Presentation aimed at helping nonprofits plan and choose the right donor and contact management tools for their organization.

1. Database Technologies
Moving from Chaos to a
Contact Management Solution

2. Who We Are
Kelley-Sue LeBlanc founded Aleuromedia, LLC in Tara Mahadyʼs nonprofit experience spans twenty
2007. Since then she has been educating years with a variety of non-profits in NH and beyond.
businesses and non-profits about how to reach their Most recently she was the Senior Director of
strategic goals through the use of visual Marketing and Development at NH Public Radio.
communications, social networking, and selective
web 2.0 practices and technologies.
Tara is a Partner with Aleuromedia. She helps guide
organizations in creating integrated offline and online
Kelley-Sue has experience in a number of industries, development and marketing plans, through the use
including software development, sales management of traditional and innovative strategies and
and multimedia. Sheʼs worked at the crossroads of technologies.
philanthropy and technology for the past twenty
years.
Email: kelley@aleurosolutions.com Email: tara@aleurosolutions.com
LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/ksleblanc LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/tmahady
Twitter: @KSL Twitter: @TMahady
Mobile: 603.233.5078 Mobile: 603.568.1612

3. Your Donor Management
System Shouldn’t Be A
Necessary Evil
Kelley-Sue LeBlanc and Tara Mahady for Aleuromedia LLC www.aleuromedia.com www.aleuronpo.com PO Box 10251, Bedford NH 03110

4. Right. So...
Kelley-Sue LeBlanc and Tara Mahady for Aleuromedia LLC www.aleuromedia.com www.aleuronpo.com PO Box 10251, Bedford NH 03110

5. Right. So...
Kelley-Sue LeBlanc and Tara Mahady for Aleuromedia LLC www.aleuromedia.com www.aleuronpo.com PO Box 10251, Bedford NH 03110

6. Right. So...
What Should It Be?
Kelley-Sue LeBlanc and Tara Mahady for Aleuromedia LLC www.aleuromedia.com www.aleuronpo.com PO Box 10251, Bedford NH 03110

7. Donor Management Software as defined
by NTEN 2008 Donor Management
Software Satisfaction Survey and Report
Kelley-Sue LeBlanc and Tara Mahady for Aleuromedia LLC www.aleuromedia.com www.aleuronpo.com PO Box 10251, Bedford NH 03110

8. Donor Management Software as defined
by NTEN 2008 Donor Management
Software Satisfaction Survey and Report
Manages relationships with current prospective donors.
Send/tracks correspondence and relationship history
(contact management).
Is more than just a donation processor (i.e. paypall,
donate now, google checkout).
Tracks all type of gifts (online, offline, events, in-kind,
matching, grants etc.).
Kelley-Sue LeBlanc and Tara Mahady for Aleuromedia LLC www.aleuromedia.com www.aleuronpo.com PO Box 10251, Bedford NH 03110

9. What Information Do You
Need About Your People?
Photo Courtesy of Creative Commons by Brande Jackson Photo Courtesy of Creative Commons by Oblivion9999
Kelley-Sue LeBlanc and Tara Mahady for Aleuromedia LLC www.aleuromedia.com www.aleuronpo.com PO Box 10251, Bedford NH 03110

10. Information
+ Analysis
Kelley-Sue LeBlanc and Tara Mahady for Aleuromedia LLC www.aleuromedia.com www.aleuronpo.com PO Box 10251, Bedford NH 03110

11. Information
+ Analysis
Giving trends: multi year donors, first
year donors, LYBUNT, SYBUNT
Kelley-Sue LeBlanc and Tara Mahady for Aleuromedia LLC www.aleuromedia.com www.aleuronpo.com PO Box 10251, Bedford NH 03110

12. Information
+ Analysis
Giving trends: multi year donors, first
year donors, LYBUNT, SYBUNT
Prospect rating
Kelley-Sue LeBlanc and Tara Mahady for Aleuromedia LLC www.aleuromedia.com www.aleuronpo.com PO Box 10251, Bedford NH 03110

13. Information
+ Analysis
Giving trends: multi year donors, first
year donors, LYBUNT, SYBUNT
Prospect rating
Unfulfilled pledges
Kelley-Sue LeBlanc and Tara Mahady for Aleuromedia LLC www.aleuromedia.com www.aleuronpo.com PO Box 10251, Bedford NH 03110

14. Information
+ Analysis
Giving trends: multi year donors, first
year donors, LYBUNT, SYBUNT
Prospect rating
Unfulfilled pledges
Relationships
Kelley-Sue LeBlanc and Tara Mahady for Aleuromedia LLC www.aleuromedia.com www.aleuronpo.com PO Box 10251, Bedford NH 03110

