If you even suspect that your nonprofit needs a software solution, the odds are pretty good that you do.
The catalyst that brought you here today could be something small, like simply feeling that your processes could be streamlined. Or it could be something big, like losing a crucial staff member.
In either case, if any of the points we explore today resonate with you, you should see what a solution like Wild Apricot could do to help your organization. If you’re not sure you’re there yet, keep reading.
1. Your Information is Trapped with One Person
Most nonprofits are running on a minimalist budget, with a hardworking and dedicated staff. This often means that any given employee is required to wear multiple hats.
This runs the risk of your organization’s information being “trapped” in a single employee’s brain or on their laptop. What happens if you suddenly lose that employee?
They may be the only person on staff who knows how to update the website or send a membership-wide e-blast. Losing them could mean basically starting over from scratch.
The right membership management software can help prevent information from being trapped with a single employee. The info and processes they use to carry out their tasks can be made centrally available and transferable if someone else needs to take over for them for any reason.
2. You’re Too Reliant on Excel
It’s also possible too much of your information is trapped in complex spreadsheets. Or, nobody in the organization can tell you which one of the spreadsheets has the most up-to-date numbers. Excel was never intended to do about 80% of the things we ask it to do.
It can be hard to calculate exactly how much this is costing you. A famous copy and paste error once cost JP Morgan about 6 billion dollars. Of course, your organization isn’t dealing with that much money. However, it’s been estimated that 90% of spreadsheets have some sort of error hidden in them.
What could that mean for you?
It could be time to take all of that information out of cells and columns and put it somewhere that was actually built to accommodate it.
3. You Get a Lot of One-time Donors
Every donation is a win. At the same time, every donation presents a chance to build a long-term relationship and make that person a long-time donor.
If you seem to have a disproportionately low number of ongoing members, you might be struggling to follow up and engage with them to nurture the relationship.
Fostering these relationships means more than simply asking for another donation. It means inviting them to events to show your appreciation. It means staying in the front of their minds with regular outreach and reminding them of all the great work you’re doing.
The right membership software can streamline this process, while making it easier than ever to build and maintain relationships.
Did something on this list cause an “Aha moment” for you? These are only a few of the ways that membership software can help your nonprofit. There could be something else happening within your organization that is telling you that things could be done better or more efficiently.
Start looking for your solution today!
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Interesting related article: “What is a non-profit organization?“