Internet fundraising has come a long way since credit card capability was The Big Thing. Come see how youԶe grown.

By Paul Barbagallo

Instead of expecting software to give us answers, we should set it to the task of alerting us when answers are needed: “Calls to new donors have dropped 25 percent since last week” or, “Five major-gifts proposal deadlines have slipped.”

A simple decision-support system can be developed to flag these conditions quickly and alert human resources. But by the time calls to new donors drop by 25 percent, it’s probably too late. Maybe what we really need is an “early warning” mechanism.