According to the Independent Sector’s, “The Value of Volunteer Time” - an average hands-on volunteer saves a nonprofit $25 an hour. If that volunteer is skill-based or pro-bono; they save a nonprofit $150 per hour. Pro-bono volunteers are volunteers that leverage their specialized skills. This includes everything from event coordination, legal counsel, and job skills training. For instance, a lawyer would work with a nonprofit for free to give legal advice to their constituents. While there are thousands of nonprofits that could benefit from skill-based volunteers - just as many pro-bono volunteers ready to help – the issue is how do they find each other?

In Use:

Common Impact believes they have the solution and are working hard to close that gap between nonprofits and pro-bono volunteers. According to Molly Weinstein the Associate Director of Field Building, Capacity Commons was designed to “build bridges between volunteers and nonprofits” making it easier to form partnerships between the two organizations with the end goal of creating a “one-stop-shop” for volunteers and charities to come together.

They have recently expanded their program to include a new open-sourced platform that would make it easier than ever to connect a skill-based volunteer to a charity. The platform is entirely free and was created to support educational institutes, nonprofits, and charities alike. The tool was designed to be interactive and intuitive – Weinstein calling it a “chose your own adventure” where interested parties would begin by creating their project and moving on to six additional steps that will ensure a successful volunteer project.

Technology Used:

Capacity Commons is an open-sourced platform that is based entirely on the cloud. The site is self-service and comes with user guides to assist nonprofits should they run into any trouble. The platform itself is new and it still working out some kinks, working with current users to collect their feedback to improve the site.

Ease of Use:

Capacity Commons provides a “Pro-Bono Guidebook” to walk new users through the process of creating and executing a volunteer project. The guidebook includes FAQ and documents that advise nonprofits from Step 1 all the way to Step 7.

Recap:

Capacity Commons is a labor of love supported by the Charles Schwab foundation; Campaign for Black Male Achievement; Common Impact and numerous other organizations invested in helping nonprofit organizations get the access they need to skill-based volunteers. The platform is designed to walk a nonprofit through the seven steps needed to establish their project all the way up to implementation. Capacity Commons hopes to grow this platform to include integration with VolunteerMatch.org and other skill-based volunteer websites making it easier for charities and pro-bono volunteers to connect.

Advantages:

• Connects nonprofit organizations with skill-based volunteers
• Platform is free to use
• Capacity Commons comes with a “Pro-Bono Guidebook” walking users through the scope of their project
• Will soon integrate with volunteer matching programs such as VolunteerMatch to connect nonprofits with volunteers easily.

Disadvantages:

• The platform is still in it’s early stages with some kinks that need to be worked out
• Does not require any documentation proving that a organization is in Higher Ed or has a 501©

My Opinion:

I think Capacity Commons is a great way to connect nonprofits and skill-based volunteers. If I were a charity I would most likely take advantage of this free platform. However, the platform itself has some issues that need to be worked out first.

When I selected “create a project” the screen never loaded onto the next step so I was not able to complete the process of creating and executing a project. My main goal was to see the user face and to report on the ease of use, but I wasn’t able to get past that first step.

ThankView makes it easier to acknowledge your donors after an event, volunteer activity, or a donation. Throw away your “Thank You” cards, use your stamps on another project, and put your pen back in the cupholder. ThankView is an effortless way to express gratitude to the donors that are supporting your mission.

In Use:

ThankView is a platform where nonprofit organizations can create and send “Thank You” videos to their volunteers. It can be created in minutes; branded with a university’s logo, and emailed or texted.  The software is geared towards charities, colleges, and hospitals to raise funds; thank volunteers; or for marketing purposes. The idea came about when co-founder JD Beebe got married. He didn’t want to write wedding notes but wanted to show his guests how truly appreciative he was that they were able to attend. The platform which has been serving nonprofits for over three years has been widely accepted by universities, charities, and hospitals alike. “The reception has been pretty phenomenal,” Beebe states. 

Not only can customers record videos, but they can choose from a variety of fonts, colors, and “call to action” buttons. The software automatically edits the video and clients can record a personalized introduction video and then cut to a more generic video; saving the customer the time it would take to continuously record the same message again and again.

