Technology in Fundraising

Top 10 Raiser's Edge Tips of 2011

2011-11-28T05:40:00.000-05:00

Good morning everyone and happy Monday! We have grown considerably this year and as a result I feel that it is time to create a new social media strategy for RESolutionsTECH that would include this blog. We are still in the planning stages but wanted to let you know you should expect something new, exciting, and something that will be helpful to you and your organization soon. In the meantime, I wanted to be sure you were aware of our latest top 10 list which will provide you with most popular Raiser's Edge tips of 2011. Enjoy and stay tuned!

http://www.resolutionstech.com/Top10/trophy/email.html

Interested In Non-Profit Jobs - Take A Look At Our New Job Posting Page

2011-09-03T09:04:00.001-04:00

Happy weekend folks!

We are constantly being asked if we know of organizations looking to hire by our many contacts so we thought we would create our own job posting page to help out. Take a look.

http://www.resolutionstech.com/index.php?page=JobPost

Have a great day!

Robin

Limited Budget - We Can Help

2011-06-29T06:10:00.000-04:00

Does your organization use Raiser’s Edge? Do you rely on technology to keep your operations running smoothly? If you answered “Yes!” to either of these questions, then try to imagine what it’d be like to have the unlimited support of our technology gurus and database experts at your fingertips. As our clients, like Providence College and Theological Seminary can attest, “It’s like a dream come true!”

To read more, click the link below.

http://www.resolutionstech.com/news/?limited-budget-we-can-help-80.html

What You Need to Know about Hosting Raiser’s Edge in the Cloud

2011-06-25T09:49:00.000-04:00

Thinking of hosting your Raiser's Edge externally? Read this great post from Rene on our team about things you should be aware of before you do.

http://www.resolutionstech.com/news/?what-you-need-to-know-about-hosting-raiser-s-edge-in-the-cloud-78.html

Celebrate Your Success When Learning Something New

2011-06-16T07:27:00.000-04:00

It is critical that we all celebrate our successes when we learn something new. These celebrations inspire you and those around you to follow the path of life long learning.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JmVQEknBdwo

We at RESolutionsTECH love to help our clients learn new and improved ways of doing things with Raiser's Edge and other technology. We celebrate our successes and our clients success every single day!

Robin Porter
RESolutionsTECH Inc.
http://www.resolutionstech.com

Be Thankful - Make It Great!

2011-06-14T09:49:00.000-04:00

Watch this video! I found this incredibly inspiring and it was a good reminder of how much we all have to be thankful for. Be happy and make each day great!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5yOX2JkcpRQ

Robin Porter
RESolutionsTECH Inc.
http://www.resolutionstech.com

Four Wishes for My Family

2011-06-06T16:44:00.000-04:00

Four Wishes for My Family - New Blog Post

Read how RESolutionsTECH love to help our clients!

At 12:06AM on May 28th, a miracle took place. This miracle was of extraordinary proportions and more wonderful than...

http://www.resolutionstech.com/news/?four-wishes-for-my-family-new-blog-post-77.html

Data Benchmarking

2011-05-20T10:04:00.000-04:00

How to Naturally Stimulate Your Appetite for Increased Donations!

Read this exciting new post on how using Data Benchmarking can naturally stimulate your appetite for increased donations! I'm hungry for better data. Are you?

http://www.resolutionstech.com/news/?data-benchmarking-new-blog-post-76.html

Our weekly newsletters rock!

2011-03-07T16:25:00.001-05:00

We are hearing from many that they love our weekly newsletters that provide valuable Raiser's Edge tips. We have now given out more than 90 this year. Have you received them?

Our tips have helped in areas of integration, letters, and so much more.

Let us know if you have missed any as we would be happy to share with you. Visit http://www.resolutionstech.com/ to connect with us and make your request for the tips you missed.

Robin

Raiser's Edge Assistance at No Cost with RESolutionsTECH Assist

2011-02-05T13:59:00.000-05:00

Happy weekend everyone!

I am excited to announce the launch of a new forum called RESolutionsTECH Assist. Raiser's Edge users can now connect with similar organizations to ask and answer questions at no cost. If you make use of Raiser's Edge at your organization I encourage you to check it out at http://www.resolutionstech.com/RESolutionsTECHAssist/. Have fun connecting with hundreds of others like yourself.

Have a great day!

Robin

Happy New Year!

2011-01-08T07:25:00.000-05:00

Happy New Year everyone! I hope you all enjoyed a wonderful holiday season and that you are already making a great start to 2011.

This past week we sent out a great post to our clients and friends regarding the importance of completing a Database Audit to ensure you have an effective plan moving forward for your data. Our next post will have us look back on the biggest mistakes we have seen organizations like yours make with Raiser's Edge in 2010.

If you would like to receive any of these posts, please send me an email at rporter@resolutionstech.com requesting them and I would be happy to send them along.

This is going to be a VERY exciting year at RESolutionsTECH and for our clients using Raiser's Edge. We look forward to continuing to provide you with the best possible solutions and support that are affordable to your organization.

Sincerely,

Robin

P.S. - This year I did not receive a goat but rather the gift of bees from Oxfam Unwrapped. Thank you Emma and thank you Oxfam Canada!

Managing Raiser's Edge in Multiple Locations and with Multiple Users

2010-08-18T13:20:00.000-04:00

Peter from the RESolutionsTECH team just posted a fantastic new blog post about managing Raiser's Edge in multiple locations and with multiple users. Don't miss this exciting post!

Have an excellent day everyone. Stay tuned for my next blog post that is coming soon. :)

Managing Raiser's Edge users in Multiple Locations

Enjoying the Fruits of Your Labour!

2010-07-29T05:52:00.001-04:00

Both In NetCommunity™ and the Garden

Hello, friends and fellow blog-readers! It’s been another gorgeous weekend here in Kingston. Once again, my wife and I spent a large part of it out in our garden. While the toil of garden work seems to be never-ending, my family is constantly provided with tremendous happiness as well. We reaped our rewards, as we were able to pick and enjoy our first delicious tomato crop of the year. These scrumptious tomatoes reminded me of some of my recent discussions regarding the creation of a website with Blackbaud’s® NetCommunity™. Our partnership with SJ Consulting LLC has produced the following information every non-profit should be aware of when creating a website with NetCommunity™.

Start With Clean-Up

Gardening is a lot like building a website with NetCommunity™. It is a good idea to always begin the process with a little clean-up of the web space and the data from your Raiser’s Edge® database, decide what you hope to achieve from your website, and become knowledgeable of the tools you will be using to create the site.

What are the most common mistakes made while using NetCommunity™?

If you needed help with planting some cedar trees in your backyard, it wouldn’t make sense to call up a rose or tulip specialist. The same scenario is applicable to NetCommunity™. When you acquire designs/layouts from outside designers who have no knowledge or familiarity of NetCommunity™ (BBNC), or you hire developers to build your website who have only worked in Drupal or Convio, you are not making the best choice. The design setup may conflict with system functionality, and incorrect parts may be implemented. This will be of severe detriment to your entire website and your online mission to fundraise.

All gardens, no matter the size, are unique in their own way. Every garden has distinctive features that make it special. When creating an organization’s website(s) with BBNC, it should look completely one-of-a-kind. BBNC doesn’t utilize a “standard” design and it is not templated like other content management systems. Blackbaud® NetCommunity™ allows total design customization and the incorporation of 60+ functional website elements.

No one likes weeds, pests, or dead growth in their gardens. Yanking out dandelions or trimming back out-of-control grape vines can make a world of difference. Just like gardens need to be weeded on a regular basis, content and images in BBNC need to be kept fresh and up-to-date. Organizations and their developers are drastically underutilizing the ability to use scheduled parts, RSS feeds, discussion boards, Facebook Connect, personal pages, community sites, etc. to keep their website dynamic. This needs to be changed!

Some people might use grape vines to create privacy in their gardens, while others use grape vines to produce delicious grapes. The same applies to BBNC, using the philosophy of, “One size does not fit all!” One organization might use a donation form for an entirely different purpose than another. For both organizations, the initial donation form is the same, but BBNC’s design flexibility, field displays, sections, multi-payment options, and more allow the form to be tailored to fit each organization’s custom requirements.

Visiting greenhouses and garden centres, talking to nature enthusiasts, checking out other people’s gardens, browsing the Internet, and reading blogs like this one can increase your knowledge and awareness of the wonderful world of gardening. Broadening your horizons will provide you with insight and ideas beyond your wildest dreams! RESolutionsTECH has noticed that a lot of organizations only utilize about 5% of the 60+ functional elements that are available in BBNC. This is similar to planting simple geraniums every year and never daring to explore the vast assortment of other flowers and plants that are out there!

Bees are buzzing around the garden to pollinate your flowering plants. Your nieces are frolicking and singing their favourite songs joyously in the glowing summer sun. The neighbours have come over for a visit, too, and are gushing about how gorgeous your garden looks this year. All in all, there are several different types of communication that tend to go on in your garden. Knowledge is power, and the more understanding you possess, the better prepared you will be when havoc breaks loose (and a new breed of insect starts eating your hostas). With NetCommunity™, organizations have the ability to use E-mail Campaigns, which allow for cross-section analysis of various e-mail appeals and assorted methods of communication, targeted content to customize messaging on the website, and discussion boards to encourage communication with and between constituents. Tracking all types of communication will let you better understand what is working and what is not so you can shape future emails and website strategy.

What can a charity can do with NetCommunity™ to make its website rock?

Garden parties and summer BBQs are always fun ways to share the fruits of your gardening labours with your friends and loved ones. This can be accomplished in NetCommunity™ websites by incorporating social media networking.

