Thinking Forward Instead of Looking Backwards

It’s now more important than ever that you consider your investment in technology…

At Sleek Consulting we have been managing fundraising and engagement technology since 1991. We have worked on about 200 successful system implementations and have more than 300 years of experience serving in nonprofit organizations. We feel strongly that, done correctly, implementations are game changers.

With the current environment in 2021, the recent data breaches with large fundraising vendors, and the extensive number of non-profits and higher education organizations all competing for the same giving dollars, it’s now more important than ever that you consider your investment in technology.

We have reached a time when the low-hanging-fruit fundraising methods can no longer meet the aggressive campaign and yearly annual fund goals. Lybunts, Sybunts and direct mail are still important, but only a small part of the technology strategies needed to be successful.

You must adopt innovative and creative fundraising tools to find the prospects to fill your pipeline.  Engagement models in a virtual world must include customized and sophisticated journeys for your donors, alums, and prospects. Social media is no longer an optional communication tool and is now required for your regular communications and ability to listen to donors. Your fundraising and engagement technology should no longer just be a data storage tank but should house the tools needed to help your talented fundraising team be more successful than ever before.

In 2015, we started working with higher education organizations, independent schools, radio stations, and nonprofits to move them off their legacy systems and into Salesforce. This opportunity provided our consulting team a chance to learn how the powerful Salesforce technology can really change the fundraising model. WOW! We began looking at everything differently.

Customization and automation are no longer options in our new world, but requirements. Every system should carry the strategies of your Chief Advancement Officers and Executive Stakeholders. Scores, models and formulas are no longer one-time investments but an initial starting point that can be easily tuned and modified based on your results.

Salesforce’s Einstein provides predictive data modeling and scoring as well as insights on all of your data, including your proposals, prospects and pipeline. We have incorporated extensive ROI and goal measured tools into our Quick Start packages to ensure you can move your fundraising into the 21st Century.

Please take time now to consider your fundraising tools and how you plan to meet your goals this year and into the next decade. What strategies will you utilize to identify new prospects for your new Campaign?

If you are still relying heavily on LYBUNTS, pyramids, stale prospect ratings, and one-sided donor profiles, now might be the time to consider moving to Salesforce. Your ROI will amaze you as you replace clunky integrations with seamless functionality, all native within your Salesforce Organization.

You will be surprised how economical it is to get into Salesforce for all of your fundraising and engagement needs. And you, too, will start to look forward at a whole new technology landscape.