Whether your nonprofit has a donor base of 100 or 10,000, part of your responsibility is to track your supporters’ information accurately. But instead of relying on spreadsheets and document tables, many nonprofits choose a formal donor management system.

There are many donor management systems available for nonprofits. Companies like DonorPro, eTapestry, and Blackbaud help nonprofits throughout Canada efficiently organize and track all that essential donor data you’ll need for receipts and future reporting.

But which donor management system is right for you? The first thing to consider when you’re ready to choose a donor management system is how you plan to use it. If you anticipate tracking each donor touchpoint and not just each donation, then you may need to invest in a robust system. Aside from the basic functions of a donor management system, such as individual donor profiles and the ability to mine the data, most full-service systems can integrate with other nonprofit tracking systems you frequently use, such as your email contact lists.

On the other hand, some online fundraising platforms already have basic donor management features. So, if you operate a smaller nonprofit, then these smaller systems may do the trick. The biggest benefit to using a donor management system that’s integrated into your online fundraising platform is that the cost is often much lower than a larger management system. Plus, you don’t necessarily have to input much information on your own, since it’s captured during the donation process.

At the end of the day, if your nonprofit has a deep donor base, multiple employees, and a multichannel marketing plan, then focus on the full-service donor management systems. However, if your fundraising team is small and your donor base is manageable, your online fundraising platform may already be equipped to handle your donor management.

When deciding on a donor management system, weigh the functions and capacity you need against the cost to find the right tool for you.