15. Information
+ Analysis
Giving trends: multi year donors, first
year donors, LYBUNT, SYBUNT
Prospect rating
Unfulfilled pledges
Relationships
Campaign performance
Kelley-Sue LeBlanc and Tara Mahady for Aleuromedia LLC www.aleuromedia.com www.aleuronpo.com PO Box 10251, Bedford NH 03110

16. Information
+ Analysis
Giving trends: multi year donors, first
year donors, LYBUNT, SYBUNT
Prospect rating
Unfulfilled pledges
Relationships
Campaign performance
Event performance
Kelley-Sue LeBlanc and Tara Mahady for Aleuromedia LLC www.aleuromedia.com www.aleuronpo.com PO Box 10251, Bedford NH 03110

17. Information
+ Analysis =
Knowledge
Kelley-Sue LeBlanc and Tara Mahady for Aleuromedia LLC www.aleuromedia.com www.aleuronpo.com PO Box 10251, Bedford NH 03110

18. Knowledge
+ Action =
Power
Kelley-Sue LeBlanc and Tara Mahady for Aleuromedia LLC www.aleuromedia.com www.aleuronpo.com PO Box 10251, Bedford NH 03110

19. Reporting & Analysis
Kelley-Sue LeBlanc and Tara Mahady for Aleuromedia LLC www.aleuromedia.com www.aleuronpo.com PO Box 10251, Bedford NH 03110

20. Reporting & Analysis
It is important that you have access to basic
reports that you’ll need to properly analyze
and take action.
Kelley-Sue LeBlanc and Tara Mahady for Aleuromedia LLC www.aleuromedia.com www.aleuronpo.com PO Box 10251, Bedford NH 03110

21. Reporting & Analysis
It is important that you have access to basic
reports that you’ll need to properly analyze
and take action.
More important is the ability to easily access
your data. You need the ability to present it in
ways that are best suited to your audiences.
Kelley-Sue LeBlanc and Tara Mahady for Aleuromedia LLC www.aleuromedia.com www.aleuronpo.com PO Box 10251, Bedford NH 03110

22. There’s a lot to
pay attention to.
You need a plan.
People. Budget. Access.
Activities.
Kelley-Sue LeBlanc and Tara Mahady for Aleuromedia LLC www.aleuromedia.com www.aleuronpo.com PO Box 10251, Bedford NH 03110

23. Activities.
Determining Selection Criteria
Ask yourself/organization these questions:
Kelley-Sue LeBlanc and Tara Mahady for Aleuromedia LLC www.aleuromedia.com www.aleuronpo.com PO Box 10251, Bedford NH 03110

24. Activities.
Determining Selection Criteria
Ask yourself/organization these questions:
Your solution should propel the activities you need
to do to be successful. You should not have to
change what you need do to be successful in order
to suit a software solution.
Kelley-Sue LeBlanc and Tara Mahady for Aleuromedia LLC www.aleuromedia.com www.aleuronpo.com PO Box 10251, Bedford NH 03110

25. Activities.
Determining Selection Criteria
Ask yourself/organization these questions:
What are the best practices
for your type of organization?
Your solution should propel the activities you need
to do to be successful. You should not have to
change what you need do to be successful in order
to suit a software solution.
Kelley-Sue LeBlanc and Tara Mahady for Aleuromedia LLC www.aleuromedia.com www.aleuronpo.com PO Box 10251, Bedford NH 03110

26. Activities.
Determining Selection Criteria
Ask yourself/organization these questions:
What processes are you
hoping to change or improve?
Kelley-Sue LeBlanc and Tara Mahady for Aleuromedia LLC www.aleuromedia.com www.aleuronpo.com PO Box 10251, Bedford NH 03110

27. Activities.
Determining Selection Criteria
Ask yourself/organization these questions:
What processes are you
hoping to change or improve?
For example, do you hope to strengthen donor
relations through more efficient and timely gift
processing.
Or systematize donor cultivation activities?
Do you want to automate accounting?
Kelley-Sue LeBlanc and Tara Mahady for Aleuromedia LLC www.aleuromedia.com www.aleuronpo.com PO Box 10251, Bedford NH 03110

28. People.
Determining Selection Criteria
Ask yourself/organization these questions:
Kelley-Sue LeBlanc and Tara Mahady for Aleuromedia LLC www.aleuromedia.com www.aleuronpo.com PO Box 10251, Bedford NH 03110

29. People.
Determining Selection Criteria
Ask yourself/organization these questions:
How many constituents do you have?
Expect to have in three years? Five years?
Kelley-Sue LeBlanc and Tara Mahady for Aleuromedia LLC www.aleuromedia.com www.aleuronpo.com PO Box 10251, Bedford NH 03110

