 Hello to all of you. Thank you so very much for joining us for another episode of the nonprofit show. Today we have back one of our sponsors that we have Lindsay Hudson joining us, and Lindsay is here to talk about evaluating donor management Lindsay I'm excited to learn more about you. Julia Patrick, she's taking the day off much needed. She serves as the CEO of the American nonprofit Academy, and I'm Jared Ransom, your nonprofit nerd CEO of the Raven Group, and we are honored to continue our shows if you miss any of them you can find them on Roku YouTube, Amazon Fire TV, Vimeo and podcast and Lindsay I have to ask are you a podcast listener. I am. Me too. Yeah, I've really gotten into to podcast so for those of you that are podcast listeners, you can find the nonprofit show wherever you stream your podcast. We are honored to have the continuation support from our presenting sponsors so I'm going to give a verbal shout out for those of you listening on podcast. Thank you so very much to blumering American nonprofit Academy. Fundraising Academy at National University non profit nerd your part 10 controller staffing boutique and the nonprofit thought leader. These companies have kept us going and growing and we are so very honored to have their continued support so please do check them out but I like to remind you not quite yet because you're going to want to hear what Lindsay has to share. So welcome Lindsay so glad to have you. Thank you. Thank you so much for having me on I'm excited to be here. Well, I'm excited to continuously have you know new faces voices perspective from the blumering team and you serve as sales manager. Mid Market blumering and I believe we had one of your colleagues Sean on when we were broadcasting live from AFP icon in Vegas so tell us a little bit about your role there at blumering. Yeah, absolutely so we have two different teams at blumering the mid market team is serving kind of our larger organizations, those that have on average between 5000 and up contacts. We covered the whole United States were actually in several different companies but our major our main goal is to help organizations identify key challenges that they might be faced with and hopefully we have that solution and blumering but if not we like to point our nonprofits in a direction that you know maybe a better fit. Okay, I love that about blumering. When I was first scouting out some CRMs for a client of mine Lindsay, an employee at the time he was like, you need to check out this other CRM and I said oh is that like a sister company of yours is that you know a company that's under blumering and they said no it's a competitor and I was like, who does this you know and it just spoke volumes of the character building the partnership and really just like looking for the agency's best interest and I just, I loved that from the start and so I was sold from that first conversation I will admit. Oh, absolutely. Yeah, it's fantastic. So we're going to talk about donor management. And, you know, one of the things we talked offline about Lindsay was, you know, there are some agencies that don't even have a donor database. So can you kick us off by telling us a little bit about like what does success even look like for donor management. Yeah, so that's that's a tough question to answer. And I would say, you know, it really depends on the organization I feel like in so many times in the sales process people will come in with a certain feature function that they're really excited about maybe it's like text to give. Right, so what we kind of help our organizations to understand is although this feature and function might be really flashy and exciting and fun. I mean, what is the goal of that what are you actually trying to solve and so many times we'll hear things like donor acquisition or or donor retention it's easier for me to communicate. So, when you're identifying what success looks looks like I think it's understanding what is your current state, and then sit down with your team and say what is our ideal future state look like, and how are we going to get there. And so it's really like figuring out the baseline of where are we today. Now when you say you know what does success look like I kind of feel like success and goals might be a little interchangeable. But how do we identify like, are we looking at three years down the road are we looking at 12 months down the road like how far do we want to set the success measure. Well, and that's why I like using the smart goal template. For those that aren't familiar with smart goal it's goals that are specific, they're measurable, they're attainable. They're relevant to your overall mission of the organization and then within a certain timeframe. So it's really up to the organization to kind of identify what that timeframe is but I think, you know, looking back a year and saying you know this is the time to set out to solve these issues and how far have we come. And if your current software is not meeting the mark. It's time to take a hard look and really figure out should we be making a move or are there additional tools that we could, we could be investing in or services that we might want to take advantage of to help us get to our goals. One thing I love to do is I'm a total nerd hence the nonprofit nerd but looking at, you know, measuring success identifying these goals, creating that baseline looking at where it is we want to go and you know the data will tell you that there's so much in the donor management system. And I also know from experience there's a lot of bells and whistles that we might not be touching that are already in the system. Do you find that to be true. Yeah, absolutely. And we have consulting services over at Blimerang where we have a team that actually dives into your data, and we can start to show you over time is your retention improving. You know, as a donor, did you acquire over the last couple years but also just to teach you about those features and functions and workflows that you may not be taking advantage of. And one of our favorite things to do we serve 14,000 plus customers. We like to kind of share the knowledge, you know, we are working with an organization that's a little similar to yours and have similar goals maybe it's sharing what reports are going to be successful with what have they changed about their current day to day workflows, because it's so easy just to