For Peer-to-Peer Fundraising Success, Think: Integration!

April 11, 2019/ Mark Becker / Fundraising, Nonprofit Data, Peer-to-Peer Fundraising / 1 comment

As with any fundraising campaign, getting an overall picture of how your constituents interact with your organization and how your organization interacts with your constituents is vitally important to the success of your peer-to-peer fundraising campaigns. So it’s important to consider how (and if) your peer-to-peer fundraising software platform shares data with your constituent relationship management (CRM) system, donor database, and/or database of record.

Here are some areas of integration to think about as you evaluate your next peer-to-peer software platform:

• Donor management system — Does the platform integrate with the prolific donor management system, Blackbaud’s The Raiser’s Edge™? Does the platform integrate with Salesforce? Salesforce continues to gain momentum with its Nonprofit Success Pack (NPSP) and a variety of applications available on the Salesforce AppExchange.
• Enterprise toolset — Is the platform part of a larger enterprise toolset? For example, TeamRaiser™ is a module within Blackbaud’s Luminate Online™, which can then integrate with The Raiser’s Edge via a custom sync called the “Integrator,” or with Salesforce via Blackbaud’s Luminate CRM and its custom service bus. In contrast, CharityEngine and other systems are intended to be self-contained, all-in-one solutions.
• Merchant services — What merchant services / payment gateways does the platform support? Some, like Click & Pledge, act as the merchant service, while others work with one or more merchant services.
• APIs — Does the platform offer application programming interfaces (APIs), which can make it easier to develop custom programs that interact with the peer-to-peer platform?
• Other integrations — Does the platform offer other integrations? Many of today’s platform vendors have worked with clients and other companies to create integrations, and then turned the integration into a product that’s available to other clients. Examples include HEPdata for corporate matching gift programs, and WealthEngine for wealth screening.In addition, third-party tools/service providers, such as Frakture, JMG Solutions, Omatic Solutions, ROI Solutions, and Ziedman Development offer batch import/export into The Raiser’s Edge, Salesforce, or other systems to provide organizations with an overall picture of their constituents.

You can learn more about essential software capabilities and which software platforms offer each capability in The Peer-to-Peer Fundraising Technology Landscape.  

If you need more help, check out our affordable service to help you find the right peer-to-peer fundraising tech platform for your nonprofit.