Financial ManagementVolunteer Management

Ministry software: Why you should track and manage data

Keeping a ministry running smoothly is no easy task. While you probably love the work you do coordinating everything and building relationships with people, it’s important to keep donor and volunteer data up to date. However, this can be difficult to do while dealing with all of the other aspects of the ministry. Utilizing a software solution can help you keep track of any relevant donor or volunteer information. According Jan McGowan Nonprofit Consulting, tracking information helps you cultivate relationships with people so they can help support your organization.

Keep track of long-term relationships
Keeping donor and volunteer relationships strong is key when it comes to ministries, and software can help make sure you’re in touch with donors and volunteers and keeping people engaged. Software solutions can track donor activity and make it easier to reach out to donors and volunteers during fundraising seasons or right before a new event. Email campaigns and other marketing efforts are made easier by the automation processes that come with donor management software. Retention of dedicated people is how the ministry is going to continue its mission.

According to a study by CharityDynamics and the Nonprofit Technology Network, around 55 percent of donors make a donation once or twice a year and 75 percent of donors give money to more than one cause. Because of this, it’s important to reach out to donors and make sure they give to your ministry when they decide to make a donation.

Track histories
Knowing how a donor or volunteer has helped in the past can help you predict if they will provide assistance in the future. While tracking all of this history can take a lot of time and effort, with the right software, much of the tracking is done automatically. This allows you to see trends in volunteer and donor activity, and use that information to inform campaigns and events for the future.

Also, historical information can help you keep track of how much money your donors are providing. From there you can create a system of ranking donors that will inform how your reach out in them in the future.

Keep contact information
Up-to-date contact information is a must if you’re running a new campaign for donations or have an event scheduled. Without the right contact information, reaching the right audience with your marketing efforts would be nearly impossible. Software can keep emails, addresses and phone numbers all in one easily-accessible place, so when you need that information for your next fundraising campaign, you have it.

Help with new relationships
A good software solution can help track new relationships as well as long-term ones. New information can be just as easily inputted and accessed as old and it goes in to the system in a neat and organized manner. This allows you to utilize those new relationships in much of the same way you do with the older, more mature relationships. You can add them to your email lists or contact them when you start an new fundraising campaign.