30. People.
Determining Selection Criteria
Ask yourself/organization these questions:
How many constituents do you have?
Expect to have in three years? Five years?
How many users will you need?
Will they require different levels of permission?
Kelley-Sue LeBlanc and Tara Mahady for Aleuromedia LLC www.aleuromedia.com www.aleuronpo.com PO Box 10251, Bedford NH 03110

31. People.
Determining Selection Criteria
Ask yourself/organization these questions:
How many constituents do you have?
Expect to have in three years? Five years?
How many users will you need?
Will they require different levels of permission?
Will your users be on-site or remote?
Kelley-Sue LeBlanc and Tara Mahady for Aleuromedia LLC www.aleuromedia.com www.aleuronpo.com PO Box 10251, Bedford NH 03110

32. People.
Determining Selection Criteria
Ask yourself/organization these questions:
How many constituents do you have?
Expect to have in three years? Five years?
How many users will you need?
Will they require different levels of permission?
Will your users be on-site or remote?
Who are your resources and what is their skill-set?
Kelley-Sue LeBlanc and Tara Mahady for Aleuromedia LLC www.aleuromedia.com www.aleuronpo.com PO Box 10251, Bedford NH 03110

33. People.
Make sure your resource is
suited to the task.
(Courtesy of Tomlin and Wagner Theatricalz / March 31, 2009)
Kelley-Sue LeBlanc and Tara Mahady for Aleuromedia LLC www.aleuromedia.com www.aleuronpo.com PO Box 10251, Bedford NH 03110

34. Budget.
Efficient Integration Saves
Time and Money
Kelley-Sue LeBlanc and Tara Mahady for Aleuromedia LLC www.aleuromedia.com www.aleuronpo.com PO Box 10251, Bedford NH 03110

35. Budget.
Determining Selection Criteria
Ask yourself/organization these questions:
Kelley-Sue LeBlanc and Tara Mahady for Aleuromedia LLC www.aleuromedia.com www.aleuronpo.com PO Box 10251, Bedford NH 03110

36. Budget.
Determining Selection Criteria
Ask yourself/organization these questions:
What is your budget?
Kelley-Sue LeBlanc and Tara Mahady for Aleuromedia LLC www.aleuromedia.com www.aleuronpo.com PO Box 10251, Bedford NH 03110

37. Budget.
Determining Selection Criteria
Ask yourself/organization these questions:
What is your budget?
Do you have IT support?
Are you prepared to pay for it if needed?
Kelley-Sue LeBlanc and Tara Mahady for Aleuromedia LLC www.aleuromedia.com www.aleuronpo.com PO Box 10251, Bedford NH 03110

38. Budget.
Determining Selection Criteria
Ask yourself/organization these questions:
What is your budget?
Do you have IT support?
Are you prepared to pay for it if needed?
How much will you budget for on-going
maintenance and training?
Kelley-Sue LeBlanc and Tara Mahady for Aleuromedia LLC www.aleuromedia.com www.aleuronpo.com PO Box 10251, Bedford NH 03110

39. Budget.
Determining Selection Criteria
Ask yourself/organization these questions:
What is your budget?
Do you have IT support?
Are you prepared to pay for it if needed?
How much will you budget for on-going
maintenance and training?
Will your organization require additional modules
not included in the basic offering?
Kelley-Sue LeBlanc and Tara Mahady for Aleuromedia LLC www.aleuromedia.com www.aleuronpo.com PO Box 10251, Bedford NH 03110

40. Budget.
Determining Selection Criteria
Ask yourself/organization these questions:
What is your budget?
Do you have IT support?
Are you prepared to pay for it if needed?
How much will you budget for on-going
maintenance and training?
Will your organization require additional modules
not included in the basic offering?
Will your data require conversion and cleansing?
Kelley-Sue LeBlanc and Tara Mahady for Aleuromedia LLC www.aleuromedia.com www.aleuronpo.com PO Box 10251, Bedford NH 03110

41. Budget.
Determining Selection Criteria
Ask yourself/organization these questions:
Kelley-Sue LeBlanc and Tara Mahady for Aleuromedia LLC www.aleuromedia.com www.aleuronpo.com PO Box 10251, Bedford NH 03110

42. Budget.
Determining Selection Criteria
Ask yourself/organization these questions:
Will you require integration with other programs
(ticketing, accounting, contact management)?
Kelley-Sue LeBlanc and Tara Mahady for Aleuromedia LLC www.aleuromedia.com www.aleuronpo.com PO Box 10251, Bedford NH 03110