get caught up in the day to day and kind of continue as you typically would without somebody really diving in and looking at your, your workflows and your data and your benchmarks. Yeah. So you mentioned some benchmarks and this is unscripted Lindsay so I'm not trying to get like a, ah, gotcha. I always think of dashboards right and I have had the experience in Blimerang some of my clients use Blimerang and again I just, I love the system. What are some of these benchmarks that we should be measuring. Can you speak to that just again off cuff if you can. Sure, I would say, look at your donor retention number know your stats around retention and set realistic goals for yourself. And that's being measured on those that gave last year and are also giving this year. What is your typical gift. How many recurring donors do you have, what do you identify as a major gift, and how can we start to segment the different donors that live in your database and get them to either upgrade to recurring donation or upgrade the amount in which they're giving. Those are all things that we like to track. Yeah, great, great solutions there you know I really the recurring gift that's something that I feel is really trending in our sector is because you know the cash flow forecast is really important for our board and those fiduciary agents. So when we can start to see, you know, some tracks and trends on how people are giving, and that's we can look at our donor management for that. And part of it is just knowing your data. You know I work with so many organizations that will come in and they'll say, gosh, I have no idea what my retention rate is. I have no idea how many recurring donors I have. I don't know what communications going out and it's like the more we start to have these conversations I think that organizations kind of identified the little light bulbs I can see going off of. Wow we should be treating these recurring donors different, you know and the communication should be a little bit more personalized so. And those are fun conversations. Yeah, definitely, definitely. But I love how you share, you know, success and goals within you said 14,000 user are not users, but accounts on on blooming. Yeah, just over 14,000. Fantastic. Yeah, that is fantastic. What are some key challenges that we should know about that you know could help move the needle or might prevent moving the needle what are some of these challenges you found in our donor management system, or you know just kind of overall agency wide. Generally, I would say that systems are not easy to use. Team adoption is very challenging. And that's why it's so important to partner with a software provider where it has good support consulting services are available for those that might need an extra hand, but also that just has a good UI and UX. I think another one would be lack of data consolidation so that like you had called out earlier there are so many different tools in the space. So if your systems are not connecting, it leaves room for double entry, it leaves room for error, really, because people are having to log that piece of data more than once. But really, again, it's back to the organization I think that having that sit down with your team and giving it a hard look, figuring out where my inefficiencies, where are those gaps because, you know, nonprofits are just spread, pulled in so many different directions, I might be struggling with something that you may not even know about. So it kind of bringing that team together, talking about it as a whole with the lens of hey we're trying to help solve for this. So with our next solution let's really make sure that it's going to check that box for you. And I have to say, Bloomerang has been fantastic. I've spent many evenings with the online chat representative. We do have really great support, I will say. And the other thing I want to call out, I mean, there are so many different ways that people learn, right, like maybe you'd like to sit and read articles. It sounds like you personally like chat I'm a big person I need to just pick up the phone I need to have somebody walk me through it. When you're going through your evaluation make sure you understand the different areas of support, and what's available to you, so that if you run into some sort of hiccup. You can get the care that you need. Oh gosh, you know throughout my career 20 years I've worked in a lot of donor databases and you know the donor management has little like little differences you know but if I know where it is I want to go I then just have to figure out how do I get there in the system right like what is it that I need to do what's vernacular here as opposed to there, and just you know looking at these in so many different ways but using the donor management system is leaps and bounds will help the organization I've seen that and I'm curious Lindsay if you've seen, you know, since the pandemic started March of 2020, how donor management has supported so many of these organizations could you speak to that. Yeah, absolutely. I can speak primarily around bloomering and how we've kind of helped during the during the pandemic I would say donor acquisition has become very important. So giving people different ways to give so we've rolled out Apple pay and Google play just to make it really convenient. We've rolled out a mobile app. Most people are out and about, you know, in the field meeting with potential donors they need to be able to access those profiles on the fly, pull up information log notes. So we've got a really great app experience. I think those are the two ways that probably have had the biggest impact. I didn't even know those those are fantastic. Yeah, we were excited to roll those out. Yeah, I know that's amazing. I mean, if we're met by a challenge we need to look for a solution and it sounds that blooming has certainly certainly done that. Now I shared with you as we're looking at this you know, get in sync with your team of course it made me think of the boy band but that's not what we're talking about here. But how do we really get donor management in sync with our team. I think it's being willing to sit down and have those hard conversations around what your goals are being realistic about where you're at. Giving everybody the opportunity to share things that they really need and would help move them forward and their jobs and towards your mission, but I