Must-Have Features to Look for in Online Donation Software

Online donation software allows nonprofits to track their supporters and donations in one place. When looking for donor management tools, consider your organization’s needs and determine the best features for you.

Features such as wealth screening, customizable constituent dashboards, and automated follow-up can help you find more match-eligible donors. These tools also allow nonprofits to grow their matching gift revenue.

Multi-Channel Donations

A first-class online donation tool helps supporters take their awareness of your cause and turn it into consistent financial support. The best nonprofit fundraising software provides multiple options to make this possible, including mobile-friendly donation forms and pages, customizable peer-to-peer fundraising tools, and a robust data reporting and analytics system.

When choosing online donation software, ask about automated features that can help keep your database clean and accurate by removing duplicate entries, standardizing names and addresses, and verifying email and phone numbers. These steps can save you valuable time and resources as you build stronger relationships with your constituents. In addition, check if the software includes SSL/TLS encryption and other security measures that can put donors’ minds at ease. This is especially important when using a public-facing form that collects sensitive information.

Email Marketing

Using email to engage your supporters with relevant messaging is essential to donor retention. When weighing your options, look for donation tools that offer flexible email marketing capabilities. These tools should easily integrate with leading site builders. They should also support recurring donations, which can help you keep donors engaged long-term and reduce your administrative workload.

Donor management software combines your nonprofit’s data in one place, helping you better understand your supporters. It can provide critical insights into your community, including demographics, employment information, and giving history. Some online donation tools include advanced reporting and analytics, which can help you identify potential match-eligible donors. These features, sometimes called match-eligibility tracking or donor identifiers, can be built into your form to screen employers and send custom follow-up emails automatically.

Additionally, if your organization plans to migrate to a new donor management system, choose a platform that can import your existing data without corrupting it. This can save your organization time and money when implementing the new software.

Social Media

Today’s online donors are accustomed to fast, hassle-free experiences and expect relevant and personalized information from their support organizations. They also expect to be able to donate quickly. That’s why choosing a donation platform enables supporters to check out quickly and efficiently by providing multiple payment methods on your donation forms is essential.

Ask your prospective donor management tool provider about transaction fees and other charges associated with using the platform. You may be required to pay processing fees, setup, training, data migration, etc. Also, ask about how your tools are secured to protect donor data. Look for features such as encryption, two-factor authentication, a secure firewall, and a security policy that includes regular vulnerability scans.

Automated Donations

Recurring donations can save your organization time and money. They are also an excellent option for your supporters, as they are familiar with the model from subscription services like cable, internet, content, and other monthly commitments. Automated payments also allow you to track trends and anticipate peaks in giving.

Look for an online donation platform that provides a streamlined process for collecting these critical funds. For instance, some platforms make it easy to add a one-click donate button on your website and social media pages that link directly to a secure payment gateway. These tools eliminate the need to redirect donors to your CRM or separate website and reduce the number of donors who abandon the giving process midway.

Other features enhancing your fundraising efforts include a peer-to-peer fundraising tool, event registration tools, wealth screening (which uses public records to estimate a supporter’s possible gifting), and employee matching gifts tools. A donor management Software tool should also allow you to filter contacts and donors based on various criteria, including personalization in your communications, and automatically generate tax summaries.

Reporting

Donor management software is an essential tool for nonprofit organizations of all sizes. It helps centralize all your donor data so that you can better understand your supporters and strengthen your relationships. It also helps you maximize your fundraising efforts by automating payments and providing recurring options like peer-to-peer fundraising.

Whether you use this tool for your online donation Software forms, volunteer registration, or event ticket sales, ensure it offers all the reporting capabilities your organization needs. This can include dashboards, reports on past and current donors, analytics on the success of your campaigns, and more. The more you know about your supporters, the better you can shape your campaigns, and fundraising asks to meet their needs.

Your donors today expect a fast and easy giving experience. They want relevant and personalized information and to have their profiles updated almost immediately. You need to capture and manage that data through an excellent online donation form optimized for recurring donations and donor management, equipped with an employee matching tool and features trustworthy security.