These materials are available under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 3.0 License.

The Art of Technology

CONSTITUENT DATA MANAGEMENT

The Art of Technology is made possible by generous funding from the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation

These materials are available under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 3.0 License.

Topics for This SegmentTracking Your Constituents

Constituent Management Systems Stand-Alone Online Ticketing Integrated Ticketing and Donor Systems Online Integrated Systems

Tracking Online Communications Broadcast Email Online Donations The Importance of a Good List Recruiting Supporters

Good Data Management

These materials are available under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 3.0 License.

Tracking Your Constituents

These materials are available under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 3.0 License.

Understanding Your Constituents

Members

Patrons

Donors/SalesPartners

Patrons

VolunteersCONSTITUENT

These materials are available under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 3.0 License.

Consider Your Processes

OutreachConversion

Service

These materials are available under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 3.0 License.

Understanding Your Constituents

Major Donors

Clients

Volunteers

Event Attendees

Press

Staff

Etc.

Outreach Conversion Service

These materials are available under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 3.0 License.

Group Work

The Constituent Matrix

These materials are available under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 3.0 License.

Constituent ManagementYou need some way to keep track of your

constituents…

These materials are available under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 3.0 License.

Excel is Not a Constituent Database

Having unorganized data won’t get you anywhere!

These materials are available under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 3.0 License.

What Do You Need to Track?

Donor ManagementBox Office

Online Ticketing Other Processes

These materials are available under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 3.0 License.

Poll

Who does their own ticketing?

These materials are available under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 3.0 License.

If You Don’t Do Ticketing…

Then you don’t need ticketing software!

These materials are available under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 3.0 License.

Custom Fields Can Help

What show did they attend?

When did they come?How much did they pay?

A few custom fields in your database might capture all the performance data you need…

These materials are available under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 3.0 License.

Tracking Constituent Data

Constituent Management Systems

Stand Alone Ticketing Systems

Integrated Ticketing and Donor Systems

Online Integrated Systems

These materials are available under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 3.0 License.

Constituent Management Systems

Systems that specialize in tracking different kinds of constituents… but without a lot of built in support for ticketing.

Giftworks

These materials are available under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 3.0 License.

GiftWorks

A friendly installed program to manage donors (plus some events and volunteers) at a low cost. www.missionresearch.com

These materials are available under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 3.0 License.

Salesforce.com

Gaining strength in the nonprofit world as a very flexible way to manage all your constituent relationships. Many plug-ins are available, including for Brown Paper Tickets.

http://foundation.force.com

If you need ticketing, consider:

PatronManager CRM

These materials are available under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 3.0 License.

Also Consider…

eTapestry DonorPerfect

Online Donor2 Raisers Edge

These materials are available under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 3.0 License.

Poll

Are you happy with your ticketing software?

These materials are available under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 3.0 License.

Stand-Alone Online Ticketing

Provides an affordable way to sell tickets – either general admission or reserved seats. You’ll likely need a constituent database as well.

Brown Paper Tickets

These materials are available under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 3.0 License.

Eventbrite

Basic but quite inexpensive option for selling general admissions tickets online. Patrons are taken to PayPal to buy. Free for free events.

www.eventbrite.com

These materials are available under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 3.0 License.

Brown Paper Tickets

Surprisingly robust option for the price – feature-rich online ticketing, including some basic reserved seat features and physical paper tickets.

www.brownpapertickets.com

These materials are available under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 3.0 License.

Tix.com

Useful box-office and online ticketing software– costs nothing but a flat transaction fee. No constituent tracking.

www.tix.com

These materials are available under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 3.0 License.

Also Consider…

Turtle Ticketing TixHub Vendini TicketLeap Tick-It! Trak Pro WinTix/WebTix

These materials are available under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 3.0 License.

There are Different Types of Data You Might Want to Integrate

Integrating SystemsThere are three basic approaches to integrating data

Manually synch import/ export

Use an integrated package

Create a feed via API

Pros

Cons

Look for…

Least up front investment

Can be time consuming ongoing, especially if high volume

Flexibility of import and export tools

All data is in one place and easy to access, without extra effort

Bigger investment up-front. Requires replacing existing systems

A tool that can support all your constituent tracking needs

Can create “best of breed” approach; can use existing systems

Requires skilled programmer and investment up front

A tool that allows programmatic access to data

These materials are available under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 3.0 License.

Full Integration Isn’t for Everyone

Basic Show info What show? When? $?

A few custom fields and a manual process might provide all the integration you need…

When contacted? What email? Other communication?

Online Donations/Sales How much? When? Why?

These materials are available under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 3.0 License.

If You CAN’T Get the Data…

Then it isn’t an integration issue, but a list building issue

These materials are available under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 3.0 License.

Integrated Ticketing + Donor Systems

Combines box office and fundraising processes in one system

Theatre Manager by Arts Management Systems

These materials are available under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 3.0 License.