Discuss your garden with those around you to learn more and help others do the same. A NetCommunity™ website engages users with surveys, discussion forums, polls, and personal pages.

Many factors need to be taken into consideration when deciding what to plant in your garden. How much sun will the area receive? What is the soil like? Who will be able to view the garden? Is it on public display, or is it private and only for family and friends? A NetCommunity™ website has many similar aspects to your beloved garden. There are options to customize your content - whole sections of websites, single pages, or small segments of pages – to site users who are logged in. Targeted content can be based on any segment of constituents in Raiser’s Edge® and categorized by geographic region, donor level, interests, event participation, chapter engagement, etc.

It’s often a good idea to keep it simple in the garden. Introducing several new species at once, or planting too many things in a congested area, is not the best way to get plants to thrive. Plants can get choked out, die, or simply never live up to their full growth potential. The same applies to users who visit a NetCommunity™ website. With multi-payment processing, users can make a donation, register for an event, and update their membership with a one-time payment of total amount. This is far more efficient, effective, and less stressful than restricting constituents to paying for multiple items individually.

Maintaining a consistent, well-planned theme in your garden enables better flow and a much more desirable appearance. It is the same with NetCommunity™. Tie the design of your e-mails into the overall website design so recipients become aware of the brand and the organization's cause, and respond by taking action, making a donation, registering for an event, and more!

End With Clean-Up

Whether in NetCommunity™ or Raiser’s Edge®, or washing the fresh cucumbers you have just harvested from your garden, it is always ideal to finish off with a bit of tidying up.

Reaping What You Sow

My wife and I have yielded much wealth from our garden this year. We picked cherries from our backyard and turned them into a mouth-watering sour cherry pie. More recently, we added some of our own juicy tomatoes to a fantastic Caprese salad. Being able to enjoy our fresh, organic produce that we nurtured from start to finish is incredibly rewarding. Hard work pays off, and good things come to those who wait. With NetCommunity™, you can reap what you sow too! Your website should increase donation and event revenues and you can experience, first-hand, the level of engagement between your cause and your supporters. The more thought you put into your BBNC website, the more your supporters will pay attention.

Parallel Universe

Not every charity has the resources to purchase or lease one of the NetCommunity™ products (i.e. Sphere, Spark, etc.). In this case, just as in gardening, there is always another option. We recommend looking at some of the open source solutions such as WordPress, Joomla and CiviCRM. Amazingly enough, they are totally free! Similarly, when my wife and I decided to delve into the world of gardening, many of our friends gave us plants from their own gardens. We nurtured them year after year, and now our garden is flourishing more than ever before!

Let your website flourish like our delicious cherry tomatoes. Contact us at sales@resolutionstech.com or (866) 776-5414 to begin reaping your rewards!

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Communication and Team Work are the Keys to Success!

2010-07-16T05:44:00.001-04:00

"When trying to express oneself, it's frankly quite absurd, To leaf through lengthy lexicons to find the perfect word. A little spontaniaty keeps conversation keen, You need to find a way to say, precisely what you mean..." -- Mary Poppins

Our clients come first at RESolutionsTECH. We are actively listening to you and constantly searching for new ways to improve our efficiency and provide you with the highest quality of service possible.

Although we strive for excellence in everything we do, our organization truly believes that there is always room for progression, growth, and improvement. Relationships with our clients can never be too strong.

We aim to provide you with the best possible service, in a timely manner, with guaranteed results. We are committed to assisting not-for-profits, colleges, and universities utilize technology to generate income, reduce costs, and improve constituent relationships.

One aspect that sets RESolutionsTECH apart from the crowd is the personal interaction and tailored support that we offer our clients. As technology continues to rapidly change and evolve, we see opportunities to become even more personalized while simultaneously increasing our efficiency.

We’re all about establishing a partnership and working with our clients so that they can best communicate their needs and immediate priorities to us. Whether it is a request for training, a data audit, database clean-up, or an immediate and critical technology issue, the means by which these requests are communicated can have a tremendous impact on the timeliness and accuracy of the solution that we provide.

Not only do we demand an unparalleled level of service from our staff, our clients have come to expect and depend on it as well. It is crucial to establish and maintain clear lines of communication between RESolutionsTECH staff and clients. There is a “communication partnership” that must be employed so that:

· The client can clearly and thoroughly communicate the request to us, and

· RESolutionsTECH can clearly and thoroughly communicate the solution back to the client.

This communication partnership benefits both us and our clients. Clients see improved and more efficient results, which lead to excellent value for their organization. At RESolutionsTECH, improved efficiency and client satisfaction results in renewal of business, referrals and testimonials, and new business opportunities.

Thus, this two-way communication partnership is mutually beneficial. There are several things that can be done to ensure that client requests are handled in a timely and efficient manner and that the solutions provided by RESolutionsTECH are clearly presented to best meet the client’s needs.

Our clients are given access to a secure on-line environment referred to as ‘The Portal’ through which requests and solutions are documented, updated and followed-up on. This ensures efficiency, accountability, and value.

In order for RESolutionsTECH to generate a thorough and accurate solution, the client should provide, as clearly and with as much detail as possible, the following information:

· Subject: A short, yet self-descriptive and meaningful title for the request.

· Description: A detailed description of the request. Sufficient detail provided by the client at the time of the request helps to eliminate the need for follow-up questions and clarifications.

· Due Date: The client should provide a realistic preferred date of completion, thus assisting us in the management of our daily priorities.

· Contact Person: The individual making the request on behalf of a client should provide a lead contact name for any follow-up questions or clarifications. This person from the client organization takes ownership of the request.

· Request Type: Whether it is a request for a training session, a data audit, data clean-up, data transfer/integration, or any technology-related questions, indicating the request type will ensure the task is delegated to the most appropriate RESolutionsTECH team member.

· Priority: While clients invariably perceive all of their requests as top priority, in order to maximize efficiency and value, it is important that a method of “Plan – Schedule – Implement” is introduced. This will ensure that tasks are not only completed in a timely manner, but also thoroughly and with 100% accuracy.

Of course, there will be instances when requests are of an urgent nature, and due to the immediacy of the situation, other priorities may need to be shifted in order to complete the high-priority task.

The request should be as clear and concise as possible, and depending on the nature of the request; there may be additional information that the client can provide to ensure that the task is completed to the best of our abilities. For example, if the request involves a query, an export, a report or data integration, information such as inclusions/exclusions is needed to ensure that the solution provided contains PRECISELY the data the client requires. For technical issues or question examples, screen shots and supporting documentation can be extremely helpful. Clients can provide us with an outline or sketch of their ideal report, or actual real-time data from their system, with confidence that their data is safe and secure at all times.

At RESolutionsTECH, we too have the responsibility to maintain open lines of communication, thoroughly outline the progress of our work, and to provide complete solutions that fulfill the needs of all clients.

Once a request has been submitted, RESolutionsTECH will provide the client with:

· An Action Track: This will clearly define the steps required to complete the request. Each type of request has a pre-defined action track that outlines the typical steps required for completion.

· A RESolutionsTECH Team Member: Each request is delegated to a team member who becomes responsible for completing the task.

· Expected Completion Timeframe: This date is continually updated by the RESolutionsTECH team and communicated regularly to the client. It is based on the client’s required date of completion and our knowledge and experience based on the requirements of the task.

· Time Spent On Request: RESolutionsTECH will provide a measure of how much time we have spent working towards the completion of the request. In this way, clients can easily assess the value of partnering with RESolutionsTECH.

RESolutionsTECH is further enhancing client relationships by implementing a constituent survey that outlines the needs and priorities of clients and staff.

Whenever possible, we also use genuine client data and relevant, real-world examples. Sample data is usually not able to accurately communicate requests or solutions.

The goal of a quick response time benefits both the client and RESolutionsTECH, and is best acquired by working together and maintaining open lines of communication. By having all requests and solutions logged in one centralized location, we are ensuring that information is secure and able to be shared between the client and RESolutionsTECH team members. Requests are never mislaid, over-looked or left unfinished. The client can always check the progress to see what has been completed and what is still in progress. Clients can fully gauge our value and determine if expectations are being met.

It is vital that all RESolutionsTECH clients truly feel that our services are well worth the investment. We want you to get the most “Bang For Your Buck”.

On a daily basis, we strive to improve the efficiency and quality of our services. The personal relationships that we have established with our clients mean everything to us. Although we embrace a variety of new technologies, we will never forget our personal touches and will always follow up requests and solutions with a one-on-one phone call.

At RESolutionsTECH, we pride ourselves on not only working for our clients, but being a part of their team. By working closely with you, we can ensure that our services are of maximum value and benefit to your organization.

How we provide superior value to our clients and always strive to improve our services:

a) Integrity: Conduct all our consulting services with the highest level of integrity and honesty at every stage of the client relationship, and in everything we do.

b) Compliance: Stop, think, and ask! Adhere to standardized approaches and follow all legal rules and regulations.

c) Value Creation: Create real long-term value via economic means by offering affordable consulting services with a proven track record. Our Total Support Package (http://www.resolutionstech.com/tsp.php?page=tspdata) offers clients the maximum value for their investment.

d) Principled Entrepreneurship: Create value to RESolutionsTECH, employees, clients, and society. Working with charities who improve so many lives is a privilege and honour for our entire team. We find ourselves humbled by our clients’ global spirit on a continual basis.

e) Customer Focus: Anticipate and satisfy the needs of our clients with prompt response time and the highest quality of service. Our corporate goal is to always go above and beyond the clients’ expectations.

f) Knowledge: Seek and utilize the most in-depth knowledge possible. We are Raiser’s Edge Experts and have a deep understanding of our clients and their data. We love acquiring new knowledge because it allows us to improve our services to you!

g) Change: Embrace change! Always look for new methods to replace old, out-dated procedures. Strive to be more efficient and utilize technology as a tool.

h) Humility: Practice humility and intellectual honesty with clients, prospects and fellow team members at every stage and level of relationships.

i) Respect: Dignity, honesty, respect, and sensitivity = teamwork

j) Fulfillment: Produce results that create value; allow clients to reach their full potential!

