COURSE RELEASE – Fundraising And Analysis

Melissa Rancour

As fundraisers, you are responsible for identifying, researching, and building relationships with prospects. You know that, if you’re a good fundraiser, you’re never at your desk because you are out and about, connecting with people.

But how do you stay connected with your portfolio, goals, and to-do lists if you are never at your desk?

What fundraisers used to do...

When I worked at a nonprofit, the office staff were the lifeline for fundraisers who were out in the field. Smartphones and tablets hadn’t been invented yet. If fundraisers were meeting with a prospect or ran into someone while out visiting constituents and connecting with the community, they called the office when they needed information. The office staff would answer the phone, get the constituent’s name, and search Raiser’s Edge for the requested information. The fundraiser would then need to write down the details and hope they had everything they needed for the meeting. After the meeting, the fundraiser called the office staff to let them know how it went, and the office staff created an action record and typed up the details given from the fundraiser. The office staff would then create a follow-up action record, and email a PDF of the action record to the fundraiser. Finally, the office staff would mail fundraising goal updates each month to each fundraiser. As you can imagine, this was not the most efficient or effective process—but at the time, this process was the best option.

What you, as fundraisers, can do today...


You take your portfolio, goals, analysis reports, and to-do lists with you everywhere you go. I’m not saying take your laptop, a huge bag full of files, and a paper planner with you. You only need your smartphone. With Raiser’s Edge NXT, you can use your Work Center to check your portfolio to keep up with any gifts or record changes—right from your smartphone. If you run into a constituent out in the field, you can use your phone to open up the constituent record and view everything, from a profile picture to prospect and giving information. To-do lists can be tracked on-the-fly via action records, and updates on goals can be viewed with a touch of the screen.

Ready to take fundraising into the future?

Sign up for the Raiser’s Edge NXT: Fundraising and Analysis instructor-led course today! Learn best practices for being more efficient and effective during each aspect of moves management and donor development using Raiser’s Edge NXT. You’ll also have the opportunity to discuss the best uses for analytical findings provided by Raiser’s Edge NXT.