendor help with that, and what willit cost?

4. What types of online functionality will become available through the system(including email messaging, online gifts processing, and online advocacy)? Isthere volume-based pricing of which you should be aware?

5. How will you integrate and synchronize your online data with the in-housedatabase?

6. Can staff access donor data via smartphone or mobile application?7. Aside from startup costs, migration costs, and monthly fees, what other costs

might your organization incur?8. Aside from basic year-round customer support, what other levels of support

are available and how are they priced?Continued on page 17

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‘‘These larger multi-dimensionalsoftware suites have been a realgame changer for nonprofits, andsome of them can actually replacetraditional in-house databases.--Jen Frazier

SEPTEMBER 1, 2016 THE NONPROFIT TIMES www.thenonprofittimes.com 17

profits, with more ambitious goals forbuilding an integrated fundraising andmarketing function.

Robert Weiner is a consultant basedin San Francisco who has built his busi-ness serving the software selectionneeds of nonprofits nationwide. He saidthe needs assessment process can be ex-tremely complex for fundraisers seekingdonor management solutions. The con-solidation of services has somewhat sim-plified his task.

“I’m constantly evaluating vendors,including newly emerging ones,” hesaid, “but I have a dozen that I go backto over and over because I know theirproven capabilities and I expect them tobe around for the long haul.”

The most popular solutions reflectthe modern state of the industry: fully-integrated, often cloud-based softwaretools that seek to deliver the broadestrange of offerings for advocacy, con-stituent management, eCommerce,email marketing, events, fundraising andwebsite integration. Consultants anddigital marketers credit the emergenceand evolution of these larger consoli-dated, integrated solutions as having for-malized the key set of core tools.

Taken together, they represent thestate of the art in online engagement,positioned to meet the needs defined by

the professionalized direct responsefunction at nonprofits in which fundrais-ing is just one spoke in the wheel. Seam-less integration with the others is the keyto success.

“These larger multi-dimensional soft-ware suites have been a real gamechanger for nonprofits, and some ofthem can actually replace traditional in-house databases,” said Jen Frazier, presi-

dent and founder of Firefly Partners, aColorado-based consulting agency thataids nonprofits with digital projects.“This is a seismic shift which will havebig repercussions on the nonprofit sec-tor in the coming years.”

MUSHROOMING OF SERVICES AT THE BOTTOMThe vendors that are able to meet the

sector’s needs while providing a stableand reliable long-term relationship forcustomers have dominated the market.Other vendors differentiate their sys-tems with niche features for less com-

continue to be features and functional-ity. But cost is a key factor, especially forsmaller nonprofits.

John Kenyon, a nonprofit technologyeducator and strategist who has beenworking for 20 years on change manage-ment projects, said he still marvels athow complex the donor managementsystem choices are -- even for smallernonprofits. “Choosing the right systemtoday is still very complicated,” he said,“and it’s often unlikely that nonprofitshave the right person in-house to man-age this process. The shifts that have oc-

mon needs, staking out smaller marketshares. As the top of the market consoli-dates, the bottom has experienced a si-multaneous growth of smaller systemstargeting nonprofits with more limitedstaffing and budgets or that need to fillmore limited software functions.

Consultants who advise fundraisersselecting donor management softwaresolutions say the key decision points

curred in the market over the past 10years have frankly made things more dif-ficult, not easier.”

It’s not unusual for smaller organiza-tions to use a combination of solutions tomeet the needs. The most common mix isto use separate email messaging andfundraising systems, which can lead to acertain amount of juggling, as fundraisersand digital marketers seek to blend thetwo into a seamless donor experience.

The email platform is used to sendout messages to supporters, donors andactivists. Other platforms are used toprocess donations, register people forevents, and to track donors and otherconstituents.

That’s just the tip of the iceberg. Moreand more fundraisers are seeking ways toharness the latest techniques for donorengagement, from peer-to-peer fundrais-ing to crowdfunding and more. As suchneeds become more commonplace, newand innovative donor management solu-tions are emerging to fill them.

THE NEAR FUTURE OF DIGITAL FUNDRAISINGWebsite donation pages have been

the digital fundraising workhorse foryears. Modern versions are expected tobe fully mobile responsive for all sizescreens, capable of accepting both one-time and monthly gifts paid via credit

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•September 1 2016 NPT_Layout 1 8/17/16 10:57 AM Page 17

18 SEPTEMBER 1, 2016 THE NONPROFIT TIMES www.thenonprofittimes.com

S P E C I A L R E P O R T: D O N O R M A N A G E M E N T S Y S T E M S

POPULAR DONOR MANAGEMENT PRODUCTSAbilaFundraising 50Starting $99/month

Abila netFORUM EnterpriseAverage $100-$300/month,plus ap prox imately $50,000implementation fee

