Nonprofit software: purchase guide
What is an online Association Management Software?
Definition
Software for charities are web-based multi-tasking management tools. The finance and accounting module should enable foundations to manage private and public donations, the accounting part to manage employee remuneration, and the CRM part to track donors. All this while saving time and money.
How it works
The cloud-based software solutions for non-profit associations are composed of several modules. These modules allow foundations to customise their use of the software according to their needs. The accounting and finance part allows the management of donation payments, payment methods, payment processing, tax receipts. The contact module, like a CRM, is designed to manage the contact details of the various donors and the communications addressed to them. The project management section should allow the organisation of the workflow and the allocation of resources to the different missions of the association.
What are the main functionalities of a software for SaaS charities?
Donation management: NGOs derive most of their income from donations from individuals or public institutions. Good donation management is essential. Especially as more and more donors want to know how their money has been used. This is why it is necessary for associations to have an efficient module for the management of the money collected during the various campaigns.
Membership management: The core of every modern association administration. With Association Management Software you can carry out the management of membership easily and effectively. From easy maintenance of membership data to association communication - numerous functions help you to comprehensively look after your association members.
Communications management: Foundations have a vested interest in having a well-functioning and effective communications strategy. To help them, the tools are equipped with modules to monitor the performance of the various communication campaigns over several communication channels (email, sms, mail, etc).
Budget management: Once donations have been collected, they are allocated to different projects (humanitarian missions, social or environmental actions). It is therefore essential to monitor expenditure. It is also important to monitor the structure's online payments and operating costs.
Online surveys: The module for online surveys helps you to determine the wishes of your members quickly and without additional costs. Surveys with both multiple-choice and text response fields can be created quickly and the results can be viewed at any time.
Data analysis: In the work of an association, data of various kinds must be evaluated - whereby each association looks at its own aspects. The evaluation tool creates user-defined and ready-made data evaluations so that you have quick access to the desired membership data.
Document management: Instead of searching for a long time, find the desired information with the document management module. Digitising documents reduces paperwork and protects the environment. A barcode option makes documents uniquely identifiable and makes sorting errors virtually impossible.
Event management: No matter whether it is a small or large event - with the event management module you can manage all relevant information in a targeted manner. Resource management supports you in planning, and contacts can be specifically informed with user-defined invitations.
Member portal: The member portal offers every association member access to their own protected area. This enables members to communicate directly within the association software, download contact-related documents or contact forms, and access picture galleries.
Who uses NGO software?
National or international non-governmental organisations, charities, foundations, for example in the field of sponsorship, and all non-profit organisations, whatever their size or field, can use Association Management Software.
Why use software for foundations?
Benefits
- Improves the management of donations, whether from public institutions or private donors.
- Allows a detailed analysis of budgets according to humanitarian, social or environmental missions.
- Facilitates reporting, event management, and event registration.
- Saves time and productivity for employees.
- Allows several people to collaborate on different modules.
- Facilitates content management of your web-site.
- Helps with your marketing strategy (email marketing, sms-marketing, etc.).
- Enables you to manage your social media efficiently.
Disadvantages
There are no free management systems really dedicated to non-governmental organisations. The free tools are the same as those used by companies and therefore do not take into account the specific needs of member-based organizations.
How to choose a tool for NGOs?
Criteria
- Number of contacts managed
- Sorting and processing of contact and donor data
- Monitoring of communications on all channels (SMS, emails, direct mail, etc)
- Multilingual configuration for international organisations
- Interfacing with other solutions is possible, especially for accounting purposes
- Reports that can be consulted and exported in a few clicks
