How to Leverage Technology to Better Support Your Nonprofit's Mission

As a nonprofit leader, it can be overwhelming to continuously look for ways to bolster your nonprofit's community presence. You need to keep in contact with your current donors, create new donors, appeal to your Board Members, and engage your volunteers, all while staying connected to your cause. That is a lot, but you can leverage different tools to help.

This is why the entire team here at StratusLIVE is so passionate about what we do. We know that our technology is a tool (hello tip #3 below) that gives our nonprofit clients more time in their day to focus on the people and mission. So let's get into the topic at hand - How to Leverage Tech to Better Support Your Nonprofit's Mission.

1. Embrace new ways of working.

Do you find that your development team has to check several sources to gather a complete picture of a donor? Could your fundraising strategies be streamlined?

Consider diving into your current processes, have a meeting of the minds to talk through what those sources are and what individual steps need to be taken to get there. You'd be surprised how quickly your team could set up a few workflows to guide a process and save time if you took a bird's eye view. 

Our project managers love to be in on this process with clients. We find that our approach of having one primary project manager for the client means each client feels as if they have an additional staff member who knows our nonprofit CRM and your database in its entirety. 

 

2. Take advantage of social media for outreach and awareness.

Most likely, when someone searches online for information about your organization, social media channels will appear near the top of the search. By continuously sharing information on your social media channels, you ensure that your information is up to date and relevant to your current campaigns. Not only are you maintaining relevancy, but you are also showing transparency. 

 

3. Capitalize on your CRM data.

Think about the plethora of donor data at your fingertips within your CRM, then use it to your advantage and make it actionable. Donor segmentation can help you craft personalized and genuine connections with your donors.

Before building your list, keep in mind that just because you are tracking the information, it doesn't mean that it's necessary to know for your particular campaign. Begin by identifying the desired result of your campaign and then build your list accordingly. 

One example is to segment on preferred communication method (text message, direct mail, email, phone conversation.) If you send a solicitation to a donor using the method they prefer, they will be more apt to respond, i.e., Don't send direct mail to a donor who has an affinity toward environmental causes.

 

4. Stay connected.

We have a full-length post on developing an interconnected nonprofit in the all-digital world. We highly recommend you head there next, but the long and short of it is, keep both your internal and external connections front of mind. Your internal team members are your biggest advocates; their passion for your mission is palpable on and off the clock. There are plenty of tools out on the market that can help you foster this connection, choose the one that meets your organization's needs, and keep moving forward.

 

The moral of the story - let your technology do all the work it can for you. And talk to the experts if you don't know where to start or how to get there.

Posted by Alyssa Pacheco

Alyssa Pacheco is a former Digital Marketing Manager, Nonprofit Solutions at StratusLIVE. She has three years of marketing and communications experience within the technology sector, along with four years of direct nonprofit fundraising experience. “I genuinely enjoy sharing the significant benefits that technology plays for nonprofit organizations in their social good efforts.”

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