Subscriptions start at $2,000 a year and increase depending on the customer’s needs. All subscriptions include cloud-based video storage; and the ability to schedule when they want to send out a video. Subscriptions also come with the ability to include a “Call to Action” button.

In today’s society it’s very important that a customer has insight to metrics. ThankView gives the customer the option to track data using a dashboard that can map who opened the video, who clicked on the call action, and other important information.

Technology Used:

ThankView works on all tablets and phones whether it’s a Mac or Android. Integrations include iMovie and Adobe Premiere. The platform is also compatible with CRMs such as Blackbaud and Salesforce.

Ease of Use:

Beebe wanted to ensure that any client could use ThankView without having to read a manual.  To do that he had to make sure that the platform was easy to use. If nonprofits do run into trouble they can speak to their Customer Success Manager who can answer any questions a nonprofit or university might have.

Recap:

ThankView is a software that allows nonprofit organizations, hospitals, and colleges to record “Thank You” videos to send to donors and volunteers. The videos can also include a “Call to Action” button that nonprofits can use for marketing purposes. These videos can not only be branded but personalized with the recipient’s name - adding a personalized touch. ThankView also comes with a robust dashboard that includes the ability to track how many downloads a video received, who shared their video, and who opened it.

Advantages:

• While ThankView will work with corporations, they mainly focus on nonprofit organizations, universities and hospital.
• While $2,000 may seem like a lot of money- it only equals out to be about $166 a month. While the smallest nonprofits may not be able to afford this- many medium to large charities can.
• ThankView videos have an average of 60% open rate
• Ability to create a personalized introduction and then cut to a generic message

Disadvantages:

• Ease of use when it comes to creating and branding the video
• What if the video goes to the donor’s spam box?

My Opinion:

ThankView isn’t your average “Thank You” note. It’s a fun, innovative way to connect with your donors or incoming students while branding and marketing your organization. While many charities use the platform to send out “Thank You” notes – the software can also be used for marketing purposes such as “Call to Action”, a due-date reminder, or a case study that the organization can use for outreach.

My only hesitation with email greeting cards is the chance that it could go to the recipient’s spam. To counter-act this ThankView works with the client to make sure that the list is clean so they can have a minimal amount of emails that bounce back. Because of this the company has seen an average of 60% open-rate.

As a financial management software, Sage Intacct is used by nonprofits from all different industries whether a faith-based organization, educational nonprofit organization or nonprofit health organization. The site boasts that it allows nonprofits the ability to aggregate transactions and real time analytics. For most nonprofits who rely on accounting to manage donations and keep their 501© status- it’s important that they purchase a reliable accounting platform.

In Use:

“Sage Intacct was the first accounting system built in the cloud,”Joan Benson, Director of Nonprofit Industry Marketing at Sage Intacct confirms. While other accounting systems had to figure out how to make the delicate transfer from on-premise software to the cloud; Sage Intacct was created and built for the cloud. Benson points out that trying to move to the cloud presents issues regarding configuration not to mention information can be lost in transition.

Sage Intacct allows nonprofits to manage all their financials in one software. Some of the benefits that comes along with a subscription to Sage Intacct is that charities have access to both accounts payable and receivable; deprecation tracking; inventory management; and 1099 Support. As an AICPA recognized organization, nonprofits can be sure that their fiscal documents are secure.

Technology Used:

There’s not much technology needed on a charity’s end since Sage Intacct is housed on the cloud. The platform has many different analysis and reporting capabilities – so a nonprofit who is familiar with data visualization tools will find the tool easy to maneuver.

Sage Intacct offers numerous integrations for a seamless process. In the nonprofit sector; Sage Intacct integrates with numerous CRMs and donor registration softwares.

Ease of Use:

With 35% of all of Sage Intacct’s business made up of nonprofit organizations it’s critical that the software is easy to use. Sage Intacct offers customer webinars; on-sight learning, and classes for their customers to learn the software. Sage Intacct conducts an annual conference entitled Advantage that includes training for all users. Advantage 2019 will be taking place in Las Vegas between October 21^st and October 25^th.

Recap:

Sage Intacct is a financial software that runs solely on the cloud. The platform integrates with numerous CRMS and donor management software to make it easy for nonprofits to manage their finances and assets. Among the different capabilities that Sage Intacct helps charities with are; spend management; purchasing; and reporting and analysis.

