02/20/2020

By Mohona Dutta | Reading time 7 mins

Using Dynamics 365 For Managing Data In Nonprofits

When a nonprofit invests in high-end CRM software, such as Microsoft Dynamics 365, it is rational to set an expectation regarding some ROI (Return on Investment) in terms of donation, grants revenue. But in order to get real worth, you need to utilize the features to the max.

 

The market is filled with a range of CRM software, each claiming to be the best for your requirements. But the question arises whether the right CRM software can fit your budget, needs and you as a user can benefit from all the features, customizations that the tool has to offer? The answer is most likely a yes.

 

This blog talks about why a lot of industries, nonprofits included have started inclining towards Microsoft Dynamics 365.

Using Dynamics 365 for managing data in nonprofits - AhaApps

There are quite a few good reasons as to why Dynamics 365 can fit the bill. Be its flexibility, scalability, the capability to integrate easily with a host of other systems, tailor-made features, data management ability with the right dosage of AI and BI. The list can go on.

 

But we are here to talk about how you can get the best out of Microsoft Dynamics 395 tool starting from donation tracking to email marketing. So, let’s begin.

Tracking financial data

Taking care of your financial data is important and a Dynamics 365 CRM that integrates the assortment of that data with your organization’s everyday tasks can add convenience to that process without foregoing meticulousness.

 

With it you can track the following kind of data:

  • Kind of donation

Whether the donation was made by check, cash, wire, or online payment D365 can record the payment appropriately so you never lose track of funds.

  • Tax deduction

As a nonprofit, your association observes a complicated tax code that can quickly become too much to handle if the data is unorganized. Dynamics 365 will ensure that there are no tax breaks to be missed by keeping a thorough tab on your donation information and exporting it to your accounting software.

  • Organizational expenditure

With Dynamics 365, you can track expenses related to events, programs, campaigns, or marketing initiatives helping you understand your cost brackets and improve your budgeting strategy. By connecting your costs to your donor profiles, you can analyze your fundraising progress and plan for the future.

Using donor data to the fullest

It is quintessential that as a nonprofit you maintain a strong relationship with the donors, sponsors and anyone who helps you with your mission. You can vouch for a positive, long-lasting relationship if you get to know your donor a bit better. It might be a little overwhelming to build a personal connection with a host of donors and without a proper tracking system, it can all go south.

 

With its amazing feature, Dynamics 365 can help you maintain donor profiles so you always have the essential information on hand.

  • Personal data

With Microsoft Dynamics 365 you store data about your clients that goes beyond their basic contact information. Stats as philanthropic interests, donation history, and preferred mode of communication.

  • Appropriate documents

Rather than maintaining documents such as previous correspondences, donation receipts, and membership forms in a separate hard drive, or several spreadsheets, Dynamics 365 lets you keep these items attached to the relevant donor’s profile for ease of access.

  • Customize the fields

You can create custom-made fields for your benefit. Alter Dynamics 365 to fit your requirements so that you can add important pieces of information about your members that help you foster a long relationship.

Split your donor list

With Dynamics 365 you get to segment your donors into relevant groups. The way you create the segmented donor’s list will on your organization’s unique marketing strategies, but a few of the common segmentation markers include:

CRM in NonProfit - AhaApps

If there is a long list of donors, keeping track of them manually can become a cumbersome task. Splitting the list into various sections can help you automate your engagement efforts and release some of the strain of keeping your details organized. For instance, creating a list of donors who prefer to use online brochures helps you to save money and time on unnecessary postage fares and hassle.

Enhancing staff efficiency

With Dynamics 365 CRM you can reduce the irksome daily activities that take a lot of time. Free up your team for the things that are important.

  • Integrating other software

By integrating Dynamics 365 with the other software your organization uses on a daily basis, you can decrease the time spent moving data between software for a holistic and productive experience. Combining your donor management tools in the CRM allows you to include your segmented lists and personalized data for better marketing automation, online fundraising

  • Improving productivity

With custom workflows, priority settings, ownership settings, task reminders, and templates, the daily work processes will be optimized increasing productivity and accelerating fundraising growth.

Allow Dynamics 365 to work in sync with your other tools reducing the burden of your staff and take bigger leaps towards reaching your objective.

Dynamics 365 offers lots of useful features, but the usefulness starts to decrease when you use the software like any old database. Nonprofit organizations struggle with unhinged funding, retaining donors, and have high standards for transparency. With a CRM like Dynamics 365, you will be able to develop a stringent donor and fundraising strategy.

Connect with AhaApps to learn more about how you can use the tool for your utmost benefit.

Author’s bio:

Mohona is a Content Writer for the Marketing team in AhaApps since 2019. When she is not busy attending to her creative, technical side, she likes to binge on sitcoms on Netflix. She loves writing poems and reading short stories when she wants to break away from the humdrum of life.