Software/Technology

Do not use end-result tools for the sake of using new tools; use them as a predetermined integrated component within your overall integrated marketing communication program.

Attention to detail improves the fundraising "net." By having a strong gift-processing, accounting and donor stewardship function, you have vital tools to deepen donor relationships. 

While technology has opened all sorts of new possibilities for fundraisers, there is no technological cure-all for the fundraising sector, no matter what anyone may attempt to lead you to believe. Fundraising still takes work — and hard work at that.

Sage North America announced that Version 11.0 of its Sage Fund Accounting nonprofit and government financial management software is now available. Product enhancements focused on improving the customer experience and included streamlining the upgrade process with the new Sage Auto Update console; implementing user-requested improvements within core modules; updating the workflow and user interface; improving reporting capabilities; and adding Sales Order functionality to the Accounts Receivable (A/R) module.

Blackbaud announced new enhancements to Blackbaud NetCommunity, its comprehensive Internet marketing solution that integrates with The Raiser's Edge for website management, online community-building, and e-mail marketing.

Blackbaud has partnered with Janrain, a leader in social identity solutions, to offer customers easy access to robust and reliable social sign-on functionality. The recently released version also features mobile-ready features, integrated multichannel reporting, a website integration gallery, and embedded how-to videos.

Blackbaud announced that it has acquired Everyday Hero, a privately-owned company based in Brisbane, Australia. Everyday Hero’s event fundraising tools are used by tens of thousands of individual fundraisers and 1400 customers in Australia, New Zealand and the United Kingdom.

The 27-person Everyday Hero staff will continue to serve its growing customer base of leading nonprofit fundraising events in Australia and will continue to grow Everyday Hero’s presence in Asia-Pacific and the UK. Blackbaud will continue to grow Everyday Hero’s product offerings.

South by Southwest, the annual conference of thinkers and innovators, has honored two nonprofits it says are using technology in novel ways to promote social good.

The organizations, which won scholarships to attend next year’s conference, are Hollaback and Friendfactor.

Hollaback, which works to fight sexual harassment by collecting personal stories of victims, released smartphone applications that let victims log incidents. Friendfactor, a gay-rights advocacy organization, is also using online technology to help supporters share information about its mission.

Charity Dynamics, a provider of comprehensive online marketing and fundraising solutions for nonprofits, introduced Boundless Voices, a suite of online advocacy applications for Facebook, e-mail and smartphones that empower organizations to exponentially extend their reach and amplify their impact.

Boundless Voices provides a way for nonprofits to engage more closely with supporters, give advocates a stronger voice, and leverage their social networks to increase awareness for their organizations’ causes.

Blackbaud announced the availability of two new services for nonprofit prospect researchers: Dossiers on Demand and NOZA Exact Match Constituent Screenings. The services are the latest offerings from Target Analytics, a Blackbaud company, which offers solutions for donor acquisition, prospect research, donor benchmarking, custom modeling, and data enrichment services to more than 6,000 nonprofits.

Blackbaud announced its inclusion in Software Magazine’s Software 500 ranking of the world’s largest software and service providers, now in its 29th year. Blackbaud was ranked 144, with total software/services revenue of $320.4 million and total corporate revenue of $327.1 million in 2010. The ranking positioned Blackbaud as the largest provider of nonprofit software on the Software 500 list.