RESolutionsTECH is always striving to not only meet, but exceed the aforementioned Market-Based Management Guidelines. These goals and guidelines are the core of everything we do. Your RESolutionsTECH team is here to work with you, make your life easier and do everything within our power to manage your technology needs as efficiently as possible.

We love assisting our clients in the areas of Measuring Results, Database Optimization, Internet Marketing, Communications Efficiency, Network Support, Software Implementation, and providing Support Systems. Strong communication during requests and solutions improves efficiency and accountability for all parties involved.

Together, as a team, we will use technology to generate more revenue, reduce operating costs and improve constituent relationships.

To get the most bang for your buck, contact us at sales@resolutionstech.com or (866) 776-5414.

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The Fundraiser’s Dream: A Dashboard That Gets Results

2010-07-07T08:29:00.001-04:00

The Fundraiser’s Dream: A Dashboard That Gets Results

As you head into your quarterly board meeting, you’re looking forward to touching base with them and making sure that everyone is on the same page. However, you’re experiencing stress and frustration because you haven’t been able to generate a thorough snapshot of your campaign’s current status. You marvel at how much easier your life would be if you simply had the ability to do so with the click of a button!

Has your staff ever been required to spend countless hours manually creating a report of total dollars raised? Are you uncomfortable with, and untrusting of, the accuracy of the reports which come from your database?

Why does your organization continue to tolerate the same aggravating problems each and every time a campaign report is needed? You deserve better!

It’s time to take action and stop beating around the bush. RESolutionsTECH’s sympathetic and highly-trained team is here to eliminate your reporting dilemmas and rid you of your unnecessary frustrations, once and for all!

So, how can you accomplish this? Here are the basic do-it-yourself steps to create your own Dashboards:

Create your dream report manually; this only needs to be done once.
Clearly document each data element and summary field in your report.
Document what is possible and what is not based on your current database setup.
Create and implement steps to improve your database setup.
Create desired reporting without having to re-do them manually ever again.

The Dashboard

The Raiser’s Edge offers several different methods of retrieving information and reporting on data. Your data can be displayed in any number of formats. One of the most visually appealing ways of displaying information in Raiser’s Edge is through the use of the Dashboard feature.

The Dashboard provides a real-time summary of information that can be customized for any user’s unique reporting needs and displayed at the click of a button. The purpose of the Dashboard is to give the Raiser’s Edge user fast, accurate and up-to-date information on where the organization is at in terms of reaching specific goals. These goals can be related to fundraising, volunteer management, solicitor management or event participation. Dashboards are easily built to display tables, graphs, or both. They are excellent for reports of analytical, statistical or financial information within Raiser’s Edge.

For example, Dashboards can be built to display all donations in a current month or current year based on an organization’s top 50 prospects. A Dashboard can be used to compare related Funds, Appeals or Campaigns in order to give a quick representation of how close an organization is to reaching its fundraising goals or to compare and analyze fundraising results over time. In other words, the Raiser’s Edge user has tremendous flexibility as to how the Dashboard is built, the information it contains and how that data is displayed. The graphs and tables created in the Dashboard present information obtained from several different areas throughout Raiser’s Edge, thereby giving users the options necessary to build Dashboards that are most relevant to their needs and their role within the organization.

While Dashboards are typically the most popular with senior management personnel who require real-time information to be displayed easily without building queries or reports, every Raiser’s Edge user, regardless of her/his role, will appreciate the visually dynamic display of information. In addition to traditional Dashboards, other types of Dashboards are being put to good use by charities and non-profit organizations of all sizes.

Alternative Uses of Dashboard

Data entry problems (e.g. Errors in entering new constituents, gifts, and actions).
Donations outside predicted giving level (e.g. Predicted annual fund donor gives major gift).
Prospect activity (e.g. Major gift donor attends recent event).
Fundraiser inactivity (e.g. Fundraisers are not making enough visits to meet with donors).
Pipeline activity (e.g. Projected gift that is 10% close to closing moves up to 90% close to closing).

Other Reporting Options

Keep in mind however, that like any pre-built reporting tool, there are certain limitations to Dashboard. This means that there’s a chance you might not be able to generate the exact information you require. If your organization finds that Dashboards are not able to meet all of your visual reporting needs, then creating a Crystal Report might be your best alternative. A Crystal Report provides all the benefits of both a traditional report and a Dashboard while alleviating the built-in restrictions that naturally hinder the Raiser’s Edge reporting functionalities. Do not let anything get in the way of acquiring the reporting that you need. Anything is possible! Be careful what you ask for though; the results of such precise reporting tools can sometimes be a little too real. J

How Can Your Organization Take It To The Next Level?

Dashboards e-mailed to you on a daily basis.
Automatic e-mailing to notify you of key milestones being met or not.
Instant access to Dashboards from your Blackberry, iPhone, or iPad.
Dashboards based on external data (e.g. social networks, web and e-mail metrics).
Real-time predictive model Dashboards (e.g. top major giving, annual giving, planned giving prospects).

Do You Get External Help?

It is also important to remember that like all reporting tools, the Dashboard is reflective of the data that is input into Raiser’s Edge. Therefore, accurate information can only be retrieved if data is being populated into Raiser’s Edge in a consistent and accurate manner. The notion of “Garbage In – Garbage Out” applies just as much to the Dashboard feature as it does to reports and queries. In fact, Dashboards can help identify where problems exist within your database. Creating a Dashboard is a great first step to getting rid of your garbage data.

How to Get What You Need and Save Money

Sketch out your dream report.
Document data elements and summary fields in a report.
Request a quote from a consultant to complete your dream report.
Decide which method of reporting makes the most economic sense: utilizing an internal team, a consultant, or both.
Measure how much time and money you can save your organization.

With any database system, the ability to retrieve accurate, real-time information is an absolute necessity. Raiser’s Edge is no different. The reason that an organization carefully and accurately tracks and maintains Constituent information is so that analytical, statistical, demographical and financial data can be retrieved from the system. Frequently, however, this can be a burdensome and difficult task, and often the end results are not as intended in either format or content. At RESolutionsTECH, we are data clean-up and reporting experts and can assist your organization in retrieving accurate data in any format you wish. Whether you require queries, standard reports, Dashboards, or Crystal Reports, our goal is to ensure that you receive the information you need, in the format you desire, with the absolute highest level of accuracy possible.

Next Steps – What RESolutionsTECH Can Do For You

Provide a quote on any Raiser’s Edge-related task.
Train staff on how to be more self-sufficient with your database and reporting needs.
Clean up your database to ensure a higher accuracy of reporting.
Create all of your single-click dream reports.
Assist you with analyzing your reports to improve fundraising results.

RESolutionsTECH is here to assist your organization and make life easier. Let’s get rid of your frustrations and improve the quality of your database. Stop daydreaming, and make accurate, efficient reporting an everyday reality.

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How I Got My Goat

2010-05-19T05:54:00.000-04:00

Before my birthday, Christmas, and all sorts of other special occasions, my wife has always asked what I would like as a gift. For the past several years, I have been telling her that the only thing I want is a goat. Due to my current living situation – a residential neighbourhood in Kingston Ontario – a goat simply would not be the most manageable of pets. I wasn’t asking for a goat because I wanted one for myself, though.

Oxfam is an online alternative giving program where shoppers can purchase gifts for others which are used to help underprivileged women, men, children, and communities as a whole. Goats are one of the gift items that can be bought to help needy communities in developing countries. My wife had never been fully aware of Oxfam’s motives, and therefore was always joking and teasing me about my frequent requests for a goat.

One day, as she was watching the Ellen DeGeneres Show, she found herself listening to Sandra Bullock; a spokesperson for Oxfam. Sandra explained how the program worked, in terms of buying farm animals, health supplies, seeds, vaccinations, tools and equipment, etc. for villages in Africa and over 20 other underprivileged countries. Sandra mentioned that goats were one of the purchasable farm animals that could be used to help countries in need! My wife was touched, and instantly went to the Oxfam website to see about getting me the goat I’d wanted for years!

My wife had a ton of fun in the process. She especially loved that she could use the website to create and customize a gift card for me, featuring a full-colour picture of good ol’ Billy-Bob the goat. In the process, she ended up making a donation of $58 to help people who are far, far less fortunate than us.

Oxfam Unwrapped

So, after several years, I finally ended up getting my goat! I keep the card hanging up in front of me on my bulletin board, and every day it makes me chuckle and smile. I love telling people the story of how I got it, and so does my wife. Many of her friends have also followed suit with Oxfam. They are constantly telling us about how their loved ones are not interested in receiving an actual gift, but rather, having a donation made on their behalf.

Donors and prospects, such as my wife and her friends, are plentiful. How does your organization appear to these potential constituents? What would be their incentive to donate to you?

Let’s take a look at what Oxfam is doing. (It should be noted that we have not worked with Oxfam before.)

Technology in Fundraising

Pertaining to technology in fundraising, here are some key areas/issues that I hope Oxfam is paying attention to:

• How is my wife’s gift recorded in their database?

• What additional information did they record, on top of standard biographical and gift information?

• Do they know how much fun my wife had in the process?

• Do they know how many people my wife has referred to them?