Advantages:

• AICPA certified
• The software is capable of helping nonprofits with numerous financial issues such as spend management and accounts payable
• Many customers site that Sage Intacct is easy to use and the dashboards are user friendly.
• With 35% of all businesses, nonprofits; Sage Intacct has a good understanding of the types of financial information nonprofits need to excel

Disadvantages:

• According to some customers- tracking capabilities and functionality can be improved
• Other customers site slow customer service as a source of improvement

My Opinion:

I think Sage Intacct is a great option to meet all of your financial and accounting needs. Benson had a very good understanding of the issues that nonprofits face in the financial world.  Along with Sage Intacct, Benson and her team  are trying to implement strategies and tools to help nonprofits succeed. If you are unhappy with your current financial software or are looking to purchase your first one- I would at least speak to a customer service representative and consider watching a free demo.

“[MemberSuite] came into this space with the premise of providing software as a service to the member base organization space and provide new technology,” explained Natalie Cheney, CEO of MemberSuite. While association management software isn’t new (according to Cheney it’s been around since the 90s), MemberSuite is a fresh take on a relatively unchanged industry. MemberSuite was able to disrupt the space by providing cloud-based capabilities that their competition didn’t have.

In Use:

Association management softwares (AMS) are platforms that companies use to manage day-to-day business. Whether for-profit or nonprofit, AMS can benefit all organizations. MemberSuite offers tools and services to benefit all aspects of a nonprofit. Software consist of a robust CRM, an e-marketing tool where users can design and create a variety of emails; and services such as data migration.

Ease of Use:

MemberSuite offers customer service in the form of ready-to-help experts and webinars along with educational assets such as data sheets and infographics. These assets help users familiarize themselves with the products. While some reviews state MemberSuite software is easy to use and intuitive others have found it hard to use and confusing.

Technology Used:

One of the reasons that MemberSuite disrupted the industry is that their product was cloud-based from the beginning. Many of their competitors had to adapt to the cloud space which created numerous growing pains and networking issues. MemberSuite provides nonprofits with numerous capabilities. From donor portals to finance tools and analytics. On the donor-facing platform, donors can renew their membership, pay for a donation, or sign up for a fundraising event allowing members to self-service on everyday activities. “All of these actions are happening 24-7 by clicking on a few buttons, providing capabilities so staff can engage their members,” Cheney states. With these self-service tools, nonprofits can go back to helping their constituents and worry less on the day-to-day responsibilities of running a nonprofit. Cheney refers to industries such as e-commerce and airlines who adopted a similar self-service module. “Consumers are demanding it from nonprofits and it’s expensive. It is up to us to provide that technology,” Cheney said of MemberSuite.

Recap:

MemberSuite is an association management software platform with numerous capabilities to assist nonprofits to manage their business. In fact, CEO Natalie Cheney acknowledged that nonprofits need an AMS but often don’t have much money to spend on one. Most of the nonprofits that purchase MemberSuite are positioned in the middle and upper market with revenue of around $2 million. Cheney noted that other nonprofits that fall into the $1 million range take advantage of MemberSuite through a monthly solution.

Advantages:

• All-in-one software that includes finance, event registration, and donor management software
• Customer support and educational tools to help charities comprehend the software
• Monthly services and yearly subscriptions are available to meet nonprofits needs
• Dedicated in providing nonprofit with the technology they need to run their organization

Disadvantages:

• Too expensive for small nonprofits
• Users state that it’s not user friendly and the interface could use a facelift.
• Reporting capabilities could be more robust

My Opinion:

Often when I review a software that is used by both for-profit and nonprofit organizations, nonprofits are just an afterthought. That was not the case when I talked the CEO of MemberSuite, Natalie Cheney. She was dedicated in creating a software that had the capabilities that nonprofits need to run their organizations. While it may be too expensive for small nonprofits, medium to large charities can benefit immensely from the numerous different tools and products that MemberSuite offers.

To succeed in email marketing, one of the main things to keep in mind is your objectives or goals for every email sent. Do you intend to get more reactions? Increase the number of subscribers? Improve the click-through rates of your emails? In most cases, we all want to achieve all the above. To get there however, you have to put in the effort because it’s always a work in progress. Below are 5 strategies you can adopt to increase click-through rates for your nonprofit. But first you need to know what contributes to a good email click-through rate.