Total Info by Easy-Ware

Fairly affordable system that integrates real fundraising functionality into reasonable box office functionality.

www.easy-ware.com

These materials are available under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 3.0 License.

PatronManager CRM

Ticketing and box office functionality built on top of Salesforce. Fully integrated with Patron Mail for a quite affordable solution.

www.patrontechnologies.com

These materials are available under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 3.0 License.

Theater Manager by Arts Management Systems

Widely used system which provides more sophisticated donor and box office functionality

www.artsman.com

These materials are available under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 3.0 License.

Tessitura

Well respected system that truly integrates complex box office, online ticketing, and fundraising and more. More appropriate for multi-million dollar orgs than for small ones.

www.tessitura.com

These materials are available under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 3.0 License.

Also Consider…

Choice Ticketing Audience View Ticketing Blackbaud’s Patron Edge

These materials are available under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 3.0 License.

Online Integrated Systems

Manage many aspects of online communications and constituent information all together in one online package

These materials are available under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 3.0 License.

WildApricot

Basic but well designed system that allows you to create a website, track members, sell general admissions tickets, send emails, take donations, and more.

www.wildapricot.com

Basic but well designed system that allows you to create a website, track members, basic event registration, send emails, take donations, and more.

www.wildapricot.com

These materials are available under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 3.0 License.

Z2 Systems Neon

Somewhat more expensive but more feature rich system with real support for fundraising, website content management, email, and basic event registration.www.z2systems.com

These materials are available under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 3.0 License.

eTapestry

This modular online system is strong in fundraising, with additional features for emailing, online payments, and event registration. It’s free to track under 500 constituents, but gets expensive fast.

www.etapestry.com

These materials are available under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 3.0 License.

DonorPerfect Online

Similar in functionality and cost to eTapestry but more upfront customization. Includes fairly robust general admission event registration.

www.donorperfect.com

These materials are available under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 3.0 License.

Also Consider…

Democracy in Action’s Salsa Convio Blackbaud Sphere

Photo: The Oude School

These materials are available under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 3.0 License.

Choose Your Central Systems

Define one or two types of systems that will cover the majority of your needs

Centered around patrons?

Centered around donors?

Ticketing

Software

Donor Management

Many different? Integrated

These materials are available under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 3.0 License.

Can You Expand It?Can you use custom fields or other features to support more constituents and processes?

This will depend a lot on the system

These materials are available under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 3.0 License.

Group Work

Defining Your Core Data Needs

These materials are available under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 3.0 License.

Based on the Matrix…

What types of systems do your answers imply should be the best for your

data management?

In which 3 to 5 squares do you spend the most staff time?

Which squares are most critical to you?

These materials are available under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 3.0 License.

Tracking Online Communications

Online Communications Methods

These materials are available under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 3.0 License.

Your Communications Strategy

These materials are available under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 3.0 License.

Coordinating Communications

Define the goal

Think through

the audience for each method

Tailor the message

What are you trying to accomplish?

Why are they there? What will resonate?

What will best achieve your goals?

Don’t just send the same message through every medium.

These materials are available under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 3.0 License.

Broadcast Email

These materials are available under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 3.0 License.

Emails are Very Cost Effective

Reach out to your constituents to let them know what you’re doing

Or ask them to take action

These materials are available under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 3.0 License.

But the Details are CriticalWho is the email from?

Is the graphic design clean? Does it depend on images?

Are there spam-like words in the text?

Are any calls to action clear?

Does it seem like they know who I am?

Is there an unsubscribe link and physical address?

What’s the subject line?

These materials are available under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 3.0 License.

Try to Find the Right Email FrequencyThink through your overall email volume

Quarterly Monthly Weekly Daily

TypicalAlmost certainly too little

Probably too much

These materials are available under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 3.0 License.

VerticalResponse

Strong features, and the first 10,000 emails free each month, but doesn’t have great templates.www.verticalresponse.com

These materials are available under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 3.0 License.

Network for Good EmailNow (powered by Emma)

Affordable, strong features, easy to use and has great templates (they’ll design one for you!)www.networkforgood.org

These materials are available under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 3.0 License.

Patron Mail

Affordable (especially for small lists), with strong deliverability and arts-focused support.

www.patronmail.com

These materials are available under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 3.0 License.

Online Payments

These materials are available under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 3.0 License.

How Many and How Large?

Estimate the donations you expect get:

How many donations?

Average donation size?

These materials are available under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 3.0 License.

Stand-Alone: Few Donations, Price Is Critical

$50 one time setup + 4.75% of each donation. Some customization of the form; strong international support

www.clickandpledge.com

Basic Donate Now www.networkforgood.org

No fees except 4.75% of each donation - but not customizable at all. The visitor leaves your site for the NFG site

These materials are available under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 3.0 License.