• Did Oxfam soft credit or acknowledge me in some way for the gift?

• How am I recorded in their database?

• What is their communication strategy to my wife (the donor)?

• What is their communication strategy to me (the recipient of the gift)? (E.g. Do I get an update on Billy-Bob?)

• How will they stay in contact with my wife and I; email, snail mail, phone, or all of the above. Perhaps they don’t plan on contacting us at all. Hopefully this is not the case because I would love to make a donation myself, if asked! :)

• How did the data that my wife submitted via the Oxfam website get into their actual donor database?

• What information moved from the website to their donor database?

Fundraising

Looking at Oxfam from a fundraiser’s perspective, here are some questions that this organization should be asking:

• How do we continue to build the relationship with this newly acquired donor(s)?

• Is this actually a new donor, or has this donor given to us before?

• How do we move this donor from the $58 level to the next level?

• What exactly is the next level for this donor?

• How should I communicate with this donor?

• What amount of ‘people-time’ should be allotted to this donor?

• Where should this donor be located on my daily reports?

• What is his/her score in terms of how close he/she is to making a major gift, annual gift, etc.?

• What should the next touch point with this donor(s) be?

In conclusion, Oxfam provides innovative and extremely beneficial gift and donation solutions to people who seemingly already have everything. They have tremendous appeal to donors and are hopefully doing everything possible to build their existing relationships while continuing to steward new donors as well. It is absolutely possible for your organization to appeal to a large spectrum of donors as well! The key to success is making sure all your bases are covered, pertaining to technology in fundraising as well as actual fundraisers’ perspectives.

If any readers decide to donate to Oxfam as well, please let me know! I’d love to hear your stories of chickens, donkeys, and even goats that are helping to provide the less fortunate with a better quality of life. :)

Parallel Universe:

RESolutionsTECH has a convenient and extremely efficient service which will assist your organization in answering many of the important fundraising questions that I have posed above.

Our Complete Database Audit is a thorough and affordable way to identify all of the ideas within your database where improvements could and should be made. Our technology and fundraising experts will assess your database to ensure it is properly set up to meet and even exceed the needs of your organization.

When we audit your database, our ultimate goal is to provide you with a roadmap to help your organization grow and move forward. We want you to clearly understand:

• Where your organization is at now

• Where your organization needs to go

• How our proposed changes will benefit you and your constituents alike

Our database audit will also assist you with:

• Staff training and support

• Data clean-up

• Accurate reporting

• Your online presence

• Communicating effectively

• Reducing operational costs

• Saving time

Let RESolutionsTECH help your organization reap the benefits of a clean, efficient database while saving money and building better relationships with your constituents.

Contact us at sales@resolutionstech.com or (866) 776-5414.

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It's All About the People!

2010-05-02T22:10:00.003-04:00

It’s been a gorgeous weekend in Kingston and my wife and I were fortunate enough to spend a good chunk of time together while doing our spring gardening. Shoveling, digging, weed-whacking and getting my hands nice and dirty reminded me how important the balance between humans and technology is, in all areas of our lives. When it comes to gardening, some tasks are best done with your own two hands while others should be left to tools and machinery. The same applies to the world of fundraising. At RESolutionsTECH, we help hundreds of local, national and international charities on a daily basis. A major goal of each charity we work with is to acquire new donors for the organization. However, the reality is that not all newly-acquired constituents originate as major donors right off the bat. Instead, they may begin their relationships with charities as $10-donors, volunteers, peer-to-peer fundraisers, connectors, or even just friends of the organizations.

Once a newly-acquired constituent is added to the database, a charity’s goal now shifts to engaging and stewarding this relationship. If done effectively, the constituent will move forward along the pipeline and become closer to his/her ultimate major gift to your organization.

So, what is the most effective balance between humans and technology that will allow your organization to maximize these major gifts?

With the thousands upon thousands of constituents that charities are managing in their databases, we always hear that there are not enough hours in the day to properly nurture and build relationships with them all. Do not fret, though. Tackling this problem is very doable!

Constituents need to be segmented into two groups:

• Those you should be spending your time with
• Everyone else

Typically, charities will have lists of key people who they feel they should be spending their time with. However, there are always other constituents who they aren’t even aware of yet. At RESolutionsTECH, we use predictive modeling and other data mining activities to assist our clients in identifying new constituents who they should be allocating time towards. These special constituents should get personalized attention. As for everyone else in the database, technology becomes critical in the continuance of building relationships.

We pride ourselves on successfully helping charities use email, websites, social networking, surveys, and a great deal more to engage their constituent groups of ‘Everyone else’.

Whether charities are spending one-on-one time with constituents or making use of technology, it is critical that they are creating regular touch points with every constituent and collecting all pieces of the constituent puzzle. This data needs to be tracked in one convenient and centralized location: the constituent database.

As charities continue to piece together their constituent puzzles, it becomes clear that knowledge and data are their new best friends. All activities, both present and future, will be based on the puzzle pieces that charities have collected and recorded in their constituent databases.

Improving and increasing your technology usage will allow your organization to collect more relevant data than ever before. New data will flow in at all hours of the day and night, even when charity staff is not involved! Your reach will be significantly expanded and relationships will continue to be built between both constituent groups: those you should be spending time with, and everyone else.

With all of this additional information, technology can be utilized even further to prioritize activities. We can help you determine which activities, with which particular constituents, will provide the best return on investment.

A proper balance of human interaction and technology usage will provide your charity with:

1) An improved total picture of each constituent individually as well as collectively with the rest of your database.
2) Convenient, informative single-click dashboards and reporting.
3) Data and information benchmarks over time.

At this point, your charity will have a clear road map or strategic plan for utilizing technology, as well as people, to broaden your reach and maximize your fundraising results.

You will increase your gifts and revenue, reduce costs, and improve the relationships you have with all of the constituents in your database.

Remember – it is all about your people spending time with the right people and letting technology assist with the rest!

Parallel Universe:

RESolutionsTECH provides our satisfied clients with two convenient and affordable options to achieve the aforementioned human and technology balance.

If you want absolutely everything taken care of for you, our comprehensive and worry-free Total Support Package is right up your alley!

Your second alternative is through our interactive, hands-on Unlimited Online Training Package.

The first option costs a bit more; however, our clients are always telling us that our services are considerably less expensive than what other companies are offering. Partnering with RESolutionsTECH will provide you with far more bang for your buck and is one of, if not THE best decision your charity will ever make!

Let RESolutionsTECH assist your organization in maximizing revenue and building better relationships with new and old constituents alike. Contact us at sales@resolutionstech.com or (866) 776-5414.

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Address Accuracy Success Story

2010-03-16T10:29:00.000-04:00

About St. Lawrence College’s Alumni Relations Office

Since 1967, St. Lawrence College has been providing students with an education that not only gets results but also helps to build better communities. With campuses in three small to mid-sized cities in eastern Ontario, St. Lawrence College serves a wide and diverse catchment area. The Alumni Relations office exists to maximize positive engagement with St. Lawrence alumni, through life-long, mutually beneficial relationships. The Alumni Relations office offer a number of programs and services which provide graduates with exclusive benefits, as well as a wide range of opportunities for their alumni and friends to “give something back” by engaging in the life and work of the College today.

The Problem: Keeping in Touch with Alumni on the Move

St. Lawrence College’s award winning alumni magazine Voyageur is published bi-annually through the Alumni Relations Office and is distributed to 50,000 alumni and friends of the College. With a considerable mailing twice each year, Janine Foster, Manager of Alumni Relations and Annual Giving, understands the importance of frequently updating their records. Janine works with RESolutionsTECH to ensure St. Lawrence’s address records are up to date.

The Solution: Taking Advantage of Available Resources

Each year in Canada, approximately 1.2 million households file a change of address notification with Canada Post. The Canadian National Change of Address (NCOA) database contains a 72-month history of NCOA information submitted to Canada Post from individuals, families, and companies. Addresses on the file are standardized and appended with the most recent forwarding addresses. Since approximately 20% of households and businesses in Canada move each year, the NCOA service is increasingly valuable in reducing undeliverable mail and helping increase response rates. (source: Canada Post)

The Results: Reducing Costs and Strengthening Relationships

Utilizing RESolutionsTECH’s NCOA cleanup has helped St. Lawrence keep in contact with Alumni, and helped to save money. Janine states: “When mailing an Alumni magazine to an invalid address, Canada post charges a fee around one dollar per return.” Of course, it isn’t difficult to imagine that 20% of 50,000 magazines can add up. St. Lawrence chooses to update their records according to the NCOA’s most recent data before each mailing of the Voyageur magazine. Janine states: “For a minimal investment in updating our address information, not only do we save money by reducing the return rate, we also ensure we maintain contact with our alumni.” Janine notes that when students graduate and move on to new endeavours, they expect their school will keep in touch with them. Janine remarks: “The NCOA offering from Canada Post is permission-based, and people pay for it with the understanding we will find them at their new address. People pay for this service to avoid the work of contacting everyone to update their address; they do it once, and understand that we will be able to find them. Our alumni want to be kept up to date, they want to be informed; it is our job to ensure that happens.”

St. Lawrence also has the option to regularly update their constituent phone numbers. Janine has previously worked in a call centre at another educational institution, and recalls being astounded at how often calls would be placed to numbers that are no longer in service, or that are no longer belonging to their constituents. Janine notes these invalid numbers did not appear to cost a lot of money; staff simply moved on to the next number, and time and money were not impacted with the lost call. Yet Janine states what people fail to consider here is the lost opportunity: “While an incorrect phone number does not cost a great deal, it is potentially a lapsed donor, or a lost opportunity. Considering the insignificant cost to update this information, it is foolish that someone wouldn’t follow through with this opportunity.”

