Hosted CRM Helps Charities Ride Out Recession

Yesterday, I dipped into my past experience in public radio and television to show you how CRM software plays an important role in keeping PBS and NPR on the air. Today, I want to look at the methods non-profits from all walks of life are using hosted CRM to support their missions.

When I worked in public radio, CRM software was relatively expensive to purchase and required lots of regular database maintenance. We could justify the cost by looking at the additional revenue we generated by using the tools. However, when I consulted or sat on the boards of smaller non-profits, many of them couldn't even think about raising the kind of money required to manage a sophisticated CRM software solution.

Thanks to today's wave of hosted CRM applications, that's changing. Now, a very small broadcaster can stage an efficient fund drive by using web-based pledge forms. While audience members at home can donate directly through a station's website, operators at a studio can use backend web tools to transfer member information directly into a CRM database. Instead of ramping up staff to handle data entry and paper shredding, volunteers can use borrowed or rented computers to process a pledge online, in real time.

Hosted CRM applications allow charities to ramp up gradually as they grow. A small charity can acquire a single seat license for most hosted CRM tools inexpensively, while gaining the same kind of fundraising power that large organizations enjoy.

Utilizing hosted CRM allows organizations to unify their relationships with donors. In the past, donors would complain of fatigue when receiving newsletters from one branch of an organization, fundraising letters from another, and solicitation calls from a third. Today, hosted CRM tools let multiple departments get a full view of their relationship with a donor. By coordinating outreach efforts and factoring in a donor's history, fundraisers can save money while improving their renewal and conversion rates.

Finally, hosted CRM allows non-profits to tap into their most lucrative resource: the brain power of distributed volunteers. Since most hosted CRM systems can be accessed from any secure web browser, fundraising managers can open access to volunteers around the world for help with data maintenance or donor service. No longer tethered to a home office, non-profits can enable telecommuting volunteers to help provide mission-based services or to manage targeted campaigns. Because local contacts help national charities fundraise more effectively, hosted CRM tools have become a hit with organizations that stage charity events or neighborhood canvassing projects.

Thanks to vendor sponsorships and private donations, sophisticated CRM systems are within reach of most charities, churches, and community organizations. Using these tools effectively still takes effort, but the potential results dwarf the possibilities that existed just a decade ago.