How do you navigate selecting a future CRM?
Your donors are living in an ever-changing world, and so is your nonprofit. Organizations must adapt and innovate into the future to grow giving.
These conversations often revolve exclusively around technology needs. What can a system do? How does a platform work? What kind of technology do you need?
But this decision is so much more than just technology.
Your nonprofit technology should feel like a partnership, not a transactional service. So what else should you look at when you’re choosing a vendor, and what are the key questions you need to ask your team? Here are 7 key principles nonprofit leaders should consider when evaluating technology.
- Philosophy
- People
- Passion
- Platform
- Performance
- Price
- Partnership
We created a 7 part video series to dive into each of the principles– because it is more than a technology decision.
The 7 Key Principles Nonprofits Leaders Should Consider When Changing Technology
Principle #1: Philosophy
Technology isn’t a fix-all solution. Technology should complement and unlock the deeper capabilities of your people and your team to grow impact. We are grounded in a methodology called Responsive Fundraising.
Responsive fundraising puts the donor at the center of fundraising and grows giving through personalized donor journeys that respond to the needs of each individual. The responsive approach builds trust and loyalty through personalized engagement.
Our responsive approach guides our decisions not only in the product itself but as a company on the whole. It informs who we hire. It keeps us close and current to the pain points and needs nonprofits experience. And it keeps us focused on our mission to grow global generosity.
Principle #2: People
Companies are made up of people, and those people are a vital element in changing your technology. Ask yourself, “Do the people behind the product I’m purchasing align with my own values?”
How do those values align with your organizational values and mission?
At Virtuous, we are a team of nonprofit transplants, fundraising experts, data scientists, and seasoned technology professionals. We are passionate do-gooders and innovators who believe in partnering with nonprofits to grow global generosity.
Principle #3: Passion
Giving is deeply personal, and our mission to grow global generosity is the spark that drives our people and our product. We’re partnering with nonprofits to help them grow generosity to transform and impact our communities and our world. Our nonprofit partners are doing life-changing work.
Our team of nonprofit transplants, industry veterans, and technology experts is driven by a set of core values that inform how and why we are so passionately committed to uplifting the philanthropic sector.
- We believe in building better – for ourselves, our partners, and the sector
- We are responsive – we believe that personal relationships drive generosity
- We stay humble and lead with joy – we take our work seriously, but not ourselves too seriously
- We always grow together – the sum of our parts is greater than the whole.
Principle #4: Platform
As your team begins to explore alternative platforms to your legacy CRM, you may begin asking yourself a number of questions:
- What goals are you hoping to achieve with a new platform?
- Is your current legacy system helping you achieve your fundraising goals?
- After reviewing your performance, how can a new platform help achieve those milestones?
- Is your current legacy system enabling you to be a responsive fundraiser?
- Does your current legacy system provide user-friendly contact management features?
- Does your current legacy system have robust integrations?
These are all vital questions to consider when switching to a new CRM platform. As nonprofit fundraisers, wouldn’t you like to align yourself with a company that puts the heart of the donor at the center of their product? At Virtuous, donors and fundraisers are at the core of our mission and our platform was built by people with a wealth of experience in the nonprofit world across various sectors. We believe that a platform should enable your team to go beyond crunching numbers and gathering helpful insights into data. It’s about connecting with your supporters in a truly meaningful, real way.
Principle #5: Performance
Responsive as our philosophy informs that the environment that nonprofits exist in is rapidly changing. And we believe that technology should provide solutions that allow fundraisers and nonprofit teams to grow impact by building deep donor relationships at scale.
That’s why on Virtuous, we see our nonprofit partners on average:
- Grow giving by 10%
- Grow donor retention by 12%
- Save 20% of their time with automation
- Technology ROI: 10x
Helping nonprofits increase generosity is why we release 9 product updates a year. We remain agile and nimble to add features that serve our customers in an ever-changing environment.
Principle #6: Price
When evaluating any technology, price is certainly a consideration. Much like when you visit a grocery store, it’s a prudent part of the buying journey to cost compare. You wouldn’t want to pay $5 for one apple when an entire bag can cost the same amount! But pricing consideration for new technology goes beyond the dollar amount on a contract.
- What levels of support, metrics, and features are part of your selected plan?
- How willing is your organization to make an investment in your fundraising system?
- What additional integrations will we need for a holistic supporter picture?
When viewing the pricing for a new CRM, look beyond the final total and instead look at the broader, more holistic picture. What goals will your team be able to accomplish with this new technology? How can you grow your supporters’ generosity and in turn, what projects and campaigns could that fund to make a difference in your community? How much time would you save with a new system, and what valuable things could you do with that time?
Principle #7: Partnership
Virtuous provides year-round support from a dedicated account manager for the entirety of our partnership. We have a 90%+ retention rate (far above industry averages) with our customers and typically see customers deepen their YOY engagements with Virtuous because of the success they see on the platform.
We also provide ongoing opportunities for our customers to learn and grow with the platform with our team through a weekly webinar called The Insider. We provide weekly resources and live training to help nonprofits leverage Virtuous.
Are you ready for more?
Connect one-on-one with a nonprofit advisor at Virtuous today to learn how we can work together to deepen your impact.