MillenniumStarting at $199/month800-811-0691www.abila.com

AccuFundAccuFund CRMUp to 10 donated licenses for non-profit organizations; $48 per monthper additional user877-872-2228www.accufund.com/crm/accufund-crm

Advanced Solutions InternationaliMISStarts at $150/user/month800-727-8682www.imis.com

AgilonAgilon ONE v.4.3SaaS, starting at $699/monthOn-site, starting at $14,100800-480-9015www.myagilon.com

AmergentPortfolioWeb-based multi-user, starting at$2,500/month800-370-7500www.amergent.com

Aplos SoftwareAplos Donor Management$25/month for starter level,$40/month for standard level888-274-1316www.aplos.com

AraizeFastFund Raising Online$35/month for up to 5,000 records$75/month for up to10,000 records$150/month for 10,000 to 20,000records$250/month for 20,000 to 30,000records$325/month for 30,000 to 50,000records$400/month over 50,000 recordsMulti-user – 5 concurrent users:$25/monthSpecial discounts for bundling withFastFund Accounting866-840-7449www.araize.com

Bernard Data SolutionsFull Scale CRM SolutionStarts at $1,000/month866-936-6671www.bernardsolutions.com

BlackbaudeTapestryUnlimited users starting at$119/month

Raiser’s Edge NXT ™Cloud fundraising and donormanagement starting at $4,000annual subscription

Blackbaud CRM ™Pricing varies widelyby organizational need

Luminate ™ CRM Starting at $1,995/month

Luminate ™ Constituent EngagementSystemStarting at $2,495/month

Luminate™ Online MarketingEntry price of $1,250/month includesall services and implementation withGO program

TeamRaiserMonthly subscription with transac-tion fee of 5.5 percent; one-time im-plementation and monthlysubscription fees varywww.blackbaud.com800-443-9441

BIS GlobalCharityEngineAverage $1,400/month866-737-8222www.charityengine.net

BloomerangBloomerangStarts at $99/month, up to 1,000records, to $499/month, 40,000-plusrecords866-332-2999www.bloomerang.co

Campus ManagementTalisma Fundraising SaaSStarting at $156/month561-338-6683www.campusmanagement.com/

Click and PledgeSalesforce Donor ManagementFree with account through Salesforce866-999-2542, x3214http://clickandpledge.com

Donorexpress SoftwareLiteSingle user, starting at $150Additional user, starting at $150

Standard and HospiceSingle user, starting at $650Additional user, starting at $245Unlimited site license, starting at$1,800

EnterpriseSingle user, starting at $950Additional user, starting at $350Unlimited site license, starting at$2,700828-264-2577www.donorexpress.com

FUND E-Z Development FUND E-Z Fund Raising SoftwareSingle user, starting at $995Multi-user, starting at $1,490877-696-0900www.fundez.com

Fundraiser SoftwareFundRaiser SparkSingle user, starting at $649Available online for $69/month

FundRaiser SelectSingle-user, starting at $1,400Additional users: $250 eachAvailable online for $179/month(two users)

FundRaiser ProfessionalSingle user, starting at $3,800Additional users: $400 eachAvailable online for $349/month(unlimited users)

800-880-3454, ext. 3www.fundraisersoftware.com

GiftWorks, a FrontStream Company GiftWorks StandardStarting at $90/month up to 4,000records

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GiftWorks Data ProtectMulti user, $4.99/month888-323-8766www.giftworksconnect.com

Global CloudDonorDriveSetup, annual support, and processingfees are based on client requirements866-244-0450www.donordrive.com

Heritage DesignsMatchMaker Fundraising SoftwareOnline EditionStarting at $150/month

MatchMaker Fundraising SoftwareEnterprise EditionSingle user, starting at $2,790Multi-user, starting at $5,295

MatchMaker Fundraising SoftwareCanadian EditionSingle user, starting at $2,790Multi-user, starting at $5,295800-752-3100www.matchmakerfrs.com

Little Green LightLGL Donor Management CRMStarting at $39/month for up to2,500 records, to $199/month up to200,000 records10 percent discount for annualsubscription877-820-6109www.littlegreenlight.com

Metafile Information SystemsResultsPlus Server-BasedSingle user, starting at $1,000Multi-user, starting at $4,000

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ResultsPlus Online (Hosted)Starting at $157/month 507-286-9232www.resultsplussoftware.com

MicahTekNetViewStarts at $200/month918-449-3300www.micahtek.com

NationBuilderNationBuilder Starting at $29/month for 5,000names or 1,000 email addresses, upto $999/month for 500,000 names or100,000 email addresses213-394-4623www.nationbuilder.com

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Salesforce.comSalesforce1 For Nonprofits10 free licenses of Salesforce.com;discounts on additional licenses andservices800-NO-SOFTWAREwww.salesforcefoundation.org

Saturn CorporationEprisaSingle/multi user, starting at$1,000/month800-872-0090www.saturn-corp.com