Keeping Your Records up to Date: It Really is Simple

Each time St. Lawrence looks to update their contact information, Janine lets RESolutionsTECH know, and with a quick export of the relevant information, a summary report can be generated within days. The report contains helpful information, such as:

• Address Correction

Addresses are compared to Canada Post's master database of addresses in Canada, to help to identify what percentage of address are valid.

• National Change of Address – NCOA

Constituent names are compared to a master database of movers registered with Canada Post, to identify matches and determine how many forwarding addresses are available.

• Duplicate Summary

Advanced record matching technology helps to identify duplicate contact records.

• Telephone Verification & Append

Data is matched to Canada's most extensive and up-to-date 411 directory database, to determine which numbers are accurate and which can be corrected.

RESolutionsTECH provides a complimentary summary report for Canadian organizations, which provides statistical data describing the results. This free report provides an overview of the issues that can be corrected, allowing you to evaluate whether cleanup is required before you invest in doing so. Once St. Lawrence decides on the level of cleanup that is required, RESolutionsTECH helps to import this information back into their Raiser’s Edge database.

The Last Word: A Standard for Doing Business

Janine believes St. Lawrence has a responsibility to its constituents to maintain contact. As such, she views the cleanup of contact information as a necessary process. She states: “I don’t know why anyone wouldn’t use this available service. The NCOA is permission based, to not avail ourselves to that service doesn’t make sense. This really should be a standard for doing business.”

Maximizing the Potential of Raiser’s Edge: A Success Story

2010-02-03T06:42:00.000-05:00

Total Support Package Success Story

Maximizing the Potential of Raiser’s Edge: A Success Story

Renascent has been a leader in addiction treatment since 1970. Located in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, Renascent has helped almost 40,000 people reclaim their lives from alcohol and drug addiction. With the largest number of treatment beds in Canada and continuous intake, Renascent has set the standard for addiction treatment. For more information about Renascent, reach them online: www.renascent.ca

The Problem: We Have Invested in Raiser’s Edge…Are we getting the Most out of it?

Renascent has been using Raiser’s Edge for over 10 years, and like so many other organizations, have benefited from the tools that Raiser’s Edge offers. However, as Renascent has continued to grow with an increased focus on technology, more attention has been placed on Raiser’s Edge and trying to get a better understanding of what Raiser’s Edge is truly capable of.

Lorraine Johnson, the Systems Manager at Renascent , describes how Raiser’s Edge was being used at Renascent prior to RESolutionsTECH’s involvement, “‘We realized a few years ago that we had this wonderful program called Raiser’s Edge, that is only been half-used, but we weren’t getting everything that we could out of it.”

Lorraine knew Raiser’s Edge was capable of so much more than they were using it for but wondered what they needed to change? How would they change it? How would she get staff involved in this change? And how could she ensure Renascent is prepared for the future?

The Solution: A Partnership with Raiser’s Edge Experts

Lorraine and the rest of the staff at Renascent knew they required an investment in resources and time to ensure their Raiser’s Edge Database was operating at its fullest potential, but they knew it was necessary to put Renascent in the best possible situation moving forward.

There were plenty of options including hiring a full-time Raiser’s Edge expert, addressing each of the concerns separately or working with a Raiser’s Edge consultant. Lorraine was presented with another option from RESolutionsTECH – a Total Support Package that covered all of Renascent’s Raiser’s Edge needs. Lorraine decided to partner with RESolutionsTECH.

With RESolutionsTECH’s Total Support, Renascent has access to an entire team of Raiser’s Edge experts – all at a fraction of the cost of hiring a full-time staff member.

Lorraine recalls the decision-making process and how she ultimately chose the Total Support Package, “We decided to partner with RESolutionsTECH for the Support Package because we saw a chance to save a considerable amount of money. If we had chosen to hire consultant on a per project basis, it would have cost us more.”

Along with having access to our entire consulting team any time of day or night, the package also provides Renascent with a Complete Raiser’s Edge Audit, Unlimited Online Training, Unlimited Phone and Email Support, and additional services, such as customized Crystal Reports and Raiser’s Edge manuals that are specific to their organization.

Raiser’s Edge Audit to Provide the Necessary Clean-Ups

The first stage of the Total Support Package is the Raiser’s Edge Audit. For Renascent, the Audit was a priority because they knew their Raiser’s Edge system was being under-used and had not received the proper updating since being implemented approximately 12 years ago.

The main goals of the Audit include:

• Improving system processes, especially those with advanced function

• Identify areas where best practices can be implemented

• Addressing areas where customization is needed

• Identifying areas for data clean-ups

The Audit confirmed what Lorraine thought about the current state of their Raiser’s Edge system, “After consulting with the RESolutionsTECH team, we determined we had a variety needs, fixes and clean-ups that were required. We didn’t have the time or the expertise to do this so we leveraged the RESolutionsTECH team of consultants. We created a list of about 20 items that required the most attention and we have been working together to check off the list – one by one.”

Upon completion of the Audit, Renascent received a report which outlined the areas examined with recommendations and steps for Renascent moving forward, and how RESolutionsTECH will assist with those recommendations. The Audit is especially beneficial because the RESolutionsTECH staff can get a better understanding of the Renascent Raiser’s Edge system and can use that knowledge in future projects.

Unlimited Online Training to Ensure Staff are Equipped

Once the Audit was completed and the RESolutionsTECH team had a thorough understanding of the specifics of the Renascent Raiser’s Edge system, training is available for all staff using the system ranging from those using the system daily to staff that may use it less frequently or mainly during events. This training is particularly beneficial for new hires or for current staff to understand the best practices and areas specific to Renascent. Lorraine comments on training and how it will improve their Raiser’s Edge use,

“Once we have cleaned-up our system and have it in a condition that works for us, our staff will require training to ensure they are doing things the new way, the right way, the improved way. This training will focus on each user to equip them with the tools to use our improved Raiser’s Edge system to it’s full potential.”

RESolutionsTECH ensures training is customized to the needs of Renascent. Each organization uses Raiser’s Edge in a unique way and the training reflects those distinct differences. After each training session, a manual is provided which highlights the key areas discussed in the session. RESolutionsTECH’s is flexible, and can be requested at any time in order to meet the schedule and needs of any organization.

A Partner Who is Available When You Need Support

To compliment the findings of the database audit and the unlimited training, Renascent has access to unlimited phone and email support with their Total Support Package. An online support system enables each Renascent staff member to make requests - day or night.

The support portal provides Renascent staff a quick response time while still focusing on quality information. Each request is immediately assigned to the most appropriate RESolutionsTECH staff member that has knowledge about the Renascent Raiser’s Edge system.

Lorraine uses the portal frequently and has worked with RESolutionsTECH to implement a system that has worked for Renascent:

“I went into the portal and submitted 20 projects that we are working on. We are realistic with our timeframes and plan ahead with RESolutionsTECH so everyone knows what to expect. If we have an urgent request, within the hour, the RESolutionsTECH team has been there and came through. Any time I have dealt with staff, I appreciate the quick response time.”

Demanding a Complete Package

While the audit, training and support are important components of the Total Support Package, it encompasses every aspect of Raiser’s Edge. Lorraine and the staff at Renascent have more confidence in Raiser’s Edge because they know that if a project is required, they will have a team of experts on hand who are ready to assist. Lorraine states:

“There have been times when our team has needed a very specific report that was outside of our knowledge of Raiser’s Edge. We contacted the RESolutionsTECH team and worked together to clearly identify our needs and ensure we receive the reporting we needed.”

Making Changes today to Improve for Tomorrow

Many organizations can identify with Renascent’s previous situation. Similar to Lorraine, you may have made a significant investment in Raiser’s Edge, only to find you are not maximizing its potential. You may be searching for a partner that can help your organization in today’s economy. Lorraine was in your shoes once, and she feels RESolutionsTECH provide the best return on her investment in technology:

“What we are paying is irrelevant; I want value for monies spent. I feel like I get value from RESTECH. I feel the RESolutionsTECH team cares and strive to help us succeed …because of that support, we can now say we are maximizing Raiser’s Edge.”

Contact us to start maximizing Raiser’s Edge today!

Online Giving for the Small Organization: A Success Story

2010-01-06T13:37:00.002-05:00

Cambrian College is a college of applied arts and technology in Greater Sudbury, Ontario, Canada. Established in 1967, and funded by the province of Ontario, Cambrian has campuses in Sudbury, Espanola and Little Current. Cambrian works in partnership with school boards, training institutes, universities, and other institutions - locally, nationally and internationally - in order to provide additional educational opportunities and to share expertise and resources. More information about Cambrian can be found at www.cambriancollege.ca.

Testing New Technologies in Fundraising

Cambrian has used traditional methods for fundraising campaigns, however had not fully leveraged online options. In a step towards a new fundraising strategy, they decided to test run a holiday appeal micro campaign. Cambrian considered their first online appeal to be a pilot study, a starting point to test what works and to learn from what doesn’t work. Cambrian was initially unsure of the comfort level of giving online, but decided it doesn’t hurt to try it out.

Cambrian targeted approximately 1200 faculty, staff, and board members for the school and foundation. The team at RESolutionsTECH helped to provide a quick training session to help familiarize Cambrian’s staff with using their online technology. Cambrian launched a micro website for their holiday appeal, to draw attention to the student’s need for emergency bursaries and the emergency food bank. They worked with board members to define a goal that they felt was reasonable. The site included built in widgets to help build momentum with their appeal, such as a thermometer to gauge how much was raised, and a donor list to recognize those who gave. The site also had links to social medial networks built into the template. Cambrian provided an offline giving option as well, to ensure there was choice for their constituents.

