For their daily operations, nonprofits continue to rely on spreadsheets, emails, and even letter mailings. Donor management software can assist your nonprofit in making the most of its most important resource — its donors — by automating everyday tasks, facilitating communication with donors, and obtaining unique insights and trends into donor trends.

While nonprofits and charities frequently use spreadsheets, is it really the best way to manage, store, and visualize data. There may be some benefits to spreadsheets, however, it puts you at a major disadvantage even though they are a useful tool in your efforts to manage and record donor data for your nonprofit. Spreadsheets are an easy method to stay organized, but their usefulness is constrained.

1. Spreadsheets lack security

Spreadsheets can be distributed to anyone, everywhere unlike a dedicated system that requires access to log in.

2. Spreadsheets are cumbersome

While spreadsheets may be customizable and familiar, they are not user-friendly nor lend themselves to automated marketing campaigns.

3. No single source of data

With spreadsheets, team members start out working from the same file, but it does not last for long. Frequently, multiple versions get created over time as each person make their own updates.

4. Reporting takes too long

To manually analyze rows and columns of data can take hours and that’s assuming the data is accurate and updated. Getting statistics from your marketing efforts and drawing solid insight is a long tedious process.

5. Risk of data loss

You run the risk of losing data when using different spreadsheets. If a computer has a malfunction, is stolen, or is breached, your data is gone unless you constantly do secure backups.

6.  Lack of accessibility and visibility

Remote and mobile access to a central donor management system can boost productivity by more than 30%. Spreadsheets don’t give you a complete picture and sharing and updating data is not managed from a central repository.

7. Lack of scalability

Spreadsheets will need to expand as soon as your nonprofit and donor list grows. But the likelihood of errors and broken formulas increases with the size of the spreadsheet making it more difficult to manage.

8. Not the tool for cultivating relationships

Spreadsheets are great for inputtingquantitative information, but it does not enable nonprofits to manage relationships. More columns can be added, but it is not possible to effectively track interactions with donors, contributions, volunteers’ time, and program initiatives.

Technology saves the day

If your charity or nonprofit is still struggling with the burden of paperwork and antiquated procedures, the time has come to make changes. The demand for nonprofits to adequately manage donor data is expanding. tracking donations, refining communications with contributors, and gaining a better knowledge of the most important elements of a nonprofit’s business.  

Story Resonate offers a true donor management system that will significantly improve the quality and quantity of data that can help guide targeted fundraising efforts. Compared to conventional methods of collecting and storing donor data, a donor management system has various benefits, including workflow automation, guaranteed data protection, access to metrics, and increased marketing engagement.