How to Choose the Right

Fundraising Software for

your Not for Profit

4/2/2015 2

CUSTOMERS ARE AT THE HEART OF EVERYTHING WE DO

We work with 29,000 organisations worldwide and over 420 not for profits locally

Our customers raise more than

$100 billion annually

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Let’s get started…

As the Product Marketing Manager,

Jeremiah represents the customer’s

voice in the development of

Blackbaud products and services.

Prior to Blackbaud Jeremiah held

senior roles spanning global

business operations, product

management, data analysis,

marketing and new business

development.

#bbpwebinar @j_flickinger

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Software Selection Process

Vendor

Search

Vendor

Evaluation Selection

Define

Priorities

Gather

Requirements

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Au

tom

ate

tas

ks

Define Priorities

Increase donation revenue by 20%

Th

an

kin

g e

very

do

no

r Mapping donations to the correct funds

Tra

ckin

g r

ela

tionship

s

Enable our fundraisers in the field (mobile accessibility)

What are the biggest opportunities?

Recognising gifts made in Tribute

Create a clearer picture of who our donors are

Au

tom

ate

tasks

Personalise donor interactions

Better visibility into our campaigns

Enable our fundraisers in the field (mobile accessibility)

Tra

ckin

g r

ela

tionship

s

Personalise donor interactions

Au

tom

ate

tas

ks

6

Requirements Gathering

Why is requirements gathering the most

important step in the partner selection process?

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Requirements Gathering

Having good requirements can avoid this:

You ask for this. (Poorly defined requirements)

This is how the

software vendor

understood the

requirements.

How the sales

person

represented their

software

What you ended

up with.

What you really

needed.

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Stakeholder:

Anyone potentially impacted or who

may benefit from a new software

purchase.

def•i•ni•tion

Meet with Stakeholders

Requirements Gathering

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Tips • Include decision makers

• Define current processes

• Identify gaps

• Understand their ideal world

• Gauge their technical capabilities

• Prioritise their wishlist

• Monetise or enumerate wherever possible

• Tie back to organisational goals

Meet with Stakeholders

Requirements Gathering

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Budget

Anticipated Growth

Resource Requirements

Functional Requirements

Requirements at minimum should consider:

Requirements Gathering

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Requirements Gathering

Requirements Matrix

• Consolidate feedback

from stakeholder interviews

• Categorise • Will become the

foundation of your vendor scorecard

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Vendor Search

Where to start?

Industry Associations

&

Conferences

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Vendor Evaluation

Approach should match your needs:

• Organisation complexity

• Workflow complexity

• Risk exposure

• Level of investment

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Basic Vendor Evaluation Process:

1. Notify vendors of interest

2. Schedule requirements discussion (prior to

demo)

3. Schedule demo with key stakeholders

4. Follow-up (from vendor and internal)

5. Scorecard vendors

6. Select a finalist

Vendor Evaluation

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Vendor Demos • Set Expectations Ahead of Time

• Make Sure the Right People Attend

• The Tale of Two Perspectives (Follow-up is key)

Vendor Evaluation

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Evaluation Criteria to Consider:

Total Cost

• Software

• Implementation

• Training

• IT

Functionality

• Purpose built

functionality

• Workarounds

• Third Party

• Not included

Flexibility

• Licensing

• Usage Fee

• Modular

Vendor Evaluation

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Evaluation Criteria to Consider:

Security

• Data security

• Back-ups

• Disaster Recovery

Sector Expertise

• Years of experience Employees

Company

• Thought Leadership

• Client List

Financial Stability

• Public vs. Private

• Growth v. Decline

Vendor Evaluation

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Evaluation Criteria to Consider:

Customer Support

• Availability | Local

• Chat

• User Groups

• Account Manager

• Support Inclusions Training

Technical

Consulting

R & D

• Annual R&D Budget

• Release Cycle

• Accessibility of Updates

References

• Similar organisations

• Similar needs

• Case studies

Vendor Evaluation

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Individual Criterion

Creating a scorecard:

Categorical Scores

1.

2.

3.

4.

5.

Showstoppers

Vendor Scorecard

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You’re almost there!

But before signing, make sure you get: - Internal Buy-in - Statement of Work (from the vendor)

Vendor Evaluation

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Software Selection Process - RECAP

Vendor

Search

Vendor

Evaluation Selection

Define

Priorities

Gather

Requirements

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Questions for Me

And Finally…

Connect with me: au.linkedin.com/in/jeremiahflickinger

@j_flickinger

jeremiah.flickinger@blackbaud.com.au

How to Choose the Right

Fundraising Software for

your Not for Profit

NXT

TM