Non-profit suppliers

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Australia NFP Telemarketers – matching staff to demographics of call audience?

Worried Senior Woman Answering Telephone At Home

Are telemarketing suppliers hiring callers to better match the demographics of most charity donor files?

I am likely to be on many charity mailing and call lists. I receive calls to purchase lottery tickets and to make one off or to join regular giving programs.

I have received some really solid telemarketing calls lately. The caller sounds to be, in my estimation, older and more seasoned than telemarketers of yesterday.

While I cannot see the actual telemarketer, they sound more mature and closer to my age rather than half my age. Additionally, the call is about me, my past support, why they need my support now, and how my support can make a difference.

It is not often that telemarketing firms receive compliments. But, I have been tweeting about many of the calls I have received lately. The callers are engaging, charming, and convincing. In fact, I have become such a good target for these calls and tend to make a donation, become a regular giver, and/or buy lottery tickets simply because of the way the caller handles me on the call.

Kudos to the telemarketing firms who appear to be hiring callers who are of similar demographics of their target audience. Even bigger applause to them for the training, which must be underway to ensure better quality results for charities.

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Finding the perfect CRM for your non-profit

Snip20150827_7Fundraising Institute Australia conducts webinars as a member benefit.  Yesterday I had the opportunity to present this month’s webinar. My presentation, titled Finding the Perfect CRM for your Non-Profit, highlighted there is no perfect CRM for non-profits and offered participants the FundraisingForce Ten Point CRM Search Process:

  1. Requirements gathering – Most organisations cannot fully describe their requirements. In order to be able to articulate your requirements to suppliers, you must first define them in-house and document those requirements. Part of requirements gathering is to also take a full inventory of your data, which is to be converted to the new CRM.
  2. Market research – Understand the market and the various products available to you. Prepare a list of those suppliers you may want to invite to your process, including the products those suppliers represent or hold. After conducting market research, you will match your requirements with suppliers and products in the market. Not every supplier will receive an invite to your process based on the matchback you will do.
  3. Request for Proposals – Create a well-written and though request for proposals (RFP). In the RFP be sure to identify the various aspects you would like the supplier to elaborate on, including things like: financial stability of the supplier, bench strength of the supplier, support and customer service models, and how the supplier proposes to meet the most important of your requirements.
  4. Invitations – Send invitations to the suppliers. In the invitation, be clear about your process, deadlines and any boundaries you have set for suppliers.
  5. Response meetings – Be open to conducting response meetings with suppliers. In these meetings, answer questions suppliers may have about your requirements.
  6. Proposals – Receive proposals by the stated deadlines. Adhere to the deadlines. If you extend a deadline for one supplier, extend it for all. Compare proposals against one another using a ratings system.
  7. Demonstrations – Conduct demonstrations with a team of individuals from your organisation who are key decision makers. Develop a rating chart for your team to use to evaluate the systems seen.
  8. Negotiations – Negotiate, negotiate, negotiate. Remember the list price is not the best price.
  9. Selection – Select the best of the lot based on the strength of the proposals, the demonstrations, and negotiations.
  10. Business plan – Write a business plan which you will deliver to senior leadership and to the board. Be sure to describe the process you have followed, your due diligence, and highlight your selection, reasons for your selection, as well as the true costs of ownership. In the business plan you also want to state the return on investment (ROI).

This ten point CRM search process may seem overwhelming, even daunting. The market can be confusing. You do not have to go at it alone. FundraisingForce and other consultancies offer assistance to charities seeking to run a thorough CRM selection process.

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Stephen Mally presents upcoming Webinars

Stephen Mally CFRE, Director of FundraisingForce, will be presenting two upcoming Webinars – the first focused on mystery shopping in the NFP sector and the second on finding the “perfect” CRM for your non-profit organisation.

19 August 2015, 12:00PM – 1:00PM: Secrets to NFP Mystery Shopper

In this Webinar, Mally will discuss the background of the study and convince you mystery shopping is critical to the Asia-Pacific NFP sector. Mally will also share the latest findings and offer you tips to:

  • Apply the latest findings.
  • Develop key performance metrics for your organisation.
  • Enhance customer service across your organisation.
  • Work toward a more donor-centric organisation.
  • Get involved in mystery shopping.

