Not for Profit CRM A Practical Guide Part 1

Written by Satha Arumanayagam GAICD, FCPA, FCMA

CRM, or by customer relationship management is a term borrowed from the corporate sector. And over the many years of its adoption into the Not for Profit sector, the term Not for Profit CRM has grown to include a variety of functional modules, with sector specific features and functionality:

member management volunteer management donor relationship management grants management

About Satha
Satha is passionate about o working with clients on business transformation initiatives and o rolling out tailored CRM based applications, working with COTS solution platforms such as: Microsoft Dynamics CRM and Salesforce Satha has wide experience in CRM based business applications including:
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Not for Profit CRM does every Not For Profit need a CRM system: Every not for profit manages relationships with external constituents, whether through a sophisticated tool or handwritten notes, Excel spread sheets, and miscellaneous databases. Managing data through informal and decentralised methods is inefficient, inherently risky and counterproductive. And isolated silos of contact data mean that:

the organisation has no control over the information transmitted i.e. constituents may only hear about fundraising and miss communication on volunteer projects or staff and client accomplishments etc.. the organisation does not have the opportunity to execute on planned programs and strategies i.e. donor cultivation, planned giving, recurring giving etc..

social CRM and integration with Big Data call centre solutions for wealth advisory brokers (financial services) grant and tender management solutions, case management solutions (government) member and volunteer management, case management, donation management, marketing automation (health & community care) student life cycle management, constituent management (higher education)

Constituents (member, donors, volunteers etc.) are the lifeblood of a Not for Profit organisation. Their support often permeates through every aspect of the organisations operations i.e. donations, fund raising, advocacy, business administration and board representation. It is, therefore, important for Not for Profit organisations to make every constituent/client contact count. And the need to have the most effective Not for Profit CRM systems in order that the organisation could grow a loyal donor base, increase the ratio of planned gifts, regularly cultivate the donor base to maintain an optimum level of giving, and promote the relevant messages to a target audience of volunteers, supporters, donors etc. Thus a CRM systems for a Not for Profit is more than the capability for email campaigns and fundraising letters; it is a core systems that supports all activities impacting the revenue line and the organisations public profile.

Satha has worked in pre-sales, service delivery, and regional practice leaderships roles with Epicor, Microsoft and HCL Technologies Satha is a Prince II practitioner, an accountant and a company director by education.

M: 61 (0) 417 321 257

w: svaglobal.com

e: satha@svaglobal.com

Not for Profit CRM A Practical Guide Part 1

Written by Satha Arumanayagam GAICD, FCPA, FCMA

Factors to consider when selecting a Not for Profit CRM solution:

look at the bigger picture: selecting a CRM solution is a business decision, heavily influenced by the IT, and not the reverse. The organisations IT strategy should be aligned with overall business strategy architecture (hosted vs. in house ): Organisations requiring a high level of integration with in house applications may go down the path of a in house solution. The additional costs associated with this option, including the need to strengthen and maintain the in- house IT support team, needs due consideration. A hosted solution, on the other hand, offers a Cloud based model that is easily deployable, requiring less internal support and maintenance. total cost of ownership: cost of every solution should be viewed in the context of a 5-7 year period, and analysed by its major cost components i.e. o first year licensing, customisations & implementation costs o internal IT resources o on-going training o annual maintenance o add- on modules o annual software subscription (SaaS model) o hosting costs future proof: The vendors road map for the solution should be matched with the anticipated solutioning requirements for organisation. The vendors plans to maintain and enhance the solution within the 5-7 year time horizon needs to be understood. sector experience & capability of the solution provider: a good solution provider/vendor will present reference sites and case studies to demonstrate their capability in deploying a Not For Profit CRM solution. Experienced players entering new market segments will offer to participate in the clients risk mitigation strategies by offering promotions such as: capped cost implementation projects, free trials on customisations, add on etc..

M: 61 (0) 417 321 257

w: svaglobal.com

e: satha@svaglobal.com