The role of automation in donor management

As the world grapples with economic uncertainty, geopolitical tensions, and other stressors, it has never been more important for nonprofits to manage donor relationships closely.

With increased competition for funding, each existing donor relationship all the more valuable.

Nonprofits must innovate in their fundraising strategies, strengthen donor engagement, and take advantage of potential efficiency gains, such as integrated systems that combine donor and financial data, to streamline operations and s ensure long-term sustainability.

See how Sage Intacct Fundraising powered by DonorPerfect automates donor management

Donor management automation can help nonprofits maintain strong ties to existing donors and acquire and nurture new supporters.

Automation offers better visibility into what works and what doesn’t in fundraising and helps clarify donor expectations.

This article will explore what is involved in successful nonprofit donor management and automation, such as Sage Intacct Fundraising powered by DonorPerfect, can enhance results and increase mission impact.

Here’s what we’ll cover

What is involved in donor management?

Donor management encompasses all the activities required to acquire, cultivate, and strengthen donor relationships.

This includes donor engagement, donor communications, fundraising, and outstanding financial stewardship.

Here is a rundown of the tasks involved in donor management:

Acquiring new donors

Find and attract new donors through outreach campaigns, events, and marketing efforts to expand revenue streams.

Nurturing donors

Cultivate and strengthen relationships with current and prospective donors by understanding their interests and motivations and aligning them with your organization’s mission and impact.

Engaging donors

Use personalized thank-you notes, newsletters, event invitations, social media campaigns, and other communications to reinforce relationships, demonstrate transparency, and highlight outcomes.

Demonstrating stewardship

Ensure donors feel valued and informed about the impact of their contributions to build trust and can lead to more significant donations.

Processing donations

Streamline the payment side of donor management, including managing payment methods, issuing receipts, and recording transactions to maintain accurate financial records.

Retaining donors

Increase the probability of repeated donations by keeping donors informed about your mission impact and opportunities to get involved.

Managing data, reporting, and analysis

Collect and analyze donation information to guide future communications and fundraising decisions.

Automation greatly enhances these various aspects of donor management, allowing nonprofits to leverage data-driven insights to navigate fundraising dynamics more effectively and stay better positioned to attract and retain donors in an evolving landscape.

How can donor management automation improve results?

Nonprofits benefit from donor management automation by saving time, reducing administrative burdens, and building and maintaining strong donor relationships.

Instead of getting bogged down by repetitive tasks, staff can focus on strategic activities and personalized engagement that drives donations.

Automation afforded by integrated accounting and fundraising functionality streamlines donor management and nonprofit finance.

Shared data empowers greater collaboration between the finance and development teams, ensuring financial accountability and transparency.

Here are nine ways integrated donor management automation can help your organization make a bigger impact and improve fundraising results:

Unified financial and fundraising data

Integrated systems provide a single platform for storing fundraising and financial data.

This consolidation minimizes discrepancies and ensures consistency, allowing finance leaders to maintain accurate records and facilitate reporting.

Streamlined donor management processes

When fundraising and accounting are integrated, processes such as donation tracking, receipting, and reporting become streamlined.

For example, recording a donation automatically updates the financial records and generates a receipt for the donor.

Accurate donor data

Integration reduces the chances of errors that can occur when transferring data between separate systems.

Automated updates ensure that financial reports and donor records are accurate and up to date.

Better reporting

Integrated software provides comprehensive reporting capabilities that help nonprofits generate detailed reports on donation trends, campaign performance, and financial health.

Improved visibility and reporting facilitate better decision-making and financial planning.

Improved donor insights

Donor management automation generates reports that help nonprofits analyze data and distill critical insights about donor behavior, campaign success, and fundraising effectiveness.

Efficient reconciliation

Integration simplifies the reconciliation of donations with bank statements and financial records.

It ensures that all transactions are accurately accounted for, making financial management and auditing more efficient.

Enhanced donor experience

Automation helps nonprofits ensure timely and consistent donor engagement.

For example, nonprofits can use automation to schedule and send personalized communications, including thank-you notes and program updates.

Improved fund management

For nonprofits managing multiple funds or campaigns, donor management automation helps track the allocation and usage of funds in real-time.

This ensures that funds are used as intended and that financial management aligns with the organization’s goals.

Maximized time and resource savings

Integration reduces the need for manual data entry and minimizes administrative overhead, allowing for staff to focus on strategic objectives that help provide financial stability.

Sage Intacct Fundraising powered by DonorPerfect automates donor management workflows

Sage Intacct Fundraising powered by DonorPerfect automates and streamlines donor management by combining fundraising and finance functionality.

With the combined power of the number one cloud fundraising solution and the number one nonprofit cloud accounting system at their fingertips, your development and finance teams can drive new levels of donor engagement and funding.

With Sage Intacct Fundraising powered by DonorPerfect, nonprofit teams can:

• Spend more time focused on donors and less on data and reporting
• Raise up to 25% more money in the first year of use
• Use donor data to create personalized communications that drive new donations
• Track donor engagement with your communications to refine your messaging and campaigns
• Demonstrate stewardship and build trust with your donor base
• Combine contributions with fundraising expense data for a real-time view of fundraising ROI
• Quickly measure, report on, and optimize performance

Sage Intacct Fundraising powered by DonorPerfect combines real-time financial and fundraising data into easily digestible insights.

Study who supports your organization and why they give so you can communicate more effectively with each donor.

Engagement tracking helps identify which messages hit the mark and which miss so you can calibrate fundraising tactics to your donor segments.

Once you dial in your fundraising results, you can improve strategic financial planning and budgeting.

Create personalized messages (including thank-you notes), and regular impact and program updates to keep donors involved and aware.

Intuitive, no-code email management with list segmentation enables you to create targeted outreach campaigns.

Sage Intacct supports fund accounting, enabling nonprofits to accurately track and report on restricted funds designated for specific purposes.

Sage Intacct outcome metrics help you demonstrate the impact your organization makes with each dollar of funding. All of this helps you tell your mission story and ensures donors remain engaged with your organization.

Final thoughts

With the current fundraising environment, nonprofits must do all they can to meet changing donor expectations for transparency and impact reporting while strengthening relationships and messaging to avoid donor fatigue.

In short, nonprofits need excellent donor management practices to take advantage of good funding opportunities.

Gaining visibility into your donor base and financial health helps leaders make data-driven decisions to cultivate donors, improve funding levels, and deliver mission impact.

Automated donor management provides a deeper understanding of what works and what doesn’t for all of your donor segments.

Communicating with donors more frequently and in a more personalized way improves the likelihood of larger or repeated contributions.

Explore the power of integrated donor management and nonprofit accounting automation.

Learn how Sage Intacct Fundraising powered by DonorPerfect can help you drive greater mission impact.

About the author

Natalie Anderson

Natalie Anderson is a senior nonprofit industry marketing manager for Sage Intacct.

With 10 years of experience in software marketing, Natalie is passionate about helping nonprofits leverage software to achieve mission success.