Patrick Shaw’s Weblog

One that complies with the CanSpam, laws, to start - and there are a LOT of tools that do that! It’s probably easier to think about making this decision first:

• Local - this is software that I install and manage on my computer or on my network.
• Hosted - this is “rented” software, and I access it via the Internet.

The next question you need to answer is about integration - and you SHOULD answer it! (Our friends at Idealware have a terrific article on that). Ask yourself this: “Does my enewsletter list duplicate or implicate any of my other lists?” If the answer is “yes” - then you need to find a way to integrate both lists - and that may be challenging.

Here at NPower Seattle, we’re thinking a LOT about Effective Use - that means more than just having a good tool - it means having the RIGHT tool, and then using it well. I’d suggest that your enewsletter tool SHOULD integrate with your agencies’ other data sources - donors, clients, volunteers, other stakeholders. Most nonprofits dream (and rightly so) of having a 360 degree of their stakeholders so that they can invite those people to a deeper relationship. And you do that by knowing how and if they donate, how and if they participate in your programs, and if they volunteer.

The good news is that there are a lot of tools that can help - and the bad news is that there are a lot of tools that can help! The folks at Idealware have a great comparison article on enewlestter tools, too.

We’re exploring tools such as What Counts, Vertical Response, Campaigner Pro, MailListKing, and others, and are planning to become expert in one or two of them. Some are hosted, some have a great price point, some integrate with Salesforce . . . so there isn’t a one size fits all.

When you start looking for an enewsletter tool, make sure you understand your communications strategy, you have a good idea of how much you plan to send, and if you will be segmenting your newsletter. (Segmenting is like use a mail merge - you send your newsletter to a LOT of people - but you insert the right first name, ask for the right donation, or invite them to take the right class at your agency). And make sure you figure out how you’ll track the responses, too.

You can tell that this is an area where there will be significant growth, a lot of learning, and new tools and offerings, too. I’ll keep you posted about what we’re learning!

Short answer - probably. Long answer - probably not a good idea!

To be sure - it SOUNDS great - accept all of your gifts from donors and granting agencies, including in-kind gifts and viola! - it updates QuickBooks. But what is this really getting you? If you’re talking about using integration tools to help you reconcile your two tools - that’s a great idea. But if you’re talking about duplicating each gift in QuickBooks - I think you should reconsider - and here’s why:

QuickBooks is a financial management tool, not a donor tracking tool - and if you find a way to create a link (and this is harder than it sounds - ask anyone who inadvertently duplicated all of their Vendor records in QuickBooks) how would it add value? You wouldn’t be able to see if that donation gave to a particular campaign, if it was connected to a particular event, or if it were the result of a matching gift. And if you could - you’ll most likely have created a pretty impressive donor tracking tool in QuickBooks!

Your donor tools, on the other hand, let you do that - they help you understand WHY your donors are giving - or not giving, as well as how they are related to other agencies and people. And while it IS important to mine that data to know who your top donors are - those aren’t financial records - they are a part of a donor history.

Don’t confuse the purpose of your tools - you most likely wouldn’t ask your donor tools to print a 1099 form - so why should you expect your financial tools to manage your donors?

Work with your accountant and bookkeeping staff AND your fund raising team to understand the unique needs of those departments - and figure out how to share information effectively without duplicating!

Worried about Daylight Savings Time and concerned that your calendar might not behave properly? You should be - some software might not make the switch very well, leaving you with the possibility of having appointments show up on your calendar early or late!

There is a lot of freely available information from Microsoft about what to do (you can read my earlier posting) but if anyone is looking for low-tech method - I highly recommend printing your calendar from March 9th through the end of the month!

Having a paper backup is a great idea - you might even consider printing for a slightly longer time frame, just to be sure. The method of printing will vary a little, depending on what email tool you are using. Both the built in help tools and Google are your friend here - I searched for “how do I print my calendar” and one of the very first links comes from Indiana University, with great instructions for Outlook for the Mac and for the PC. And you can go right to the source if you are using Outlook as an email tool.

One final tip - for the next three weeks - consider double-checking your appointments - send a note or call the people with whom you are meeting - you’ll all feel more sure that way!