Top Tips if Your Nonprofit is Considering a Move to Virtuous CRM
Some nonprofit organizations that have used Blackbaud Raiser’s Edge for years as their donor management software have found that it’s time to make a switch to a customer relationship management (CRM) system. One CRM solution that these organizations often consider is Virtuous CRM.
Let’s look at a few things your nonprofit should think about if you’re considering a move from Raiser’s Edge to Virtuous CRM.
Tips for When Your Nonprofit is Considering a Move from Raiser’s Edge to Virtuous CRM
- Think about the fit.
Virtuous tends to be a good fit for mid-to-large size organizations. Beyond your organization’s size, also consider that Virtuous excels in some key areas that might align well with your organization’s needs and goals. For example, Virtuous offers:- An all-in-one tool for email marketing, donation processing, and data entry
- A comprehensive view of constituent data through an administrator interface that works well for everyone from database administrators to C-level leaders
- The ability to easily create highly personalized and automated donor journeys for segmented audiences
- Open integrations with many best-in-class industry apps and software platforms
- Free customer support and training
- Consider the potential time and hassle savings.
Depending on your organization’s specific situation and needs, the cost of Virtuous CRM might be comparable to what you’re paying now for Raiser’s Edge. However, using Virtuous CRM can deliver considerable time savings to your organization.
For one thing, Virtuous offers automation capabilities via Donor Journeys that can help your marketing team save valuable time. In addition, Virtuous is an integrated solution that combines CRM, fundraising, and email marketing tools in one sophisticated system, giving your organization one solution to use and maintain for multiple purposes.
In contrast, when you’re using Raiser’s Edge, you must choose one of the following options in addition to Raiser’s Edge to gain similar functionality:- Use Blackbaud Online Express, which offers basic online fundraising and email capabilities
- Sync Raiser’s Edge with Blackbaud Luminate Online for more advanced online fundraising and email capabilities (requires maintenance to ensure data accuracy)
- Use third-party fundraising and email marketing platforms, which also require syncs and data maintenance
- Get your data and processes ready.
When moving to any new CRM system it’s important to start with clean data. There’s no point in moving old, outdated, and duplicate data from your Raiser’s Edge system into a new system. Doing so can cause the migration process to take longer than it would otherwise (and therefore cost more) and can cause your new system to work sub-optimally.
Take time now to de-duplicate your records. Also, delete or archive old records.
Discover tips to help you clean your data. Read the guide, 5 Tips for Keeping Your Nonprofit’s Data Clean and Ready to Use.
- Another thing to consider with any move to a new CRM system is that you should document, review, and update your organization’s standard operating procedures (often called SOPs). Doing so will help you to ensure your organization is entering, processing, and using data consistently. It will also help to ensure your new system is set up properly to support your processes and might even uncover some ways that your processes might be improved in the new system.
Even if you decide not to move to a new CRM system at this time, cleaning your data and documenting your processes will benefit your organization.
- Prepare to map your data.
Raiser’s Edge has hundreds of data tables. And our experience working with nonprofits on Raiser’s Edge suggests that your organization likely isn’t using many of them. Be prepared to understand what data tables your organization is using and how each piece of data will map to the new system.
It can be extremely helpful to work with a consultant like Cathexis Partners when moving to a new CRM system. For example, when we work on Raiser’s Edge migrations to Virtuous, our team schedules and facilitates data-focused meetings, including:- Initial discovery call to talk through data at a high level
- Meeting with your database administrator to walk through your Raiser’s Edge environment, modules used, and processes that are specific to your organization
- Review of sample data to discuss where it should reside within the new Virtuous environment
- Review of the sample data within the Virtuous environment
- Adjustment of data as needed
- Final data upload and review
Take the next step from Raiser’s Edge to Virtuous CRM
If you’re thinking about moving from Raiser’s Edge to Virtuous CRM and want to learn more, Cathexis Partners is ready to assist. We can help you evaluate your organization’s needs and determine if Virtuous is the right fit for your nonprofit. If it is, we can also help you prepare your data and processes as well as implement Virtuous CRM with the right configuration to support your organization’s goals.
Learn more and get started today: Contact Cathexis Partners