Good email click-through rate

Settling on a good click-through rate (CTR) is always challenging. However, a click-through rate of 10% for email marketing is generally considered to be good. The problem however is that many emails don’t even get close to that. Many email CTRs may be as low as 1.04% depending on the industry. The best way to identify your click-through rate is by checking your email service provider to find out how the normal CTRs for your industry. If your rate is lower than the average, you need to do more to target higher rates. Below are the 5 tips which will guide you to improve your rates.

1.     Segment your subscribers

Define your subscribers through different subscription lists and markets. You can divide them into emails that go to everyone as well as those that you send to specific targeted lists. You may have a list of past supporters and another one for prospects. With such different groups of people, you will definitely want to send them different messaging. Having separate audiences helps to tailor your message to the people you want to open your emails and therefore improve your click rate.

2.     Deploy analytics

Analytics can offer great insight if you closely pay attention to it. However, you need to know the kind of information to pay attention to and the data to gather. Understanding your email analytics helps you understand the types of content that your audience wants. You can use analytics to your advantage and plan better for the future through split testing and analysis of the outcome.

3.     Be a reputable sender

Most people check the name of the sender before deciding whether to open an email or not because of the large number of scammers trying to gain attention. People often get so many emails that they are not sure of the sender as some are malicious. To become recognizable from the rest however, use your brand as a sender name. Alternatively, you could combine the sender name with your brand name as this approach might yield better results.

4.     Format your emails properly

Formatting your information correctly makes your emails attractive and easy to read meaning readers may not be bored while reading or forced to abandon it altogether. Some areas that you should concentrate on in your formatting include making your emails mobile-friendly as more people use mobile devices than desktops. Avoid using too many images as this may hide information, and making sure the width of the emails is right.

5. Provide top-notch content

Once you send your email, the subscribers will always expect something new and captivating. With this in mind, you should always keep your content fresh and interesting to ensure that they click your links. Make your email interactive by using content such as animated GIFs, videos and video thumbnails to get the attention of your audience. Also, use images since humans are highly attracted to images and visuals. Emails that have images have a higher click rate than those that do not. You can also ask for feedback or run a poll to get the audience’s views.

Sticking to these tips can help your nonprofit improve your email click-through rates. However, you need to do more to create a strong email campaign that converts.

Facebook is the dominant social media platform. Nonprofits flocked to the site because of its ease of use and the fact that “everyone is on it. However, Facebook’s relentless tweaking of its algorithms and its profit driven approach makes it is a challenge for anyone, let alone nonprofits to be seen on the platform. Sure, you can “boost” your posts,  but unless you have a larger advertising budget a $5 boost won’t broaden your reach by that much. 

Plus, there is always a question of whether any engagement you recieve from a boosted post is really good engagement or is it bot driven.

With Instagram’s acquisition by Facebook many of the same problems from Facebook, such as pay for play, and questionable engagement has  nonprofits searching for other alternatives. 

Twitter with its 126 million daily users is less than Facebook’s 1 billion, but that is still a large audience. And, Twitter’s quick pace means that you can post more frequently without overwhelming people’s feeds. The more fast paced nature of Twitter, does mean that you would have to stay on top of your mentions and make sure to respond to any direct tweets quickly. 

Retweets are the way to grow your audience of Twitter, so you have to give your followers useful, informative content that they want to share. 

LinkedIn, which bills itself as the “world’s largest professional network” probably isn’t your first thought when you think of a social media platform for your organization, but actually LinkedIn can be a good place for your organization to establish a presence--beyond as a hiring tool.

Build your LinkedIn profile and post content that will appeal to both donors, volunteers and potential employees. Items post on LinkedIn just seems to have an innate credibility. 

Nonprofit marketers face challenges many other marketers do not need to overcome, and they most likely wear more than just the marketing hat for their organization. What money you allocate to digital marketing needs to be well spent on effective and affordable marketing activities. Here are several digital marketing strategies sure to make an impact while remaining within your budget.

Implement the “Donate Now” Button on Facebook

Facebook makes for an excellent platform to gain awareness for your organization while connecting with the community and raising money. Many nonprofit organizations even look to such social tools as their primary tool for fundraising, especially since Facebook doesn’t charge incremental fees for donations made through the platform.

