Robert Weiner

JANUARY 11, 2009

I thought it might be useful to compile a list of all of the commercial donor databases I’m aware of. This list came from my head, my bookmarks, and lists compiled by NTEN and Idealware for their donor management software surveys (and I’m not certain all of these are actually donor databases). Donor Quest.

Database 100

Database Donor Kintera Oracle 100

Robert Weiner

FEBRUARY 23, 2009

Idealware just published an article by Keith Heller called Do You Need New Donor Management Software? Keith urges nonprofits to look before they leap into new software, cautioning that "new software may not make anything better — in fact, it could make things worse."

Software 100

Software Management Donor Summary 100

Robert Weiner

JANUARY 5, 2009

Marketing research firm Campbell Rinker has published the results of its latest survey of donor and member management software. Of the 841 respondents, 27% would NOT recommend their current systems to a comparable organization, 26% were unsure, and 47% would give a positive recommendation.

Survey 100

Survey Results Database Donor 100

Robert Weiner

JULY 24, 2014

The credit card scam/fraud attempt that many nonprofits have experiences starts with a very large online gift from an unknown donor. The addresses of the “donors” are all in sequence, or all within the same zip code. Some organizations even go so far as to require a CAPTCHA or RECAPTCHA field in order for a donor to make a gift online.

Online 233

Online Giving Oregon Gift 233

Robert Weiner

AUGUST 30, 2012

Today the news is that Blackbaud is killing off Common Ground , one of the two donor management products (aka CRMs or Constituent Relationship Management systems) that they acquired from Convio. In what was said to be an unrelated development, they also announced the departure of Gene Austin, the former CEO of Convio.

Blackbaud 264

Blackbaud Convio Database Austin 264

Robert Weiner

JUNE 3, 2010

Here they are, with links: Donor Retention. The Agitator’s post “No New Donors!&# [link]. Attracting New Donors. Donor Databases. Idealware's "Consumers Guide to Low Cost Donor Management Systems" [link]. AFP's Fundraising Effectiveness Project: [link]. Ebook: [link]. Social Media.

Resource 138

Resource eBook Social Media ROI 138

Robert Weiner

JANUARY 27, 2012

There are tons of choices out there for small and mid-sized organizations. Idealware’s Consumer’s Guide to Low Cost Donor Management Systems reviewed 30 systems, the majority of which don’t come from Convio or Blackbaud. But that product started out with development and support from a major organization (the Metropolitan Opera).

Blackbaud 222

Blackbaud Convio Open Source Product 222

Robert Weiner

FEBRUARY 11, 2011

Some organizations make that person fix the mistake. Donors will give online and misspell their own names, or leave the caps lock on. Decentralized data entry is efficient and is the only practical approach at some organizations. You don’t need a week of training to enter a contact report. Monitoring. Retraining. Automation.

Data 195

Data Listserv Database Policy 195

Robert Weiner

SEPTEMBER 20, 2012

I’ve been hearing from many large organizations that are wondering whether they should be looking elsewhere. I doubt they’re the only ones. Nonprofits that are currently using Common Ground Enterprise, Luminate, and Convio Online Marketing are also nervous. That discussion continued on my blog.

Blackbaud 171

Blackbaud Convio Database Statistics 171

Robert Weiner

FEBRUARY 9, 2015

If you technology decisions at your organization are driven by some of the following, we’d love to see you at NTEN''s Nonprofit Technology Conference (aka the NTC): We chose the system because we have a volunteer who knows it. It worked great at my last (completely dissimilar) organization. She’ll figure this out!”.

Problem 100

Problem Technology NTC System 100

Robert Weiner

MAY 5, 2010

69% of the organizations they looked at raised more online in 2009 than in 2008, while 31% raised less. Donors were still giving, but in smaller amounts. Most organizations saw declines in average gift size. Small organizations grew fastest. Its findings included: 14% growth in online giving overall.

Stats 131

Stats Online Giving Convio 131

Robert Weiner

AUGUST 17, 2009

All of the industry sectors analyzed in the index had revenue declines over this period, and all but one sector had declines in donors as well. For the first time since the index began in 2002, overall revenue per donor declined; revenue per donor declines were experienced by two-thirds of the organizations in the index.

Retention 100

Retention Metrics News Analytics 100

Robert Weiner

FEBRUARY 8, 2009

Will the Twestival organizers send tax receipts to the donors, or will that fall to charity:water? Will charity:water get contact information for the donors so they have the opportunity to steward them and build ongoing relationships? Will the donors have any loyalty to charity:water? I fear it will be the latter.

Raise 100

Raise Twitter Contact Gift 100

Robert Weiner

MAY 4, 2010

I often see RFPs that are quite lengthy and well-considered, and looking for a system that has huge strategic value to an organization, but the required turn-around time to respond to the RFP is very short – often only 2 or 3 weeks. Tags: Databases Donor Databases IT Management Nonprofit Technology Software.

Software 112

Software Database Phase Proposal 112

Robert Weiner

JANUARY 27, 2010

C3 is looking for examples of how organizations can increase internal communication, communication between donors, clients and communities, and/or effective communication strategies in times of crisis or other large scale campaigns.