think ultimately you've got to be in sync with what your ultimate goal is which I'm assuming for the most is to fundraise so that you can give back to your the community that you're supporting. And I think it's also understanding your evaluation process how are you going to make every single person on your team feel comfortable with a change if you ultimately deemed that that's necessary. So if you're asking the team, what, what would make you feel comfortable Jarrett, how, how should we go about this evaluation so that when you go into this process with your sales rep, you can clearly spell out. Hey, this is the time frame that we're working with. These are the other tools that we're we're evaluating and also this is what would be really helpful to us in the in the process because ultimately that is the only thing that my team is is trying to do it support support you and making a decision on whether or not this solution would be right for you. Now I'm thinking there's a lot of organizations that maybe are in a startup slash growth phase and I know I've worked with several that have never had a donor database before. So Bloomerang helps with this right like can really get started for an organization that might be on post it notes or Excel or postcards right like so Bloomerang has the system that we can, it can be our very first is that am I understanding this correctly Lindsay. Yes, absolutely. So many of the nonprofits that we work with it is their first system they're using Excel or notebooks like you had mentioned. And the really great thing about Bloomerang is it can fit for any organization it's a tool that's going to help you grow in scale but it can also meet you where you're at. And just creating those little efficiencies that you may not even be aware of we've got integrations with QuickBooks and MailChimp for example so just know that if you're doing things really manual, there's probably a better way. So let's just have the conversation and we'll bet it together. Yeah. No absolutely and then what about if we are just starting out in donor management because I'm thinking, you know just this term donor management is probably a little intimidating for some people maybe not all. It really excites me because I love talking about the moves management and you know the donor journey and those high level conversations, but what are some things that we should consider. We've never had a donor database before and now we're moving into donor management. Where do we start like how do we even start to categorize or you know just really look at all of our data once we have a system. I would say sit down with your team and figure out what your goals are for implementing the solution is it building better relationships is it acquiring more donors. We are professionals in this space and our job is to help show you what a future state could look like or different goals that maybe you hadn't thought of. I would say read review sites, you know that's always a good way evaluate more than one. And be specific with what your needs and your wants are. The budget's really important for me, but moreover is that customer service right what is the support team. What does that look like because I shared earlier like I've spent many evenings on online chat. And it's been, you know, if it's going to take me 30 minutes 45 minutes to an hour to do something, I'm just going to log in and I'm going to find the support team to help me, you know, move through it because I am. I am a learner through doing the actions, you know, and that's that's really important to me. Where do you find I'm curious, you know, from those that are coming to your system. I'm curious what they're looking for are they looking for that first time system are they looking to like upgrade their current system looking for some more bells and whistles that you've talked about like what are you seeing from the from the agencies coming to blurring. I think with the larger organization so most of them already solution, but the overwhelming thing that I hear is that it's just not easy to use and they're looking for something that's a little bit simpler. That can still check the boxes from reporting and you know acknowledgments whatever it may be, and just one that's well supported I think that you had a really good point. I think that's kind of embark on the search for a donor management system. You really want to find a partner who's going to be there to help support you and your goals and pick up the phone when you need them to. So I think that's that's first and foremost. Yeah, absolutely. I think that's that's really important. Well one of the things we like to ask our guest is if you had a crystal ball and I hope that you do. You can find that off right like get it clear. What are you seeing in the donor management space, you know for next year so really looking at 2023. Are you seeing like advancements are you seeing best practices like again shine shine that crystal ball Lindsay because I know you have it. But what are you seeing and forecasting for next year when it comes to this donor management. We are seeing a increased need for modernization of fundraising tools. So kind of changing the user interface and people's ability to give in different ways through Apple Pay and Google Pay like I had already called out convenience is key. You know I always joke that I'm a huge online shopper, I do everything from my phone. And if a store doesn't have Apple Pay and I have to put my phone down it's like, you know, forget it. Sometimes I don't come back to it and I think especially when you're giving to an organization don't even give somebody a reason to put their phone down, make it easy, double click transactions and now it's up to you to retain that donor. So donor acquisition fundraising tools would be one people are really wanting automation. So trying to figure out like different tasks, best best workflows around keeping donors engaged how you can segment your database to keep messaging really personalized. I think the reality is that we're in a tough time economically right now and there's competition, you know, like there are nonprofits everywhere so what is differentiating you and your nonprofit. So that you keep donors coming back and for me, when I think about the organizations that I give to its personalization. It is people that take the time to call or send me a really personalized note. You