Of Facebook’s Charitable Giving Tools, the “Donate Now” button is easy to implement and quick to show value. It allows people to leave a one-time donation or set up a recurring donation, without leaving the comfort of their Facebook account.

Promote Events with Text Message Marketing

Text messages have a 90% open rate within mere minutes of receipt, making text message marketing an effective and powerful channel with which to promote your events. Once people opt-in to your messaging service to receive event information you can share information with volunteers regarding set up dates and times, schedules, directions and more, as well as send attendees reminders leading up to, during and following the event. Consider sending texts ahead of events if you still need additional volunteers, certain products donated or help spreading event awareness.

Record Videos in the Field

57% of people who watch a video produced by a nonprofit go on to make a donation, showing the impact a video brings to your organization. Do not view video marketing as an overwhelming, time-consuming task and instead think of the volunteers who can record videos for you via personal mobile devices. Ask volunteers or staff members to record videos from events or while in the field for you to use across all promotional channels. Such videos provide potential members with a sampling of what your organization is all about. 

Utilize Instagram Stories

Volunteers want to see who your organization really is, what you do and what you stand for. A social platform like Instagram allows them a more personal, informal look into your nonprofit. Instagram Stories, debuted in 2016, allow brands and organizations to share episodic content by quickly uploading engaging snapshots for your organization. These stories are available at the top of followers’ feeds for 24 hours and later via the story highlights section of your profile.

Leverage Google Ad Grants

Google for Nonprofits allows you access to additional bonuses such as running ads across their platform to ask for donations, recruit volunteers and share your organization’s mission with a bigger audience. Another feature available is Google Ad Grants, allowing you to purchase Google Ads online advertising through a grant worth up to  $10,000 every single month for qualifying organizations.

Google Ad Grants give you the ability and resources for your ads to reach a wider audience anywhere in the world. Whether you want to reach local volunteers or donors worldwide, you can reach people looking to get involved with a nonprofit exactly like yours. There is also a tracking and reporting tool associated with the platform so you can see which ads recruit volunteers, drive donations and build overall awareness.

Implement any of these digital marketing strategies for your nonprofit and see the ease and speed at which they seamlessly integrate into your current marketing strategy. They are affordable, effective and sure to raise additional awareness of your organization’s mission.

Matt Reid, CMO at EZ Texting

Nonprofit organizations are struggling to demonstrate the outcome of their work according to a new study conducted by Oracle NetSuite. The study, Connecting Dollars to Outcomes, which provides insights from more than 350 senior nonprofit executives in the U.S., found that while nonprofit executives believe that outcomes measurement supports their top three priorities for 2019 - financial stability, staff turnover and donor retention – only 29 percent of nonprofits are able to effectively measure the outcomes of dollars invested. 

“Nonprofits have consistently been challenged with measuring their impact,” said Lauren Woodman, CEO of NetHope. “As these organizations work to expand their mission by acquiring more donors and increasing gift size, there’s never been a more important time to provide visibility into the results. While the majority of nonprofits noted they struggle measuring impact, this study shows the focus organizations are putting on investing in the resources that will allow them to change their approach to measurement.” 

Nonprofits measurement misery 

Nonprofit leaders know that measuring impact and increasing donor engagement is critical, but struggle to demonstrate the outcome of investments and are unable to share results with donors or funders in real-time.

• 76 percent of nonprofit executives identified increasing the effectiveness of outcomes measurement as the top priority for 2019. 

• Only 29 percent of nonprofits are able to effectively measure the outcomes of dollars invested. 

• Only 18 percent of nonprofits offer their donors and funders access to real-time reports. The most popular methods for communicating value to funders and donors are annual reports (65 percent), emails (54 percent) and one-on-one meetings (39 percent). 

The challenges of connecting dollars to outcomes 

Operational issues and executive skepticism are the top obstacles to nonprofits embracing outcomes measurement. 

• The largest operational challenges are lack of people to manage measurement (37 percent), no system in place to measure outcomes (30 percent) and data silos (27 percent).
• Executive skepticism is focused on the applicability of outcomes measurement, with 69 percent of respondents believing that it primarily rewards well resourced, larger nonprofits. Executives also believe that it over simplifies social issues (60 percent) and is too short-term focused (45 percent). 