Stand-Alone: Best Value for Good Tools

Mid-priced specialist in donations, events, and registration. Fairly flexible donation form. Although it’s their merchant account, your org’s name appears on the credit card bill

www.greatergiving.com

Completely integrated and fairly flexible donation form, with support for products and events as well. They offer Canadian tax receipts and multiple language support.

www.gifttool.com

DonateNow (formerly by Groundspring) is an affordable basic tool that can be completely integrated into your site.

Custom Donate Now www.networkforgood.org

These materials are available under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 3.0 License.

Group Work

Your Core Gaps and Opportunities

These materials are available under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 3.0 License.

Discuss…

What are the core gaps in your current systems that would be most useful to fill?

What are your key opportunities?

These materials are available under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 3.0 License.

The Importance of a Good List

These materials are available under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 3.0 License.

Bigger is Better

The more people on your list, the more that…

Hear your message

See your resources

Take action

Donate

These materials are available under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 3.0 License.

Does Anyone Open Email Anymore?Yes. Especially from organizations they know and like.

These vary widely based on organization and email

12-30% Open

2-15% Click

5-10% Act

.05-2% Give

These materials are available under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 3.0 License.

But That’s for Actual SupportersEmailing people without their permission will do more harm than good.

You may be blacklisted as a spammer.

You may alienate people from your cause.

You may violate the law.

These materials are available under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 3.0 License.

The Building Blocks of a Successful List

Recruit Your Current Supporters

Make Online Friends

Consider Other People’s Lists

Be a Good Correspondent

Track Your Metrics

These materials are available under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 3.0 License.

Recruit Supporters

These materials are available under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 3.0 License.

Ask When You See ThemSetting up tables or sign-up lists in your physical space can be very effective.

RafflesGuest Books

Newsletter Sign-Ups

These materials are available under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 3.0 License.

Brainstorm

What methods can you use to collect patron information at shows?

Have Something Worth Subscribing ToMake it compelling to THEM

These materials are available under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 3.0 License.

Ask Your Direct Mail ListSend them an invitation, with a way to sign up.

These materials are available under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 3.0 License.

Ask as a Follow-up to All InteractionsAsk everyone if you can add them to your list

At the end of phone calls

Make it a staff mandate to collect cards and email addresses

In casual conversations

At conferences and networking opportunities

At your events

These materials are available under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 3.0 License.

Make it Easy to Sign Up on Your WebsiteA two-stage sign-up can maximize subscribers while still getting some info

The absolute minimum info

Subscribe them, then ask for a bit more detail.

The more info you ask for, the fewer people will fill out the form

These materials are available under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 3.0 License.

Ask in All Automatic EmailsSomeone who’s just done something is a great candidate to sign up for your list

These materials are available under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 3.0 License.

Encourage Sign Ups in Social Network Sites

Causes in Facebook, or email subscription widgets, allow people to sign-up

Facebook Causes

These materials are available under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 3.0 License.

An Online List Building Plan

Ensure People See It

Create Compelling Stuff

Ask for Contact Info

Information Videos Contests Campaigns Opportunities to be heard

Get updates Petitions Donate Register to view Sign in to participate

Google Ads and SEO Facebook/Twitter Ask your list to send it

These materials are available under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 3.0 License.

Quantity Isn’t EverythingBefore embarking on a particular list building strategy, ask yourself:

A subscriber’s value is proportional to the effort they took to sign up

Are these people really opting in?

What’s the likely return on my time?

Will they actually be interested in my cause?

These materials are available under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 3.0 License.

Good Data Management

These materials are available under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 3.0 License.

You have all this constituent data…

…you need rules to manage it!

Email List

Ticket Sales Social Media Interactions

Patrons and Donors

These materials are available under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 3.0 License.

Know what constituent data you have

Email Contacts

Donations and

Ticket Sales

Social Media

These materials are available under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 3.0 License.

How do you enter data uniformly?

Make sure to have clear instructions

How will it be recorded?

Time frame for data entry?

What will and will not be recorded?

These materials are available under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 3.0 License.

Periodically Clean Your Data

These materials are available under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 3.0 License.

Know who is working with the data

…you might consider a data focused staff member!

These materials are available under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 3.0 License.

Privacy versus AccessDifferent users need different levels of access:

Development Staff

Executive Director Other Staff

Volunteers

These materials are available under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 3.0 License.

Security is a key concern

Hosted vs. Installed Software

Who has access?

How is it backed up?

How do you access it?

These materials are available under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 3.0 License.

Training is Essential

Clean and

Usable Data

These materials are available under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 3.0 License.

Integrating Your DataIf you can’t integrate, at least coordinate

These materials are available under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 3.0 License.

Key Take AwaysTracking Your Constituents

Decide what type of software fits your needs If you do ticketing, then you probably want to start with

ticketing software Integration is helpful, but not always necessary

Tracking Online Communications Choose the right software for your needs and budget List building is essential to effective email and online

fundraising programs Be thoughtful and creative in recruiting supporters

Good Data Management You need rules and plans to manage your data