This self-funded study is a terrific service to the sector. Mally offers rich information for every organisation to put to good use.

Click this link to register.

26 August 2015, 12:00PM – 1:00PM: Finding the Perfect CRM for your non-profit

Does the perfect non-profit Constituent Relationship Management (CRM) or Supporter Relationship Management (SRM)  system really exist?

The answer is not a yes. But, it is also not a no. The answer to that question depends on whether your organisation runs a thorough process to search for the CRM/SRM, which is the best fit for your organisation based on the following:

  • Size of your organisation.
  • Business requirements identified for your organisation.
  • Future growth plans and strategies.

Stephen has conducted numerous CRM/SRM searches for Australian organisations. Stephen will focus on a 10-point process organisations should follow when conducting a search for a new CRM.

Selecting a CRM/SRM may well be the biggest decision and the largest investment your organisation makes. Investing in the process and ensuring your organisation makes the right decision is critical.

Click this link to register.

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User friendly and forward thinking fundraising platforms

End of Financial Year Savings Concept with end of financial year building blocks and wood calendar on white wood table.Tax time. It’s upon us. Stress about what it will bring, scrambling to find all your receipts and documentation, and regret about what you should have done are all factors this time of year.

I was pleased to receive an Email on 25 June from one of the fundraising platforms allowing me to print my annual giving receipt. I was even more pleased when the platform encouraged me to make additional gifts to the charities I had supported and to encouraged me to make that gift in the closing hours of the financial year.

It is my understanding that both GoFundraise and Everyday hero have this functionality and offer this end of year service.

The tax time annual receipt functionality is of great assistance to those who may not have kept receipts throughout the course of the year. Additionally, the prompt to give an additional gift before midnight on 30 June is an added bonus for the donor and the charity alike. We have a lot going on in the final five days of the financial year and these sites make it easy for the donor by simply including a link to the giving page.

Ease of use and convenience are two ways fundraising platforms make the donor and the charity’s lives easier. Hats off to GoFundraise and Everydayhero to leaders in the Australian marketplace.

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Finding the ‘perfect’ CRM is only half the battle for your non-profit organisation

 

Customer Relationship Management System CRM in word tag cloud

Has your non-profit acquired a new constituent relationship management (CRM) or supporter relationship management (SRM)? Did the process seem difficult? I hate to tell you, but that was the easy part. Now comes the hard part – implementing the CRM/SRM.

Most organisations do not realise they will need to review their business processes inside and out. Why? Some processes will need to be reshaped simply because they will not “fit” inside the new CRM/SRM. Other processes are antiquated and need a “remodel”. And, others have not even been invented yet within your organisation.

Most CRM/SRM suppliers will work with organisations to implement the new software in a sequential order, such as:

  • Security
  • Data conversion
  • Supporter management
  • Gift management
  • Event management
  • Other

It is best practice for organisations to develop a policies and procedures document in parallel with anyProcedures Folders Meaning Correct Process And Best Practice CRM/SRM implementation. The supplier may provide some documentation, which you will enhance for this added purpose. The policies and procedures document should be a living document, which you will make available to your end users in electronic format. This is a document you will maintain moving forward. The manual should never be “put on a shelf” and left unattended. Instead, your subject matter experts should keep the policies and procedures manual up to date any time a new procedure is developed or an existing procedure is enhanced. It is like cleaning a room in your home. Once it is clean it is easier to keep it clean than it is to start from scratch again.

Implementing a new CRM/SRM does not happen overnight and, in fact, the process from start to finish takes months. The length of time the process takes depends on a number of factors:

  • How well organised is your organisation going into the process?
  • How well developed and established are your existing processes?
  • How clean is your data?

Is your organisation in a transitional or maintenance frame of mind?

The CRM/SRM implementation is ripe with opportunity. Use the process as a renaissance for your organisation. Do not leave any stone unturned. Push the process, the supplier, and your team to truly transform your organisation.

