3 questions Charities should ask before selecting their CRM

If you are a Charity or a Not-For-Profit you want to take control of your marketing campaigns and your donors. When you implement a CRM solution you must consider key competencies in order to ensure that you can get the most from your software and can achieve your goals. Here we look at 3 questions Charities or Non for Profits should ask before getting their CRM system.  

Does this comply with current regulations? 

Charities must operate with as much transparency as possible. One key question a charity must ask is whether the CRM software allows them to operate within the current regulatory requirements. This is an essential aspect of work with charities as these companies must work with complete transparency and security to ensure there isn’t harassment and all of your organisation’s activity is being done well.  This relates to the visibility of the organisations complete activities as well to enable audits to go more smoothly and quickly.  

Can I reclaim my Gift Aid easily? 

Not-For-Profits or charities can reclaim Gift Aid on donations made by UK taxpayers if they consent to having a Gift Aid declaration done.  The CRM system you choose as charity or not-for-profit should have a built in Gift Aid intelligence system that checks whether the contact is eligible for Gift Aid with the ability to generate the required claim and let it be checked and audited before a possible submission to HMRC.  

Can I get a single view of my supporters?    

Charity fundraising professionals need to be able to access the entirety of their data and many charities are missing out on some key opportunities due to the fact that their donor management solutions fail to combine all of the information they need such as detailed volunteer activity with donations. These details allow for better donor management. 

The perfect CRM solution for charities or Not-For-Profits will allow the organisation to manage donations, pledges and track key details such as time donated by your volunteers giving you a complete holistic view of each supporter and volunteer. Extra functionality includes the ability to track results of programs and on-going fundraising campaigns so you can show your donors the effectiveness and success of their efforts and donations.  

Bringing information from disparate places is a key indication of a good CRM solution for charities or not-for-profits. This information includes online giving platforms, interactions via your website and social media activity alongside information provided from your finance system can give your organisation a valuable single view. This rich level of detail will allow you as an organisation to effectively target your supporters and segment your marketing efforts.  

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