Every few months I get a version of the same phone call from a nonprofit fundraiser or executive director. Revenue is flat, the major gift program has stalled, and someone on the team has decided the answer is new software. They have demos scheduled and a comparison spreadsheet built, and they want a recommendation.
I’m happy to give an opinion. But first I ask what their current system can’t do that they need done… and the answer is usually something that will have very little effect on their fundraising success.
Let me be clear about one thing: you do need a CRM. Running a fundraising program out of an inbox and a stack of legal pads doesn’t work. Every nonprofit needs one place where donor records live, gifts get recorded, and contact history gets written down.
For very small organizations, that may be an Excel sheet or an Airtable. For most nonprofits, it’s a fundraising-focused CRM. What you probably don’t need is a better one than the one you already own.
Great Processes Beat Great Software
I’ve worked with organizations raising serious money on databases a consultant would call inadequate. Some were running software a decade out of date. One was a very well-kept spreadsheet with a disciplined development director behind it.
They thrived anyway, because the work that actually raises money was happening on schedule. Someone was identifying new prospects every month. The ED spent time meeting with donors and motivating board members. Asks got made, and follow-up happened when it was supposed to happen.
I’ve seen the reverse too, and it’s uglier. The organization buys a new database with great reviews, spends a year and tons of money on the migration, retrains the staff, and raises about what it raised the year before. The dashboards are beautiful, but the pipeline is empty.
Strong processes and weak software will still get you where you’re going. Strong software and weak processes won’t.
What’s Really Broken?
When fundraising stalls, the problem is usually the work itself, not the place where the work gets recorded. Most of the time it comes down to a handful of things:
- Prospecting has slowed. New names trickle into the top of the funnel instead of arriving on a schedule, so the pipeline quietly ages out.
- Cultivation is accidental. Donors hear from you when somebody happens to remember them, not on a schedule anyone owns.
- Asks aren’t being made on a regular basis. Or they’re being made by two people on a team of eight, while everybody else stays busy with events and reports.
- Follow-up is inconsistent. The ask gets made, the donor says they need to think about it, and then three weeks disappear.
A software migration doesn’t fix any of that. Your new CRM will hold the same thin pipeline your old CRM held, all that’s different are the menu options.
The Test to Run Before You Shop
Here’s what I tell clients who are convinced they need to buy a new donor database. Open the system you have right now and answer three questions:
Can you pull a list of your top 50 donors? Can you see when each one was last contacted, and by whom? Can you record what was said on a call so the next person who picks up that relationship isn’t starting cold?
If you can do all three, your database is probably good enough. The problem is almost certainly with your processes, not your software.
If the honest answer to one of those questions is no, if your system genuinely can’t track a relationship over time, then yes, you should go shopping. That’s a real limitation and there are good, affordable options at every size. Just don’t expect the purchase itself to move your numbers, because the software only builds the container. Your team still has to fill it.
When It Really Is the Software
Of course, sometimes the problem really is the software. Not often, but sometimes. Here’s what that looks like: Your processes are strong. Your team logs every contact and pulls real reports off the data, and the pipeline gets worked on schedule. Then the system itself becomes the bottleneck, because it can’t segment the way you need, it can’t connect with your other software platforms, or it breaks down at the volume you’re now running.
That’s the moment to go buy something better. You’ll know which limitations you’re solving for, and the new platform will bring your program benefits that address real needs in your development program. Most organizations start shopping long before they get there.
Do the Work First
If your revenue is flat, systemize the work before you go looking for a new CRM. Put prospecting on the calendar. Write down who owns each major donor relationship. Decide what a cultivation cycle looks like at your organization, then hold people to it. (My guide to simple but effective moves management shows what a systematized major gifts program looks like on whatever donor CRM you already have.)
Do that for six months on the database you already own. If you’re still hitting a wall, you’ll know it, and you’ll be better prepared to shop for a new CRM that addresses your real fundraising bottlenecks.
Photo Credit: Tim van der Kuip on Unsplash