43. Budget.
Determining Selection Criteria
Ask yourself/organization these questions:
Will you require integration with other programs
(ticketing, accounting, contact management)?
Will you require new hardware (laptops, desktops,
server, router)?
Kelley-Sue LeBlanc and Tara Mahady for Aleuromedia LLC www.aleuromedia.com www.aleuronpo.com PO Box 10251, Bedford NH 03110

44. Budget.
Determining Selection Criteria
Ask yourself/organization these questions:
Will you require integration with other programs
(ticketing, accounting, contact management)?
Will you require new hardware (laptops, desktops,
server, router)?
Will you require additional services (internet
access, firewalls, antivirus protection)?
Kelley-Sue LeBlanc and Tara Mahady for Aleuromedia LLC www.aleuromedia.com www.aleuronpo.com PO Box 10251, Bedford NH 03110

45. Budget.
Determining Selection Criteria
Ask yourself/organization these questions:
Will you require integration with other programs
(ticketing, accounting, contact management)?
Will you require new hardware (laptops, desktops,
server, router)?
Will you require additional services (internet
access, firewalls, antivirus protection)?
What is your budget now?
Kelley-Sue LeBlanc and Tara Mahady for Aleuromedia LLC www.aleuromedia.com www.aleuronpo.com PO Box 10251, Bedford NH 03110

46. Access.
Determining Selection Criteria
Ask yourself/organization these questions:
Kelley-Sue LeBlanc and Tara Mahady for Aleuromedia LLC www.aleuromedia.com www.aleuronpo.com PO Box 10251, Bedford NH 03110

47. Access.
Determining Selection Criteria
Ask yourself/organization these questions:
Do you want to own your database? Be responsible for
backups and security?
Kelley-Sue LeBlanc and Tara Mahady for Aleuromedia LLC www.aleuromedia.com www.aleuronpo.com PO Box 10251, Bedford NH 03110

48. Access.
Determining Selection Criteria
Ask yourself/organization these questions:
Do you want to own your database? Be responsible for
backups and security?
Do you need to support multiple platforms i.e. Mac,
Windows, various versions of each?
Kelley-Sue LeBlanc and Tara Mahady for Aleuromedia LLC www.aleuromedia.com www.aleuronpo.com PO Box 10251, Bedford NH 03110

49. Access.
Determining Selection Criteria
Ask yourself/organization these questions:
Do you want to own your database? Be responsible for
backups and security?
Do you need to support multiple platforms i.e. Mac,
Windows, various versions of each?
Should your donor management software or CRM
system replace your contact management system (i.e.
email and social media) or work in concert with it?
How will you know?
Kelley-Sue LeBlanc and Tara Mahady for Aleuromedia LLC www.aleuromedia.com www.aleuronpo.com PO Box 10251, Bedford NH 03110

50. Access.
Determining Selection Criteria
Ask yourself/organization these questions:
Kelley-Sue LeBlanc and Tara Mahady for Aleuromedia LLC www.aleuromedia.com www.aleuronpo.com PO Box 10251, Bedford NH 03110

51. Access.
Determining Selection Criteria
Ask yourself/organization these questions:
Will you need to import data? Regularly? Occasionally?
Kelley-Sue LeBlanc and Tara Mahady for Aleuromedia LLC www.aleuromedia.com www.aleuronpo.com PO Box 10251, Bedford NH 03110

52. Access.
Determining Selection Criteria
Ask yourself/organization these questions:
Will you need to import data? Regularly? Occasionally?
Will you need to export data? Regularly? Occasionally?
Kelley-Sue LeBlanc and Tara Mahady for Aleuromedia LLC www.aleuromedia.com www.aleuronpo.com PO Box 10251, Bedford NH 03110

53. Access.
Determining Selection Criteria
Ask yourself/organization these questions:
Will you need to import data? Regularly? Occasionally?
Will you need to export data? Regularly? Occasionally?
How do you refer to people and things? Will you need
to search or find on (i.e. member levels, id numbers,
phone numbers, event information, campaign
information, payment information)?
Kelley-Sue LeBlanc and Tara Mahady for Aleuromedia LLC www.aleuromedia.com www.aleuronpo.com PO Box 10251, Bedford NH 03110

54. Access.
Determining Selection Criteria
Ask yourself/organization these questions:
Will you need to import data? Regularly? Occasionally?
Will you need to export data? Regularly? Occasionally?
How do you refer to people and things? Will you need
to search or find on (i.e. member levels, id numbers,
phone numbers, event information, campaign
information, payment information)?
Checklist items: Do you track grants? Do track soft
credits? Matching gifts? Special Funds?
Kelley-Sue LeBlanc and Tara Mahady for Aleuromedia LLC www.aleuromedia.com www.aleuronpo.com PO Box 10251, Bedford NH 03110