Purchasing a CRM/SRM may be the single largest investment your organisation makes. Maximise the investment by doing it right.

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Finding the ‘perfect’ database for a non-profit

content‘Tis the season for non-profit organisations searching for the ‘perfect’ database.

There are countless organisations in Asia-Pacific searching for a new constituent relationship management (CRM) or Supporter Relationship Management (SRM) solution. All of these non-profit organisations are attempting to find the right fit, which will accelerate their organisations productivity.

Available Product

There are about 8 CRM/SRM key products or platforms in the Australian marketplace. Those products or platforms have many things in common, but there are some key differences across the systems as well. Additionally, a single supplier may have a variety of solutions to offer non-profit organisations.

Do your research before you approach these companies.

It’s About the Relationship

Non-profit organisations thrive on relationships staff create with donors, volunteers, and others. When a non-profit selects a new CRM/SRM, the suppliers are often very focused on the relationship. Ask current customers whether the relationship continued after the point of sale. Has the supplier continued to develop the relationship 1, 2, 3, 4, or 5+ years down the road or do they only contact customers when there is a sale to be had?

Remember, a relationships with a the CRM/SRM supplier goes beyond customer support. The relationship is about customer service.

Business Requirements

Are you really confident of your non-profit organisation’s business requirements? Are you able to articulate those business requirements to the market? Being able to communicate the requirements of each department in your organisation is essential in order to allow suppliers the opportunity to determine the best fit within their own product set.

While there are many products in the Australian market and they have many attributes in common, there are some key differences in the systems as well. It troubles me when I hear an organisation is signing a contract with a supplier simply because the supplier was “very nice” and “very professional” in the sales process. It further troubles me when an organisation is signing a contract with a supplier without having done their due diligence and conducted a search beyond that one supplier.

Dump your current CRM/SRM?

Moving away from your organisation’s current CRM/SRM may very well be the right decision, but it is not always a wise decision for every organisation. First you need to identify reasons you are looking to move away from the CRM/SRM. What are the reasons you feel the current system does not meet your organisation’s needs? Often times those reasons are not about functionality, but about internal factors such as business processes, training, and change management. No matter what CRM/SRM you adopt, your organisation may face the same internal issues again unless these issues are addressed.

Does the perfect non-profit CRM or SRM really exist? The answer is not a yes. But, it is also not a no. The answer to that question depends on whether your organisation runs a thorough process to search for the CRM/SRM, which is the best fit for your organisation based on the following:

  • Size of your organisation.
  • Business requirements identified for your organisation.
  • Future growth plans and strategies.

The Process

FundraisingForce is working with three non-profit organisations presently searching for systems. FundraisingForce suggests the following process when searching for the right CRM/SRM fit:

  • Examine the current CRM/SRM to determine its strengths and weaknesses. Be sure to examine what impact your organisation has had on the determined weaknesses. Sometimes this is the most difficult task to own.
  • Conduct a requirements gathering exercise and confirm the requirements with subject matter experts (SMEs) to be sure of accuracy.
  • Write a request for proposals document asking suppliers to respond to specific areas of interest to your organisation. You will seek information about functionality of the product, information about the supplier, and responses to questions. All of these will study the supplier’s strengths, weaknesses, stability and other critical factors.
  • Conduct a meeting with suppliers to review your process documents and to be available to answer any questions.
  • Create an internal selection committee.
  • Review proposals and answers to your requirements documentation.
  • Conduct demonstrations by suppliers about proposed product lines. Include an expanded audience (beyond your selection committee) to gain buy-in from staff across the organisation.
  • Check references offered by suppliers. Also, check references not provided by suppliers. You would not hire a candidate for a position simply based on what the references they provide say about their past. Simply calling the references a supplier puts forward is limiting.
  • Negotiate price. Whatever price the supplier puts forward is not the price that will be agreed to in the end. The fact is the supplier will want to know more information about your organisation, your business requirements, and other factors before the supplier is able to quote a more exact price. Remember price is only one piece of the overall process. Be sure to think through costs you will incur internally, as well, such as staffing and other variables.

