Deciding what software or technology your nonprofit should use is a difficult decision, with so many software choices available with varying applications. Formulating the right strategy and then picking the right software or platform to execute it is a challenge for many nonprofits.
Raiser’s Edge and Salesforce are two nonprofit fundraising options that are aimed at larger organizations, with a number of features that are common to both. Let’s look at a comparison.
Raiser’s Edge vs. Salesforce
Raiser’s Edge
Raiser’s Edge is a product of Blackbaud, which has a number of cloud-based software for nonprofits of various types and is one of the most popular choices. Raiser’s Edge is a fundraising and relationship management tool that is used to process online donations and track them with donor profiles that are set up using donor information that has been input into the system. It also allows you to set up and monitor campaigns.
The software also has options to save information in one place, which is easy to access for all relevant members of the organization and create lists using this information to target donors of specific shared characteristics. It also allows you to keep donors up to date on your organization’s activities by sharing information through email and social media. Using the information and responses by donors, you can also follow up on any questions and queries that arise.
Raiser’s Edge allows for customization for each nonprofits’ specific needs and does not need any integrations to get fully operative features. Unlike Salesforce, Raiser’s Edge is built specifically for nonprofits, which can be a great benefit in its use. It also has a simple and intuitive user interface, which makes it easy for users of all experience levels to get their work done.
Salesforce
The success of Salesforce can be seen through the fact that many large organizations and businesses use Salesforce for their customer relationship management, and this feature is also available to nonprofits.
Salesforce allows you to track your relationships and create in-depth donor profiles where you can save any information you may need in the future. It also allows you to track gifts and recurring donations as well as any volunteering activity and programs. It even allows integration with other third-party applications.
Salesforce also has several powerful reporting and analytics features that allow users to use pre-configured reporting formats or customize them to suit the nonprofit’s needs for the purpose of data presentation. For a nonprofit, it may take some time to customize the software to meet the nonprofit’s needs, but the end result promises a seamless, cohesive platform that can carry out all the tasks that a nonprofit needs for its efficient management.
However, while Salesforce can work for all nonprofits, it is at its core, meant for enterprises, and hence, may need some more time and commitment to make its functionality more suited.
Ashraf Samhouri