A better outcome for everyone

Despite executive skepticism, executives acknowledge that being able to effectively measure outcomes will support their top three organizational priorities for 2019: financial stability, staff turnover and donor retention. 

• 84 percent of nonprofit executives believe outcomes measurement will increase fundraising success. 49 percent believe it will increase recurring donations, while 35 percent believe it will increase gift size.
• More than half of executives (52 percent) believe it will help them tap into new donor demographics and 42 percent believe it will help meet funder requests.

“Nonprofits are constantly required to do more with less, all while also proving to watchdog agencies and funders that they’re using donations effectively,” said Cheryl Gipson, nonprofit industry principal, Oracle NetSuite. “At a time when consumer trust in institutions of all types is dwindling, being able to effectively measure the outcome of all investments in real-time is increasingly important for the nonprofit industry. We are committed to helping create a more impactful nonprofit industry and will continue our work with nonprofits to provide technology that allows them to trace dollars from donation to results.”

Methodology

For this survey, NetSuite partnered with FINN Partners to survey 353 non-profit senior decision makers, manager level and above. These executives were surveyed around their experiences working in the nonprofit sector, general decision-making processes, and rationale in buying online products or services that serve their organization's mission. Participants were based in the United States and surveyed in April 2019.  

About Oracle NetSuite

For more than 20 years, Oracle NetSuite has helped organizations grow, scale and adapt to change. NetSuite provides a suite of cloud-based applications, which includes financials / Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP), HR, professional services automation and omnichannel commerce, used by more than 18,000 customers in 203 countries and dependent territories.

For more information, please visit netsuite.com. 

Follow NetSuite’s Cloud blog, Facebook page and @NetSuite Twitter handle for real-time updates. 

About Oracle

The Oracle Cloud offers complete SaaS application suites for ERP, HCM and CX, plus best-in-class database Platform as a Service (PaaS) and Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS) from data centers throughout the Americas, Europe and Asia. For more information about Oracle (NYSE:ORCL), please visit us at oracle.com. 

What if your organization could do everything--really everything on one platform. No more trying to open a document created in a program that isn’t supported by your organization. No more trying to collaborate with the office across the country using only email.  With Box your teams can work together on projects in the cloud. Doing everything from assigning and tracking the project to real time revisions. Box lets you do that. This cloud based platform lets you do everything your organization needs to do in one place. 

Box is versatile. With Box Drive each team member can get their files the way they want; on the desktop, use the app in a browser or use the mobile app to work on your phone. Integrate your key programs into your Box workplace. There is a wide variety of programs available including Office 365, G Suite, Slack, Workplace by Facebook, Salesforce and DocuSign.

Plus, Box lets every facet of your organization work in the cloud on its platform. Human resources, finance, even legal. If your data contains sensitive information, don't worry it is stored securely with enterprise level protections. With Box, your organization can control who has access and also who has the ability to share items, both inside and outside your organization. 

Box offers eligible nonprofits 10 Box Starter Edition licenses. While there is no charge for the licenses there is a one-time administrative fee. If your nonprofit requires more than 10 Box will offer a discount on their Box Business Edition and Box Enterprise Edition licensing.

The internet has become the one essential office tool that every organization needs. No matter what your mission or where you are located you need the internet. Even if it’s only to send and receive emails. However, a standard internet plan from your local carrier can cost your nonprofit a significant amount of money every month. If your organization is looking for ways to cut expenses, Mobile Beacon offers programs for nonprofits that allow them to access 4G LTE Internet service for a $10/mo.

Mobile Beacon’s internet service is provided on Sprint’s 4G LTE network. And, it is very important to note that this plan is for data only. Mobile Beacon is not a cell phone provider, they are a LTE data provider. You can run laptops, wi-fi enabled desktops, wireless printers and access the internet from a wi-fi enabled smartphone, that is all. 

The price offers significant savings over traditional carriers, but that savings does come with a catch. In order to qualify for the $10/mo plan your organization must purchase a LTE-enabled device from Mobile Beacon. 

Mobile Beacon has two wi-fi hotspot hubs available for purchase, each one offers connection for up to 10 wi-fi enabled devices. 