Selecting a CRM/SRM may well be the biggest decision and the largest investment your organisation makes. Investing in the process and ensuring your organisation makes the right decision is critical. Once you select the CRM/SRM, the fun part starts – the implementation! I will write more about the implementation in a future post.

Does all of the above seem a bit daunting? Hiring experts, like FundraisingForce, who have worked on the supplier side to help you to navigate the process.

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Prepare for your tax appeal segmentation – now!

segmentation-feature-dBelieve it or not, we are talking Tax Appeals already. In fact, we are…a little late.

It’s surprising the organisations that send the same package with the same copy to everyone on their data set simply because it’s “too hard” to segment the data set and to craft messages for each segment. Other organisations rely on suppliers to segment the data when, in fact, these organisations could segment their own data with just a bit of help.

Organisations using The Raiser’s Edge, or other marquis CRM products, have the tools to create segmentation in house if they simply had the knowledge.

Any organisation lucky enough to have a CRM as powerful as The Raiser’s Edge, or the others in the market, should gain knowledge from an expert to create segmentation in house. It is not enough to bring in an outside expert to simply create your segmentation for the upcoming Tax Appeal. The knowledge should be transferred to your staff so segmentation may be created for future appeals as well.

Sending an appeal to everyone on the database simply because the supporter exists on the database is not good enough. Invest some time to create the segmentation on paper and then work with a FundraisingForce Consultant to build the segmentations strategy in your database. Ensure the strategy is future proof and may be used for the Christmas Appeal and beyond.

1 July will be here before we know it. Your appeal should be dropping in May. It’s nearly mid-March. Let’s work together to ensure a successful Tax Appeal for your organisation.

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How was your day? Your #GivingTuesday, that is.

Snip20141108_1Just one week ago today, our sector experienced #GivingTuesday. It appeared some Australian charities took advantage of this vast worldwide marketing campaign while others are still unaware of the campaign or have not yet jumped in.

Organisations like Blackbaud report worldwide giving on this #GivingTuesday was up 36% compared to #GivingTuesday 2013. Here are some other statistics reported:

  • Since the inaugural #GivingTuesday in 2012, overall online giving is up 159%.
  • Blackbaud processed more than $26.1 million in online donations on #GivingTuesday 2014, up from the $19.2 million processed on #GivingTuesday in 2013.
  • Online transaction volume grew 50% compared to 2013.
  • The average online donation on #GivingTuesday 2014 was $128.30, slightly down on last year.
  • 17% of online donation form views came from a mobile device.

RIDBC---TattoosRoyal Institute of Deaf and Blind Children (RIDBC) is the only Australian charity to have solicited me directly and mentioned #GivingTuesday in the solicitation. In fact, RIDBC sent me an SMS and asked me to give by responding with the word “Joy”. I complied and I was sent to a giving page where I was offered the chance to make a gift. After I made the donation, I received a thank you via SMS and I was offered the chance to give again. I gave it a “test” and retyped the word “Joy”, which automatically converted to an additional $5 contribution because my credit details had been tokenised when I made the original contribution.

GiveeasyAfter tweeting about this terrific experience, I learned RIDBC is using GiveEasy SMS as a new channel to offer supporters a fast, innovative, and effective way to give a donation.

If your charity did not participate in #GivingTuesday this year, why not start planning for next year’s #GivingTuesday and determine a means to wrap it in your organisation’s Christmas Appeal? Also, I suggest organisations give GiveEasy a review and see if SMS giving should be in your future. Perhaps you might implement SMS giving in the New Year!

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Giving Tuesday – 2 December – a day for FundraisingForce to give back

Snip20141108_1Giving Tuesday – a single day where each of us in Australia come together, along with the rest of the world, to give back to charities deserving of our support.

This year, on 2 December, Australian businesses, not-for-profits, charities, community groups, families and individuals are being encouraged to join a global movement and celebrate a day of giving to kick off the giving season. It’s called #GivingTuesday.