In order to drive people to the site, Cambrian leveraged an email campaign system to solicit their audience with this holiday appeal. Email provided the ability for Cambrian to change their strategy as they went. For example, they tested different subject lines, and different messaging to see what was more successful. From there, Cambrian was able to track the response rate and determine what messages were opened the most, and what contacts were clicking through to the site.

Brian Soucie, Development Manager for Cambrian, states,

“We had the freedom to evaluate the most successful messaging, and tweak our strategy as we wished.”

The Surprising Results

Cambrian Foundation was pleasantly surprised with the results of their “test” micro-campaign. On the first day, they had reached 60% of their goal. Within just hours after sending the email messages, hundreds of dollars were donated online. Cambrian had previously leveraged a donate button on their website, however Brian states “We raised more money online in the last 10 days than we have raised online in the last 10 months. It became very clear, very quickly, that there is a comfort level with online giving. In addition, we see the power in leveraging online options to get the message out, as marketing method to solicit online and offline gifts.” Cambrian quickly surpassed their goal.

The Difference Integrating Technology Can Make:

Cambrian had previously leveraged mailed letters as the vehicle for their appeals. Letters would be designed, printed, and mailed. With that traditional fundraising method, Cambrian did not have the immediate ability to customize their messaging as they went. With mail campaigns, they were pretty much stuck with the messaging they decided on, and could change that as they launched the next appeal. Email shortened their cycle of preparing and launching the appeal, and provided the ability to track success, and adapt and change the messaging as they went.

Helping to Draw Immediate Attention to their Cause:

Cambrian Foundation came up with the idea for this appeal in mid November, and was able to quickly launch the appeal in early December. With traditional fundraising methods, they had never had the freedom to launch an appeal so quickly.

Brian states, “This online appeal helped to draw attention to the students who were in need this holiday season: immediately. We saw a quick response and a deep concern for students that were struggling, and the College was able to mobilize and give back. We had not appealed to this group in the recent past, and our online micro campaign was an easy, low cost way to test the level of their support for this cause.”

Changing Your Strategy on the Fly:

Cambrian had one donor come into the office to make a donation in the name of her friends as a holiday gift. Hoping to inspire others with this unique gesture, Cambrian decided to work this story into their messaging, via email and on their website. Brian states, “We wanted to highlight how this individual donated as a holiday present, to motivate others to do the same; we were able to take this kind of feedback and put it into immediate action.”

Cambrian’s Advice to Similar Organizations: Give it a Try!

The online micro campaign helped to reduce the preparation time before the appeal, build interest quickly, motivate people to donate, and helped to build momentum. Cambrian now looks to the future of their fundraising efforts, and how new emerging technology can assist.

Brian states, “We have a sense now of what the possibilities are. We chose to focus on a small sample, and the results were compelling. We were initially hesitant about the notion of online giving, however after seeing firsthand the momentum built with these methods, we now recognize the value and the potential as we move forward with other appeals. We just needed to do it, and did it ever pay off.”

Brian’ has a word of advice for small foundations looking to leverage online technology:

“Just try it. Test it out; if it doesn’t work, change it and test it again. There is a lesson to learn by testing it out and taking a chance. Even if your attempt isn’t a great success, you still learn something. Integrate those lessons into your strategy, and you will grow, adapt, and succeed in the end.”

Database Audit

2010-01-03T09:51:00.000-05:00

Happy New Years from the RESolutionsTECH team!

5 – 4 – 3 – 2 – 1 – HAPPY NEW YEAR!!! It’s a new year, a clean slate, and a time for change. You have resolved to stop bad habits, join the gym and actually go, and spend more time with your family – so your personal life is set, but what about resolutions at the office? You’ve been putting off updating and cleaning up your database and don’t know when you’ll find time to do it. Your work resolution is to clear away all the clutter, garbage data, and inefficient processes that prevented your organization from maximizing its successes in 2009. RESolutionsTech wants to help you kick start that resolution by doing a major clean-up of your data through a process called Database Audit. We want to work with you to ensure opportunities missed in 2009 are capitalized on in 2010.

As we move into this exciting New Year, a Database Audit will provide you with a thorough, yet affordable reporting of all problem areas in your database. Once the problems have been identified, we can work with you to prioritize all issues in order for you to clearly meet your New Year’s resolutions.

A few examples of the many problems we have identified with other organizations include:

• Missing or incorrect addresses
• Structure prevents you from getting accurate reporting
• Missing or incorrect home phone numbers
• A security setup that is not protecting your data
• A setup that prevents you from tracking all fundraising tasks

Solution to these problems:

RESolutionsTech and a Database Audit! We can use National Change of Address to add thousands of new and correct addresses to your database. We will examine your campaign, fund, and appeal structures to ensure they are being used correctly. The Database Audit will verify which home phone numbers are correct and which ones are not. We will set up security to protect your valuable data. And we will ensure that you can track all of your fundraising tasks effectively.

Furthermore, the Database Audit will help your organization achieve several different goals:

1. Reduce operational costs, such as save at least 3 per cent of your annual direct mail cost;
2. Get accurate one-touch reporting – what gets measured, gets done;
3. Save time – stop the madness of the manual data review;
4. Improve system processes, especially those with advanced functions; and,
5. Identify areas where best practices can be implemented.

The Ottawa Regional Cancer Foundation has completed a database audit and their Vice President of Operations and Gift Planning, Lucie Châtelain, comments on how RESolutionsTECH included the Cancer Foundation staff in the audit process.

“All of our staff were involved in the audit process – from the CEO and Vice Presidents to our Special Events staff. A survey was distributed to learn exactly how each staff member was involved with the Raiser’s Edge database and get a better understanding of their thoughts on the current system. Interviews were also conducted of our key users to learn about our specific situation.”

Lucie has been involved with other audits but says the RESolutionsTECH audit differs in one major way, follow-through.

“We have done audits in the past – very detailed analysis of what we were doing well and what areas needed improvement. However, with each audit, there was never a plan of how we would move forward and implement those necessary changes. RESolutionsTECH ensured us they would provide a plan on how to complete the process and implement the recommendations.”

What should you expect from your Database Audit? Some areas covered include:

Staff Training and Support

Ask yourself: Are staff and volunteers using your database effectively?

• What level of expertise do employees and volunteers have with your database?
• Is data being maintained and entered consistently?
• Do users have support channels available to get help with the database whenever they need it?
• Are user manuals available, up to date, and easily accessible?
• What challenges are staff and volunteers currently having with the database?

The goal of this part of the analysis is having database users increase their frequency and accuracy of database use from proposed incentive and disincentive systems and having experienced users delivering support and training as often as needed. Also, all database users will significantly improve their productivity and achieve improved end results.

Data Clean-up

Ask yourself: What is the overall health status of your data?

• Are addresses accurate in your database?
• Is there data that you do not understand?
• Are there duplicate records?
• Is there data that should not be there?
• Is all data being maintained in a single location?

The typical end result of completing this part of the analysis is to increase the number of constituents you are communicating with while reducing your costs. You will understand all data elements in the database and where they should be with less chance of the many forms of duplication of data that can occur. It will be clear what you have not been adding to the database and why you should be. After this analysis you can begin to focus on key constituents where you will have a better return on investment.

Accurate Reporting

Ask yourself: Is your reporting contributing to your success?

• Are you getting the reporting you want from your database?
• Can this reporting be generated with the click of a button?
• Is the reporting accurate?
• Is the data present to support your reporting needs?
• Is your reporting assisting you in reaching your goals?

Once the reporting analysis is complete, you should know what data you need to maintain to get the reporting you require. You will be able to create the structure in the database that will permit you to get the accurate, complete, consistent, and meaningful data you must have to achieve your ultimate success.

Online Presence

Ask yourself: What online technologies can assist you?

• Are you raising enough money online?
• Is your website integrated with your database?
• Is your website dynamic or static?
• Are you leveraging social networking websites?
• Is your website setting you apart from other charities?

After the analysis of your online presence, you should have a better sense of what will give you a better return on your investment. The analysis will look at options such as cloud computing, email, Google Analytics, Ad Words, Web Master Tools, your website and social networking use.

Communicating Effectively

Ask yourself: Are you communicating with your constituents to achieve maximum results?

• Are you leveraging email effectively?
• Are you recording all touch points with constituents?
• Are you able to focus on constituents where you will have your best return on investment?
• Are you tracking response rates, open rates, clickthroughs?
• Are you leveraging past results into future communications?

Upon completion, you will have indentified improved methods of communication and have accurate reporting driving how you adjust and tweak your communications to always be improving. This will include looking at all areas such as snail mail, email, phone, and social networks all while ensuring everything is tied back and reported on in your database.

A complete Database Audit is a thorough and affordable way to identify all of the areas within the database where improvements could and should be made. This assessment will ensure that the database is properly set up to meet the needs of your organization.

The ultimate goal of the Database Audit is for you to clearly understand:

• Where you are now
• Where you need to go
• How will the proposed changes make a difference

Just as we have for Renascent Foundation, Cambrian College, Kid’s Help Phone, and many other organizations – our team is ready to assist you in starting on the right track for 2010.

I wish you a Happy New Year with good health and great success!

Increase Your Student Award Applications

2009-12-10T11:36:00.002-05:00

Cambrian College students wanted a user-friendly online awards application system, and the Awards Department delivered.
Read this fantastic example of how Cambrian saved administrative time and increased student award applications by 30%, leveraging the Fuel to Learn System.