In addition, organizations that choose Mobile Beacon’s service must prepay for a year’s service for every device that they will connect to the mobile hotspot. Mobile Beacon has several programs available to help nonprofits that are on a very limited budget offset some of the cost of the plan. 

If you manage your volunteers by clicking open a spreadsheet, it is time you upgraded. Whether you have 5 volunteers or 500 there are software packages that are low cost or even no cost that will let you efficiently manage you volunteers in less time then it takes you to open up that spreadsheet. Of course, not all organizations need an elaborate volunteer database, perhaps your organization rarely needs volunteers then consider using something like Sign Up Genius, Sign Up or Sign Up Zone which allow you to make simple online sign up sheets to cover everything from potlucks to who is bringing snacks for movie night. 

Does your organization rely on volunteers to staff events? Then iVolunteer.com might be the perfect solution. It lets you publish sign up event sign up sheets on your website or social media. You can customize the sign up sheet, so if you are offering your volunteers a T shirt they can indicate their size. 

All volunteers contact information is kept confidential and your volunteers must confirm their sign up via email. You can also track your volunteers showed up for their shift with a sign in feature. iVolunteer.com has tiered pricing with a free option that lets you sign up to 15 volunteers. 

Organizations that use volunteers for many different events and projects might consider using a platform like Your Volunteers or When to Help. Both these platforms have organizations that have large pools of volunteers. 

When to Help is available for registered charities. It lets you assign volunteer time slots based on the volunteers stated availability. When to Help includes a free mobile app making it even  easier for your volunteers to pick a shift to help out. Your volunteers can use the app to check their shift, or even trade their time slot with another volunteer. 

Your Volunteers is a cloud based database system that lets you publish a calendar of events on your website. It also serves as a volunteer database system. It is mobile friendly so your volunteers can sign up from phone, tablet or desktop, quickly and easily. Use it to  sign up volunteers, assign volunteers to shifts, track their attendance and create lists of volunteers. Your Volunteer offers a free version and a priced version. 

Keela is a nonprofit management tool that helps your organization manage every part of the donation cycle, from engaging donors to analyzing the results of a fundraising campaign. 

The software including one centralized dashboard that gives you access to all the tools. The software also has the ability for administrators to grant user permission levels 

You organization can use customizable tags to segment your database making it easier to run reports and with the segmentation you can encourage more donations by sending your donors customized emails. 

After sending out a customized mailing you can use the email metrics to refine your mailing list to get better results. 

Keela helps keep your database tidy with automatic detection of  duplicate records

You can also manage your volunteers within the Keela database. Within the volunteer module you can track, assign and communicate with your volunteers. 

You can use the Keela fundraising module to increase your fundraising efforts. The Keela relationship history lets you see a comprehensive profiles that includes donor engagement history. Track donations, use customizable donation forms, automatic receipts and thank you notes.

The platform lets you integrate with services like mailchimp, eventbrite, stripe and quickbooks.

Keela lets you stay on top of task management too. Use it to leave comments for team members, collaborate or  assign tasks. 

Tiered pricing. Small organizations with under 10 team members $49/mo up to large organizations-up to 75 team members $239/mo

According to Business.com, nonprofits can use marketing software to customize their fundraising marketing.

As the founder of a tech company, I have a healthy respect for the power of software. In our modern world, great software is at the heart of nearly every fast-scaling organization.

Read the article on Business.com

FastForward a social tech accelerator has successfully launched 50 nonprofits in the past 5 years, reports Tech Repubic. 

It's difficult for any tech startup to get off the ground these days and even more so for nonprofits looking to use successful platforms to address the world's most pertinent problems.

Read the article on Tech Republic

New tech tools allow nonprofit camps to function more efficiently, reports Nonprofit Pro. 

Nonprofit camps have thrived for so long because they offer the youth in their community a healthy, safe environment to escape to for a few weeks every summer.

Read the article on Nonprofit Pro

To help donors who want to give to those affected by hurricane Dorian there is a Smart Donor Checklist that can be downloaded from the North Carolina Secretary of State’s website, reports WRAL.

North Carolina’s Secretary of State office is warning people to be wary of possible charity scams as Hurricane Dorian approaches the state. To help consumers, her office is offering a “Smart Donor Checklist” that can be downloaded from its website to offer tips and guidance.

Read the article on WRAL