#GivingTuesday was started in 2012 by New York’s 92nd Street Y and the United Nations Foundation. The concept was, and still is, simple. The US has a day for giving thanks – it is the fourth Thursday of every November and one of the biggest public holidays of the year – Thanksgiving Day. The following day (and often times late night on Thanksgiving evening, is the largest retails tore shopping day of the year – called Black Friday. The following Monday is the largest shopping day of the year on the internet – Cyber Monday. So, the concept was born to create Giving Tuesday as a means to drive giving back to charity!  Together, different sectors were rallied together to ‘give back’ and support local not-for-profits, causes and communities. The inaugural #GivingTuesday saw over 2500 not-for-profit and business partners participate in different ways that not only resulted in awareness being raised of key issues but also a significant increase in giving on that day.

How can you get involved? #Giving Tuesday already offers you the basis for a marketing campaign and encourages your organisation (charity or supplier) to do the following:

Activate your community of supporters for #GivingTuesday and give them a fresh way to give. Or maybe you’d like to give back to them and find a way to say thanks or highlight the work that your volunteers do.

To get involved:

  • Sign up as a #GivingTuesday Australia partner
  • Register your initiative
  • Spread the word and get your community involved
  • If you’re partnering with a corporate partner, ask them to register as well!

FundraisingForce is a #Giving Tuesday partner. How is our company involved? We have been promoting #Giving Tuesday throughout the year on Twitter, Facebook and our blog and we will continue to promote #Giving Tuesday up to and including the day of this important event. Additionally, on #Giving Tuesday we will give a donation to each and every customer we have worked with this year since our company launched. It’s our way of saying “thanks” this holiday season and our way of ensuring we give back to organisations who have entrusted us as a leading fundraising consulting firm in Australia.

Whether you represent a charity, community organisation, or a supplier to the NFP sector, get involved in #Giving Tuesday now!

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Is your charity seeking feedback from supporters?

customerfeedbackSome charities never seek feedback from supporters. Other charities seek feedback from supporters once a year and that medium, typically supporter surveys, is used to update supporter contact details, gather information about the supporter, and determine information which will assist you to “speak” to the donor in a more direct fashion. Charities ask donors about their current address, mobile, and other contact details; charities ask supporters what interests they have philanthropically; and, they also ask the supporters whether they have included the charity in their estate planning.

Most charities do not ask the supporters what they can do to improve services, improve the way communications occur, or offer a supporter a chance to applaud a charity, vent about a situation, or offer constructive feedback.

This is an area where I think we can learn a lot from our corporate counterparts. Corporations typically ask for feedback to do one of two things:

  • To sincerely listen to the customer and to change the way a good or service is offered.
  • To offer a direct mechanism to give such feedback, so the consumer does not channel anger or frustration in a more public forum.

Why is it charities do not spend more time listening to their consumer (the supporter), gathering feedback, and acting on the feedback?

HiltonHilton Hotels, for example, leave a small card at the front desk of some hotels with a QR Code directing the customer to TripAdvisor where feedback might be left.

Harvey Norman 1Harvey Norman gives a similar sized card at cash registers with contact details to submit compliment or complaint. Many phone centres ask you to hold the line for a quick survey of your experience.

Yet, it is rare for a charity to seek feedback using any sort of creative examples. Additionally, the suppliers in the non-profit sector do not appear to seek feedback from those charities they call their customers.

What does all this mean? Do we believe we as a sector have it down to a science and we do not need to ask our supporters what they think? Do suppliers in the sector believe they, too, are serving customers well and there is no room for improvement?

In the end, charities and suppliers are dependant on supporters and non-profits to send comments rather than submit their views in response to a survey, a comment card, or some sort of response mechanism. Charities and their suppliers are leaving it up to a small percentage of people to serve as the voice for everyone. This means the comments received by charities and suppliers are typically from those upset rather than a balance of those providing constructive feedback and of those who believe the organisation is doing a great job. The end result may be business or fundraising decisions based on this very limited information.

Does your charity gain feedback from supporters? If so, how? Do your suppliers ask for your input? How do you provide feedback to suppliers?

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