Your School’s Awards, Bursaries, & Scholarships Ceremony
is Right Around the Corner.
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You`ve picked the venue, made arrangements with the caterers, narrowed your list of presenters, addressed your staffing needs, and now it`s time for the tedious task of sorting through applications. Your team begins by sorting through the stacks of paper applications, organizing by category, and then reading through each to find the most suitable recipients. This process can take up to several weeks of your staff`s valuable time – taking them away from other day-to-day tasks, leaving you frustrated with the process and wishing for the ceremony to come and go. You know something has to be done to optimize your process, but your system gets the job done; can you really afford to change?

You can, and we know how to help you!

Through discussions with Colleges and Universities, we have found a number of common issues similar to yours.

These award system issues include:

• High administrative costs - the majority of institutions we spoke with bring in extra staffing during awards season

• Environmentally unfriendly - more and more organizations are trying to stay as green as possible, however, paper applications are increasing your carbon footprint

• Low applicant numbers - the application process is manual, complicated, and it’s tough to get students motivated to follow through with the process

• Difficult for students to search appropriate awards - students are either unaware of the awards, or don’t have an efficient way to determine eligibility without reading through a list of awards

• Lack of communication between various stakeholders

• Labour intensive and time consuming process - data from paper applications must be entered manually into a database

• Updating awards information is complicated and time consuming - information is stored in a variety of places, and it is difficult for one person to keep track of the updates in all places

There is a Better Way: We Can Get You There

After compiling information from various sources and getting a better understanding of what Awards Departments need, RESolutionsTECH created a system, Fuel to Learn – Awards Management System, which addresses each of these issues.

Among the key benefits of the Fuel to Learn system is the ability to have all information stored in a central location. Many Colleges and Universities across North America have an Awards and Bursaries office that is littered with application forms, stacks of files for each award and scholarship, and a variety of computers with various data. Fuel to Learn provides a centralized database for all awards, scholarships and bursaries and allows for instant access to this information. Awards can be added, deleted and edited within seconds which eliminates the need to create new paper applications, reduces staffing demands and ultimately saves the organization money. A more streamlined system allows your valuable staff to focus efforts on other tasks and improves overall organizational efficiency.

The benefit of a centralized system is not only for the school but the students themselves. Many students may not be aware of the application process and may demand an online application instead of paper. Fuel to Learn allows students to apply online to any scholarship, bursary or award that is offered by the institution. The school has the option of providing categories that helps the applicant narrow down a search to apply for awards in their specific department or based on any number of search options provided by the school. Fuel to Learn is ‘student-friendly’, reducing application time by allowing students to create profiles that can be applied to multiple awards rather than submitting applications for each award. This feature provides an easy interface for the students and ultimately results in more submitted applications. Awards and scholarships have become a higher priority for students today; schools that provide an easy to use, accessible, and efficient awards management system will ultimately attract more students.

In addition to being user friendly for students, Fuel to Learn offers the opportunity for schools to increase exposure of their award offerings. Schools are able to promote specific awards for specific students in a more targeted way. For example, schools can integrate their awards into their marketing strategy and include specific awards on specific pages on their website. This could include promoting awards in various departments or adding athletic-focused awards on the Athletic Department homepage. Schools can provide relevant awards information to targeted groups easily and quickly.
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A Success Story:

How Cambrian College Optimized their Awards Management System

Cambrian College in Sudbury Ontario have been working with the Fuel to Learn System for the last few years. Their Development Manager, Brian Soucie, remarks on how complicated Cambrian’s system had become prior to working with Fuel to Learn:

“Before implementing the Awards Management System, I wouldn’t have called what we were doing a ‘system’. We weren’t managing our awards in an efficient manner. We recognized there were flaws with our processes, and we looked to RESolutionsTECH to help us out.”

Cambrian’s former process involved paper applications, and students had to spend time reading through a list of awards on the school website to determine which awards they could apply for. On the administrative side, the awards department kept all their awards, donor, and recipient information in several different files; accessing, maintaining, and updating these records was complicated, and difficult for more than one person to manage. When the submission deadline came and all applications were in, staff would dedicate the next 4 weeks to data entry and application management.

After implementing Fuel to Learn, Cambrian can now say they have a system. Awards information can quickly be uploaded into the system, and students can easily search and apply for awards online. For the administrative staff, all the information is stored in a central location, making access and management simple and effective. With an easy export, the application information can be exported from the system, and imported into Cambrian’s database. Since implementing this system, Cambrian has saved time and money, and increased the number of applications by 30%.

Brian reflects on the new system that has been put in place:

“We can see the value in our use of Fuel to Learn, on a daily basis. This has made a positive difference to our processes every day. Our students have also thanked us for implementing this online application system. Students expect to have access to information through the web. We have a responsibility to our students to bring the latest and greatest technology and innovation, and we are proud to be able to do so with our awards program. Our old system was working, but we knew it could be greatly improved. We saw an opportunity to adapt, change, be responsive to students, and be proactive.”

See the whole success story at http://www.resolutionstech.com/Files/ftlpdf3.pdf

Duplicated Data: A Distressing Dilemma!

2009-10-15T15:00:00.005-04:00

You’re frazzled yet again. You have just received an e-mail from one of your organization’s most significant donors, asking why they keep receiving identical pieces of mail from you. This is not the first time this has happened, and you’re sick and tired of the embarrassment. You’re also extremely annoyed because no matter how many times you try to view a donor’s record in your database, you cannot seem to grasp the big picture of him/her. Consequently, it’s been difficult to effectively tailor your fundraising efforts and build better relationships.

If you have ever been responsible for managing a database, either presently or in the past, then chances are that the above scenarios sound all-too-familiar. Data duplication has likely plagued and prevented your organization from operating as efficiently as possible. In order to reach your maximum fundraising potential and build stronger relationships with your constituent base, your duplicate records need to be eliminated! RESolutionsTECH Inc. can help, but first, you should understand more about this pesky problem.

Duplicate records can be defined as either individuals or organizations that have multiple records in your database. Other instances of potential duplication include households, teams, gifts, event registrations, and educational relationships.

The lifecycle of duplicate data can begin in a few different ways. Duplication can occur when adding a single record or importing multiple records into your database. It can also transpire when adding records directly to a backend database, such as MS SQL. Furthermore, it is always possible for duplicate records to already exist in your database without you or your staff even being aware of them. There are also various sources that data duplication can stem from. Collecting data from online web forms, such as online giving or event registration, is one way that this can happen. Another is when data is maintained in multiple locations, like e-mail lists. If your organization maintains the same data in multiple locations (e.g. Online Event Registration System and Raiser’s Edge) or has inconsistent training methods then you are more likely to have duplicated records in your database as well.

To effectively eliminate duplicated records, they must first be identified, then confirmed and finally removed through merging.

Solutions

At this point, you may be asking yourself. “What can be done to prevent duplicated data from reoccurring in my database?” Thankfully, we are data experts and have a wide variety of solutions.

RESolutionsTECH Inc. works hard together with our clients to establish systems which encourage data to be as current as possible. An example of this would be automated e-mails asking constituents to update their own records in your database. We also believe that organizations should increase the safeguards against incorrect data entry in order to create a standardized and consistent end result, like postal and zip codes. Organizations should utilize different levels of duplicate identification criteria. For example, first-level criteria could be Unique Identification Numbers, Date of Birth, SIN/SSN, E-mail, Postal/Zip Code, Unique Username/Password and second-level could be First Name, Last Name, Nicknames, Address Lines, Old Addresses. Making use of nicknames is very effective in handling abbreviated versions of the data. For example, “Rob” could be used instead of “Robert”, “Sue” instead of “Susan”, and so on.

Increased training to all staff members is important to maintain data entry standards based on defined and documented processes. Without proper training, your staff may not know how to conduct searches to see if certain records already exist in the database. We suggest that you provide data entry confirmation prompts that ask people, when inputting data, to verify correct spelling of the information they are providing. A last name of “Carter” could mistakenly be spelled out as “Crter” in a web form, without proper verification. To avoid confusion, your organization could prevent alternate addresses from being used by the same person, unless they are properly defined as such. Someone registering for an event could use his/her business address and then later, when giving a gift online, could alternately provide his/her home address.

Fuzzy identification is extremely beneficial in locating different levels of duplicate matching criteria. With fuzzy identification, duplicates will be identified where there was a typo, misspelled word, or something similar. In other words, you do not have to match criteria up word for word or letter by letter. “Rob” and “Robin” in the First Name field of a database would return a match, but if you were only utilizing identical field matches, this would not be the case.

Constituent records in databases should be assigned unique identification numbers (IDs) that can be shared between multiple databases. Your organization should also track the sources of all data so you can be aware of the fact that, for example, a constituent’s address was submitted using a web form, an e-mail, the telephone, etc. It is a good idea to maintain a log of all changes that are made to each constituent’s record. This provides you with an audit trail of who changed which data, when this change took place, and what was changed.

Your organization should define the master of each data element (e.g. Donor Management System, Student Information System, Patient Information System, etc). An example of a data element would be the Gift Amount where it is important to know in which database to manually change or adjust the amount if needed. Raiser’s Edge or the Donor Management System you are using is typically the master of this data element. This is important to be aware of because the master of data controls any changes required. Manual data entry adjustments should not typically be made in non-master locations but rather updated automatically or through an import process. This process enforces a single point of entry and ensures all shared data is in synch.