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Telosa SoftwareExceed! BasicSingle user, starting at $795Multi-user, starting at $945

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Z2 Systems, Inc.NeonCRMUp to 1,000 donors, unlimited users,$110/monthUp to 5,000 donors, unlimited users,$210/monthUp to 15,000 donors, unlimitedusers, $310/monthUp to 25,000 donors, unlimitedusers, $410/monthUp to 50,000 donors, unlimitedusers, $610/monthUp to 100,000 donors, unlimitedusers, $810/monthUp to 250,000 donors, unlimitedusers, $1,210/month888-860-6366www.neoncrm.com

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SEPTEMBER 1, 2016 THE NONPROFIT TIMES www.thenonprofittimes.com 19

cards, PayPal payments, and checking ac-count withdrawals. Dollar amount giftstrings are expected to properly reflectthe correct giving level of each donor,which involves coordinating data withthe organization’s donor database.

Source code tracking has also be-come more important as digital fundrais-ers seek to better understand fromwhere each donor originated in an effortto measure marketing impact and reach.

Many of the newer donor manage-ment solutions are differentiated withfresh approaches to the complex processof building and managing donationpages, benefitting both digital fundrais-ers and prospective online donors.

More social fundraising tools, such aspeer-to-peer and crowdsource cam-paigns, allow fundraisers to extend theirreach using viral marketing techniquesand social media. Some of the earliestdonor solutions forged new ground inthis area, but more specialized donormanagement vendors have brought in-novations that focus on these kinds ofcampaigns -- for example, with the useof apps for mobile devices.

The need for digital marketing toolsto be responsive to mobile use has beenan important driver for innovationacross many systems, and is now a criti-cal requirement for nonprofits of all

sizes. Numerous studies have shownthat mobile responsiveness improves re-sponse rates for both fundraising andadvocacy campaigns. Weiner noted itsemergence as a key trend.

“Mobile is now a big differentiator forselecting a service,” he said, “and everyvendor I stay in touch with is actively in-volved in product development effortsto improve their systems so they’re moremobile ready.”

Closely connected to the core issueof mobile readiness is the growing inter-est in Facebook’s new donation tools.Fundraisers are hoping to better under-stand the impact these tools might haveon the digital fundraising landscape.While the prospect of using Facebookfor fundraising opens up new possibili-ties, it also poses new challenges.

As fundraisers struggle to build seam-less donor experiences across platforms,it becomes more difficult to track giftsand acknowledgments, integrate data,and to move donors up the ladder of en-gagement. Donor management systemvendors are just beginning to rise to thechallenge. The promise is for tools thatallow for seamless Facebook integration.The reality is less certain.

The Apple Pay service is not yet avail-able for web-based transactions, but it’sscheduled to be soon, and fundraisersare already dreaming of new ways to in-

crease response rates. The service andothers like it herald new techniques forinteraction, letting donors use theirphones to make purchases or donationsthat are authorized through their ApplePay-enabled iPhone. Google and An-droid capabilities are thought to be closebehind.

SELECTING DONOR MANAGEMENT SYSTEMSThe changing marketplace has made

it more difficult for fundraisers trying todecide where their organizations fit in.Should they implement a bigger inte-grated system that costs more and re-quires an additional investment in staff,or a more-lightweight service that is lesspowerful but easier on budget and staff?The real question is, will donors noticethe difference?

“The biggest challenges with adopt-ing and using a new donor managementsystem are the humans tasked with run-ning it,” Kenyon said. He said fundrais-ers “spend a lot of time evaluatingsoftware options and prices and too lit-tle time assessing how their own humanresources will be trained and deployedto do the day-to-day work.”

The other key factor in choosing theright donor management system is tonot let technology choices drive an orga-nization’s fundraising and communica-tions strategy. Consultants call this

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S P E C I A L R E P O R T: D O N O R M A N A G E M E N T S Y S T E M S“shiny object syndrome.” Kenyon saidhe encourages managers to anchor theirtechnology choices firmly behind theirstrategic objectives rather than in frontof them.

“Strategy and goals needs to be in thedriver’s seat,” he said. “From that van-tage point, better technology choiceswill get made.”

During the past decade and a half,donor management systems have come along way to meet the evolving needs offundraisers searching to improve thedonor experience. As donors flow throughthese systems, development and digitalmanagers at nonprofits look for ways tobetter use these platforms to acquire use-ful data and analytics, and ultimately todeepen engagement with supporters.

Future innovations in digital fundrais-ing will come from a deeper partnershipamong these stakeholder roles as eachseeks to find its place in this digital ecosys-tem of social good. NPT

Michael Stein is a writer and digitalstrategist to progressive social causes,and the author of three books and nu-merous articles chronicling the rise ofdigital marketing, mobile, and onlinefundraising. He works as a consultantand coach to nonprofits, foundationsand educators, and wrote this article asa contractor for Idealware.

Continued from page 17

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