Certification - October 2008 - (Page 27)

to a strategy borrowed from the commercial sector: constituent relationship management (CRM), known in the business world as customer relationship management. For both terms, CRM defines the set of processes and supporting technologies an organization uses to acquire, retain and enhance relationships with the different constituent groups with which it interacts. A CRM strategy that combines knowledge of supporters and processes with software can be a huge help. Organizations will be rewarded greater knowledge of their constituents, improved efficiency and increased ease at tweaking processes to improve the user experience for all constituents. This in turn brings more value to the organizations. Before an appropriate software solution can be implemented, however, the organization must first define its CRM strategy. This is a three-step process: First, the organization must identify its constituent groups; then it must outline its key processes; and finally, it has to understand the process mix. • Clients: Program and service beneficiaries. • Alumni: Staff, program participants and clients. • Corporate supporters: Sponsors, partners, advocates, cash or material donors and customers. • Recruits: Staff, program participants and clients. • Channel partners: Other nonprofits with constituents who could use programs or services, or government agencies that provide referrals to programs. • Suppliers and vendors: Those that provide supplies, services, IT and events. • Staff: Current employees, board members and advisers. Outlining Processes Identifying Constituent Groups Many nonprofits have more types of constituents than they realize. A recent survey of staff members at a midsize nonprofit identified more than 25 spreadsheets, contact managers, slips of paper and custom databases to store information about interactions with different constituent groups. About half of these repositories and interactions were unknown to both management and the IT department. Many nonprofits focus too narrowly on the constituents that typically provide income, such as donors, foundations, members and retail customers, but there are many other groups that can bring value to an organization: • Volunteers: Individuals who donate their time. Next, an organization must document the means by which staff interacts with each of the identified groups. Are the interactions one-time contacts, or are there follow-ups or other forms of ongoing outreach? What kind of constituent data does staff collect? Core interactions should be separated from the peripheral. Identifying these interactions will help define the capabilities required of a software solution. This exercise often yields constituent-centric process improvements that don’t require a technology investment. For example, a nonprofit might find an entire potential donor group is being ignored or a process that could be streamlined to save time and money. Human services organizations might find a way to tie outreach efforts into program delivery or consider how successful program delivery can influence outreach and participation. To better understand the processes common to nonprofit organizations, it’s helpful to compare them to their siblings in the commercial world: Each constituent group has some kind of marketing, sales and October 2008 CERTIFICATION MAGAZINE 2

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of Certification - October 2008

Certification - October 2008 Editor's Letter Contents Data Stream Virtual Village Tech Careers Dear Techie Troubleshooting Academic Connection What We Like Look Ahead Elect IT: Technology and the Democratic Process Managing Relationships in the Nonprofit Realm Interface VoIP Technician: Answering the Call of the Network Inside Certification Ad Index Endtag

Certification - October 2008

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