Address Accuracy processing, which RESolutionsTECH Inc. can perform for you however often you need, will provide cleanups to standardize addresses, find national change of addresses, identify individual and household duplicates, and confirm or add new phone numbers. Other de-duplication tools such as Excel, Access, scripts, Fuzzy Dupes, AbleBits, and duplicate identification reporting (e.g. Raiser’s Edge Duplicate Information Reporting) should be considered for use. Furthermore, it is beneficial to implement the use of duplicate merge utilities such as Blackbaud plug-ins, third-party duplicate merge utilities, SalesForce Application Exchange add-ins, etc.

Client Stories

With the help of RESolutionsTECH Inc., the following organizations have all benefitted tremendously, in different ways, from our assistance in eliminating and preventing data duplication.

Ovarian Cancer Canada utilizes an online tool to collect event registration fees and gifts from donors. They make regular transfers to their Raiser’s Edge database. The main concern here was that constituents were getting entered as duplicate records into the database when data was moved from their online system to Raiser’s Edge. To correct the process with all future donations and event registrations, we standardized addresses and identified individual and household duplicates. We then used a tool called My Data Mover to transform the data, confirm duplicate matches, and import data into Raiser’s Edge. In this process, it was the option of eyeballing identified duplicates to confirm and making use of first and second level duplicate criteria that made this process so successful. For all past duplicates created, RESolutionsTECH Inc. consolidated all of their data, from several different locations, into one central and fully-integrated Raiser’s Edge database. According to Abby Heidebrecht, the Donor Relations Coordinator at Ovarian Cancer Canada, “We struggled for a year with our database before we found Robin who came in, cleaned up the database and set it straight.”

At St. Lawrence College, graduate data is moved from the Student Information System to their Raiser’s Edge database a few times per year. In this situation, RESolutionsTECH Inc. helped determine that the Student Information System is the master of data in terms of who graduated and which program they graduated from. Therefore, the Alumni Information System should always synchronize to match the Student Information System for graduates and educational relationships. If duplicates are identified in Raiser’s Edge, this means the duplication exists in the Student Information System, where they are then brought to the attention of those who are managing the Student Information System to clean-up. Then, those clean-ups trickle down to the Raiser’s Edge database, the non-master. This ensures a single point of entry and maintenance for this type of data and provides accurate reporting from both databases.

Alliance for the Great Lakes utilizes multiple databases with their main one being Raiser’s Edge. In certain situations, such as this one, we find it worthwhile to actually bring duplicates into the database first, where the plan is to then handle duplicate clean-up within Raiser’s Edge. We do this to ensure we have a complete history of all the data before the merging begins. This permits us to have an audit trail, as well, which provides a clear picture of how the duplicated data was handled. We also made sure that Alliance for the Great Lakes had a system implemented to ensure the proper master of data was kept as such. The bottom line for any client is that their needs and requirements are met first where we at RESolutionsTECH can come in at any point and clean things up. We continue to work with Alliance for the Great Lakes to continue to improve the process.

Buy-A-Net is a fairly new user of Raiser’s Edge and relies heavily on volunteer staff to maintain their database. They recently came to us asking why there appears to be many duplicate records in the database when they review the output results of their Query. This is a common problem that we see at many organizations that can be prevented with proper training. The reality here is that Buy-A-Net didn’t have any duplicates at all. The same records were coming up multiple times due to outputting data in Query rather than focusing on output in an Export based on a Query. In a Query, it is best practice to only output a unique identifier such as Constituent ID or Import ID and then sort on that field. You will quickly be able to scan the results to ensure no duplication in your result.

How RESolutionsTECH Inc. Can Help You Succeed

It is absolutely paramount to the success of your organization that steps are taken to merge, eliminate and prevent the duplication of data from reoccurring. When you remove duplicates in your database, it sends a strong message to donors and other constituents that their money is greatly appreciated, and is being spent wisely. If duplicates are not removed, then money will continue to be wasted from actions such as mistakenly sending out identical pieces of mail to the same household more than once. This is completely avoidable. All stakeholders will have access to reporting with a higher level of accuracy if your duplicates are kept under control. As well, an audit trail will give your staff members and stakeholders more confidence in your data. With controlled duplication, fundraising efforts are far more effective. Constituents in your database will each have concise, single records which allow you to grasp the big picture of his or her relationship with your organization. This makes it much easier to determine if people are appropriate prospects for your fundraising campaigns. Finally, less data entry will be required internally if duplicate prevention procedures are implemented. Consequently, your organization will save substantial amounts of time and energy.

In conclusion, with a little help from the database professionals at RESolutionsTECH Inc., your organization will be spared the embarrassment, stress, hassle, time and massive costs associated with duplicated records in your database. Your fundraising efforts will increase in effectiveness and stronger relationships will be built with your constituent base. It is absolutely infeasible to operate as efficiently as possible without eliminating and preventing data duplication. You deserve to be happy, stress-free, and of course, successful! So, do your entire staff a favour and give us a call, toll-free, at 1-866-776-5414, or send us an e-mail at RPorter@RESolutionsTECH.com, to talk about all the steps you can take to help your organization move forward. Trust us, your data will thank you. :)

The Importance of Benchmarking - Even With Twitter Counts

2009-07-26T10:33:00.007-04:00

Recently, Twitter announced that they were cleaning out spammers and addressing data inconsistencies. What does this mean for you, the Twitter user? You might see a significant drop in your following and followers numbers. Did your Twitter follower count take a hit from this clean-up or would you even notice?

A regular practice that we like to suggest at RESolutionsTECH is the importance of benchmarking your data. Benchmarking your data is the key to measuring changes in your database over time. It is a great representation of the good, the bad, and the plain out ugly things that may be happening with your data. Examples of typical benchmarks are the number of constituents, number of constituents with valid address, number with phone number, number with employment information, number with email addresses, etc. Some newer benchmarks that some organizations are measuring are Facebook Fans, Twitter Followers, LinkedIn Contacts, etc.

You may or may not know how this Twitter clean-up has affected you. What is important here is that when looking at all the data you are maintaining that you know when things change, why did they change, how does it affect you, is it positive or negative.

I would love to know if you are benchmarking the data of your organization. What are your measures? How has it made a difference for you?

The WOW! of online fundraising!

2009-07-05T12:19:00.000-04:00

http://www.uncoverthecure.org/index.html

https://secure.e2rm.com/registrant/donate.aspx?EventID=36192&LangPref=en-CA

http://www.winnerswalkofhope.ca/index_national.htm

http://www.louiseporter.ca/

https://www.greatlakes.org/SSLPage.aspx?pid=942

Here are a few examples of where organizations are fundraising online. What do you like about each? What don't you like? When I ask this question the reply is usually more focussed around the look and feel to the site and not how it functions or whether it will assist you in raising more money. The 5 most important areas you want to look at when you are choosing an online fundraising solution are:

1) Peer-to-Peer
Think of yourself receiving an email. Let's say you receive an email from an organization you barely know or who you have never heard from and then a second email from your best friend. Which email are you more likely to open first? If both asked you to support a cause, which would you be more inclined to support? Peer-to-peer and viral fundraising solutions increase donations because friends give to friends and not always to organizations they don't know.

2) Time
I constantly here from fundraiser's that they wish they had more time to be out asking for money. Your fundraising solution needs to be doing this for you in terms of getting your "ask" out to a much wider audience without using any more of your time. This allows you to focus more time on things such as your major giving program and stewarding your generous donors. Online solutions should also automate the process of processing payments, receipting, and acknowledging new donors. The best solutions prevent you from having to worry about moving the data into your donor database and do some clean-up of data along the way.

3) Customize
Branding is critical. Your giving pages need to have a similar look to your other web presence. They need to WOW your website visitors to encourage them to spread the word and get your message out. Good online solutions allow you to quickly and easily make these customizations yourself without having any technical skill.

4) Reporting
In todays highly competitive fundraising market, you need to have real time click of the button accurate reporting that tells you exactly what is happening or not happening. You need to be able to access this reporting where ever you are. This allows you to better manage your campaign and make adjustments when needed.

5) Cost
I often here from organizations that some of the fundraising solutions on the market are too expensive. I agree. It is important to note that there should be more focus placed on return on investment rather than just the up front cost. A solution that allows you to raise a lot more money may be worth spending a little more on.

I encourage you to look at the annual issue of Advancing Philanthropy from AFP to see all the online fundraising solutions available to you. They compare all the functionality of each solution nicely. I recommend you speak to users of the solutions you are looking at moving forward with and request detailed domonstrations of the software and their support.

Have a fantastic day! Happy fundraising!!!

Why did I start this blog?

2009-07-05T10:42:00.000-04:00

Good morning!!!

My name is Robin Porter and I am the Founder, President, and CEO of RESolutionsTECH Inc. I started the company back in May 2004 after getting many requests from not-for-profits, colleges, and universities asking how to clean-up their data and make better use of technology. These organizations knew that technology could make a difference and that they could be doing things better. The problem was that they were being over charged by consultants and their internal IT support seemed to say "No" far more than "Yes" when they were asked if something could be done to improve upon their use of technology. I formed the company and began assisting organizations right away by providing affordable solutions and sharing my attitude that anything is possible with technology. Today we have grown to a team of highly experienced consultants and specialists as well as having many complimentary partnerships that share our philosophy. We at RESolutionsTECH are committed to assisting charities, colleges, and universities use technology to improve constituent relationships, raise more money, and reduce costs.

I have started this blog in order to offer free advice on how your organization can begin benefiting from expanded use of technology. I will try to comment regularly on new technologies and how they could make a difference to your organization. I will be happy to share case studies and reviews sharing the good, the bad, and the ugly of solutions out there. My hope is that this blog will help you embrace technology as part of your fundraising and constituent relationship building activities.

I welcome your feedback. Please feel free to email me directly at rporter@resolutionstech.com to ask me anything, anything at all.

Have a great day!

Robin Porter