know, for the larger groups on the phone that may seem very unrealistic but there are tools out there that can help segment down to donors that gave to a specific campaign within a certain giving tier that live within the Chicago area, where you can kind of create personalized messages but still in bulk. Gosh, I love that. You know I mentioned meeting your colleague Sean in, let's see, well I can't I don't know how to say his last name but I'm looking at his card right here and I'm like I should have said that but fantastic and so we met you know again at AFP icon in Las Vegas and I was amazed by the artificial intelligence there, you know the technology companies. How, how are you seeing artificial intelligence, you know find its way and donor systems can you speak to us on that. Not well, I know that there's a new partner out there that is analyzing different trends and creating kind of like trigger flows, if you will I don't know that I would necessarily call that AI. But I think it's a slippery slope, because of what we just talked about personalization is key. And I think that you can certainly automate some pieces of communication but you don't want to lose. Yeah, that personal touch. I was fascinated I went to a donor site the other day a new client of mine and they had shared with me that they're using artificial intelligence on their donor webpage and I said, well tell me about that and they said well basically you know the system is taking the information of your personal computer and what you've used like in other donation portals or just you know shopping because I'm a big online shopper as well Lindsay. And so it automatically filled in a dollar amount for me based off of my like giving levels that my computer has seen. So if you had gone in, you know it would have kind of populated that artificial intelligence number based off of your trends of how you spend money online. And I'm seeing that showing up more and more like I said in the Vegas, you know, AFP icon conference there was a lot of artificial intelligence coming out into our space and I am curious how that is going to, you know, step into the donor management system, but it's like you I am not very versed in it. That's interesting. I haven't heard much on that at all. I know there are certainly tools out there that can kind of deliver the same result like we have donor search incorporated for example where it can serve up to you donors that have a certain giving level or tend to give to organizations like yours, but for it to auto fill. I want to go back every month and see if it's changed, you know, like just to watch myself and my own spending trends like if that were to change on this donor donor platform so I'm really curious about it but donor management is so important being in sync with your team so important so we can look at, you know, those goals and and those success measures but Lindsay, I love what you shared with us, you know, really about setting the baseline now and you know many of us have just started our new fiscal year starting July one so we're you know we're about a month and a half into that. But perhaps you know for those of you watching or listening maybe your fiscal year is a different time and it's not the July one start so setting that baseline is is super important and I appreciate all that you've shared with us. Any final words Lindsay just been phenomenal to talk with everyone at bloom ring is always phenomenal to talk with. Oh, thank you. No final words just appreciate you having me on. You know I love, I love your show. I love what you all do and I'm excited to hopefully chat with a couple people on the line to see if we could help. So please do Lindsay the entire team at bloom ring they're here to help here to serve Lindsay as she shared is the sales manager with mid market bloom ring so if you're a larger organization. You said that's above 5000 constituents. Is that about okay. Yep, but we do teams that are handling the organization organizations that are just getting started as well. So, and they're fantastic, you know, I've worked with several of them. Check out bloom ring dot co they are here to help and as I shared earlier in the show, you know I was scouting out some systems for client of mine and you know someone at bloom ring said hey maybe you should also check out this other donor management system and I said oh is that a partner of yours and they said no it's a competitor so that speaks volumes and I just you know it speaks to the value of your team members so thank you to bloom ring. It's really a Patrick that created this American amazing platform under the American nonprofit Academy to have conversations I'm always so lucky to to be alongside here for those conversations and we couldn't do it without the support, the continuous support and the day out from our amazing sponsors. So thanks again to bloom ring American nonprofit Academy fundraising Academy at National University nonprofit nerd your part time controller staffing boutique and nonprofit thought leader. Now's the time to check these out I know that Lindsay shared some really good information about donor management. She's got some really good tips for us to to move forward in our donor management space so very excited for that. We've got a fantastic lineup and in fact Lindsay it's almost like you have ESP because one of our guests this week is talking to us about you know how we might be blocking our donors on our donor portal. So, it really does speak to that point like if we have to put our phone down, we might be blocking that donation so. Yeah, so great teaser. Well thanks for all of you that joined us today. It's our Monday, starting off a brand new fresh week here at the nonprofit show. So glad to have each and every one of you here so glad to have Lindsay here with bloom ring. Bloomering has been a loyal dedicated sponsor since we started this episode and again we've had so many people from bloom ring to join us as you know, amazing guest as they talk about all kinds of moving pieces within our sector for the last three years so Lindsay we appreciate your time. Thank you. And thanks to all of you we'd certainly want to invite you back tomorrow hope that you'll join us up for the rest of the week and as we end every episode, we want to remind you to please stay well. So you can do well. Lindsay go enjoy that pumpkin coffee you're drinking. Thank you will do.