55. Now ask yourself...
Does your current system meet your selection criteria?
Kelley-Sue LeBlanc and Tara Mahady for Aleuromedia LLC www.aleuromedia.com www.aleuronpo.com PO Box 10251, Bedford NH 03110

56. Why Donor Management
Systems Fail Us
Shared Responsibility
The Company & Product
Not user-responsive
Relies on customizations to
make the product work for you
Customer service isn’t a priority
Insufficient training
opportunities
Kelley-Sue LeBlanc and Tara Mahady for Aleuromedia LLC www.aleuromedia.com www.aleuronpo.com PO Box 10251, Bedford NH 03110

57. Why Donor Management
Systems Fail Us
Shared Responsibility
Your Organization
Buy or have more product than you need
Business practices and systems are incomplete
System set up isn’t aligned with current needs or practices
Lack of commitment to ongoing staff training
Wrong person in the database manager or analyst position
Junk in - junk out
Kelley-Sue LeBlanc and Tara Mahady for Aleuromedia LLC www.aleuromedia.com www.aleuronpo.com PO Box 10251, Bedford NH 03110

58. Review
Kelley-Sue LeBlanc and Tara Mahady for Aleuromedia LLC www.aleuromedia.com www.aleuronpo.com PO Box 10251, Bedford NH 03110

59. Review
1. Assess Current Systems & Processes
2. Determine Needs by Asking Questions
3. Budget for Entire Project
4.Research Potential Solutions
5. Review Finalists
6.Plan for Data Conversion &
Implementation
7. Implementation & Training
Kelley-Sue LeBlanc and Tara Mahady for Aleuromedia LLC www.aleuromedia.com www.aleuronpo.com PO Box 10251, Bedford NH 03110

60. Mistakes to Avoid
Starting your search and evaluation without
defined selection criteria ...start with a plan.
Letting your IT people choose the software.
Biting off more than you can really afford
(training, management, conversion, ++).
Putting too much emphasis on the price tag
(this is a long term investment).
Kelley-Sue LeBlanc and Tara Mahady for Aleuromedia LLC www.aleuromedia.com www.aleuronpo.com PO Box 10251, Bedford NH 03110

61. Mistakes to Avoid
Letting the look/feel of a product or sales rep.
overshadow your established selection criteria.
Hoping the database will install and manage itself.
Buying more than you need.
Confusing a great demo, with an intuitive product
(start with a trial, if your staff can’t do what the
sales rep., can then you need to budget for training).
Kelley-Sue LeBlanc and Tara Mahady for Aleuromedia LLC www.aleuromedia.com www.aleuronpo.com PO Box 10251, Bedford NH 03110

62. Some Tools
Kelley-Sue LeBlanc and Tara Mahady for Aleuromedia LLC www.aleuromedia.com www.aleuronpo.com PO Box 10251, Bedford NH 03110

63. 2008 NTEN Donor
Management Software
Satisfaction Survey
Kelley-Sue LeBlanc and Tara Mahady for Aleuromedia LLC www.aleuromedia.com www.aleuronpo.com PO Box 10251, Bedford NH 03110

64. Recommendations
According to CIO magazine, the recommendation of peers is one of the
most important factors influencing decisions about technology vendors.
The three most commonly used systems, The
Raiser’s Edge, OnDeposit, and Giftworks, were
recommended by 80.1%, 96.2%, and 92.3% of
users respectively.
Kelley-Sue LeBlanc and Tara Mahady for Aleuromedia LLC www.aleuromedia.com www.aleuronpo.com PO Box 10251, Bedford NH 03110

65. Recommendations
Once you’ve done all your homework, determined
your selection criteria, and evaluated the product,
you’re almost ready to make a selection.
You must talk to the people who use the tool. Make
sure they feel the product can deliver what you need.
Kelley-Sue LeBlanc and Tara Mahady for Aleuromedia LLC www.aleuromedia.com www.aleuronpo.com PO Box 10251, Bedford NH 03110

66. Blogishness
Follow on
Twitter: Become a fan
Aleuro on Facebook:
http://www.aleuromedia.com/blog/
AleuroSolutions
Kelley-Sue LeBlanc, Founder
Follow on Twitter: KSL
Join my LinkedIn network:
http://www.linkedin.com/in/KSL
Tara Mahady, Partner
Follow on Twitter: TMahady
Join my LinkedIn network:
http://www.linkedin.com/in/tmahady