Focus On: Software: Are You Plugged In?

“With the right software you can be far more strategic and coordinated in the appeals you send out, the information you’re capturing, and in compiling information about donors and the goals you have set,” Dunion says.

The popularity of new fundraising tools begins to make sense when you think of the large numbers of people who have to be communicated with at a nonprofit hospital, homeless shelter, prep school, museum or environmental organization, etc. The donor database at a typical nonprofit is likely to be much more diverse than it was 30 years ago, when development professionals often “turned to a few rich people” for funding, says Craig Ahlquist, vice president and cofounder of Campagne Associates.