Grant 100

Grant Donation Audio Program 100

Robert Weiner

JANUARY 5, 2009

My friend and fellow consultant John Kenyon is fond of saying that, after people, data is an organization’s most important asset. An organization’s databases store its history: contact records; people served; donors, funders, and prospects; VIPs, volunteers, and vendors; event attendees, and more.

Data 100

Data Database History Attention 100

Robert Weiner

JULY 17, 2009

The responses came primarily from academic institutions, but also included significant numbers from healthcare, religious, and social service organizations. The findings included: 96% of respondents accept matching gifts (down from 99% in 2008), but only 60% actively ask individual donors to request matching gifts.

Gift 100

Gift Practice Survey Technique 100

Robert Weiner

JANUARY 7, 2009

The impact of long recessions on giving varies by donor types. Not all organizations, or types of groups, experience the same changes in giving, even in recession years. He summarizes: Overcoming fears and concerns of staff, board members, and donors may be THE most important task at hand today. in years with a recession.

Gift 100

Gift Fundraising Comparison Foundation 100

Robert Weiner

FEBRUARY 3, 2009

She advises organizations to: Give donors what they want: To feel good. NetworkforGood’s Katya Andresen’s blog, Nonprofit Marketing, offers nonprofits 5 suggestions for surviving the economic downturn. To hear from people they know. Tangibility.

Advice 100

Advice Tag Marketing Donor 100

Robert Weiner

JANUARY 27, 2009

The responses came primarily from post-secondary schools, but also included elementary schools, healthcare, museums, gardens, performing arts, and service organizations. The findings included: Although 99% of respondents accept matching gifts, only 67% actively ask individual donors to request matching gifts. 63% raised over $50,000.

Gift 100

Gift Practice Survey Museum 100

Robert Weiner

FEBRUARY 10, 2009

Beth titled her post Are Fundraising Groundswells A Massive Opportunity or Distraction for Nonprofit Organizations? And yet a year later, when nothing has changed for all the other millions of families, those donors become disillusioned. and didn’t reach a conclusion either way.

Social Media 100

Social Media Media Fundraising Social 100

Robert Weiner

JANUARY 5, 2009

My friend and fellow consultant John Kenyon is fond of saying that, after people, data is an organization’s most important asset. An organization’s databases store its history: contact records; people served; donors, funders, and prospects; VIPs, volunteers, and vendors; event attendees, and more.

Data 100

Data Database Laptop Convio 100

Robert Weiner

NOVEMBER 14, 2009

While the majority (of respondents) began using social networking with an expectation that it would help the organization attract donors and volunteers, results have been particularly disappointing in those categories. It concludes that: Social technologies are not delivering much in terms of fundraising or attracting volunteers.

Social Media 100

Social Media Volunteer Media Social 100

Robert Weiner

FEBRUARY 10, 2010

Unlike their earlier guides (to inexpensive donor databases, content management systems, online donation tools, etc.) Idealware recently released its Fundraising, Communications and Outreach. this one is an actual book (84 pages, paperback) and costs actual money ($19.95, plus, I assume, shipping and maybe tax).

Software 100

Software Guide Communication Fundraising 100

Robert Weiner

MARCH 4, 2010

An organization like Habitat wouldn't look for employees by sending mass emails to "undisclosed recipients." Hello Prospective Employee, At HABITAT FOR HUMANITY INTERNATIONAL, we work hard to improve and provide training, technical expertise and support in fund-raising to the national organizations in all the regions of the world.

Haiti 122

Haiti Fundraising Spam gMail 122

Robert Weiner

DECEMBER 6, 2012

The premise is that complaints about an organization's database may be misdirected: the problem is how the system is being managed (aka management problems disguised as technology problems). I'm working on an article with the title, "Maybe It's Not Your Database, It's You."

Database 156

Database Law Policy Training 156

Robert Weiner

DECEMBER 12, 2011

It's in their DIY series -- short tips for implementing something for your organization without extensive tech know-how or extra budget. NTEN just published a short piece of mine on data management in their Change magazine. The topic they gave me was managing decentralized data entry.

Data 122

Data NTEN Tech Tips 122

Robert Weiner

MARCH 20, 2009

A new study released by Blackbaud’s Target Analytics division suggests that first-time online donors do not become recurring donors. One-time Internet givers to the 12 organizations who reported their fundraising data in January gave a median of $27 more than those who made single gifts by mail. read more.

Donor 100

Donor Online Giving Mail 100

Robert Weiner

JANUARY 12, 2009

There’s much more to come, so you’ll want to keep up with all the action on our website, where you can already: * Browse the list of breakout sessions, where you’ll hone the knowledge you need to help your organization meet its mission: [link]. *

NTEN 100

NTEN San Francisco Registration Conference 100

Robert Weiner

JANUARY 5, 2010

These are the people who need to determine whether a contribution can be counted as a gift, which fund it should go to, who is the legal donor, whether it's tax deductible and who gets tax credit, whether accepting it violates any federal, state,or organization rules, who should be notified of the gift's arrival, etc.

Service 171

Service Policy Law System 171