Nonprofits depend on software to support a wide variety of functions, from accounting to operational logistics and, of course, fundraising. Ensuring these software solutions are available, especially on big giving days is fundamental to an organization’s ability to engage with donors, measure performance, and create a secure, donor-friendly environment.
Let’s take a closer look at four reasons why reliable, scalable software that minimizes downtime is a key factor in helping nonprofits reach their goals, further their mission, and deliver an exceptional digital donor experience.
Four key benefits of reliable nonprofit software
As the nonprofit landscape evolves in response to widespread digital adoption, post-pandemic behavioral shifts, and changing donor expectations, software reliability provides organizations with peace of mind that the fundraising tools they need to adapt and achieve key outcomes will be available and high-performing — even during their biggest giving days.
Here are four ways that the reliability of your organization’s tech stack drives nonprofit success.
1. Enhances donor retention and engagement
Experience is everything when it comes to donor retention and engagement. Selecting software solutions that instantly scale in response to traffic fluctuations help ensure your website users’ experiences are exceptional.
A dependable tech stack increases engagement and retention success by providing uninterrupted access to essential resources, including:
- Self-service capabilities improve engagement and retention by giving donors the autonomy to perform tasks such as changing their recurring donation amount or date, pausing their plan instead of canceling it, and downloading receipts without the additional friction of a phone call or email to a help desk.
- Personalization tools allow nonprofits to connect with donors on an individual level by using AI to suggest custom donation amounts.
- Dedicated campaign pages allow nontechnical users to leverage AI to create, configure, and launch targeted donation pages that are optimized for conversions.
What does that look like in action? After switching to a high-performance digital donor management platform with robust donor engagement tools, RedRover’s monthly donorship went up 300 percent, and the number of donors who cover transaction costs increased from 55 percent to 68 percent.
2. Improves access to data and insights
Without a comprehensive view of your nonprofit’s fundraising data, you aren’t getting the full story of your donors’ journeys.
Investing in technology that maximizes uptime helps ensure no fundraising data is lost and that it is always accessible to analytics and visualization tools. These tools are mission critical for nonprofit organizations as they use them to identify patterns and trends that allow decision makers to drill down into factors such as donation frequency, payment method, designation, donor preferences, and country of origin to make informed, data-backed adjustments to their fundraising strategies.
3. Reduces friction and increases conversions
Even minor friction in the donor journey can result in missed opportunities for your nonprofit. Implementing tools and technologies designed for high reliability can help provide a frictionless giving experience.
For example, if potential donors try to contribute during a major fundraising event but the donation page is slow to load or, worse, crashes, they may become frustrated and abandon the donation process.
Implementing a fundraising platform that is built to scale instantly on your busiest donation days ensures that the giving process flows seamlessly, making it simple for donors to complete the transaction without disruption, delay, or confusion.
4. Facilitates global giving
Selecting a fundraising platform that employs a global network of computing resources enables nonprofits to engage with donors worldwide and provide a seamless, highly localized giving experience.
Integrating advanced localization tools with a high-performance fundraising platform ensures language-specific subdomains, directories, and URL parameters are properly configured to automatically trigger accurate localizations. The consistent availability of multi-language, multi-currency capabilities elevates site visitor experience, builds trust, and increases engagement, which leads to higher conversions.
Selecting a reliable software solution that’s right for your nonprofit
Technology is a success driver in the nonprofit sector, shaping everything from fundraising events to targeted marketing efforts to back-office operations. Implementing a high-performance software solution that maximizes uptime and scales instantly is an essential step in harnessing the power of technology to enrich the donor experience, increase engagement, and drive more conversions.
Read our Stand Up to Cancer case study to learn how the Fundraise Up platform provides reliable, scalable support for the initiative with real-time smart payment processing, accelerated staff training, and fraud detection.