Wrapping Up 2008 with Gratitude December 24, 2008 By Mary Pat Donnellon

On behalf of the entire GiftWorks team, I would like to thank the entire nonprofit community for a great year working together.  We recognize that 2008 has been one of the most challenging years for the nonprofit sector we serve and care so much about.  We also are humbled and gratified by how many nonprofits are choosing and using GiftWorks fundraising software to help navigate their organizations through this economic storm.   Our team remains strong and committed to serving and helping you as we tackle 2009 together.

I would also like to take a moment to thank the GiftWorks team for their voluminous accomplishments in 2008.  We released GiftWorks 2008 Standard, GiftWorks 2008 Premium, GiftWorks Events and Online Donations.  Whew! We added new training and services: GiftWorks U, CASS/NCOA certification, and data importing offerings.  We answered thousands of phone calls and answered tens of thousands of emails.  We nurtured and grew wonderful partnerships:  Techsoup, our nearly 700 consultants, and our ten state nonprofit associations are among the highlights.  Our client base has grown considerably, and we are thrilled to have so much more to offer our ongoing clients as their organizations grow and change.  It has been a lot of hard work, but well worth it.

From our team to yours, we wish you the very best in 2009 and beyond. 

GiftWorks Online Donations December 18, 2008 By Mary Pat Donnellon

GiftWorks Online Donations is coming this month!  There are many solutions available in the marketplace, but we are seeking a unique niche by offering a service that is seamlessly integrated with GiftWorks fundraising software, and also offers the combination of power and affordability for which GiftWorks is known.  Here's a little more about the GiftWorks Online Donation solution and how you might evaluate the solution that is best for you:

First, when considering online donation solutions, you need to know that there are 2 basic types:  Stand-alone and integrated:  Stand-alone solutions are generally more affordable and are not associated with any database.  A nonprofit downloads a report of donations received online and then manually enters or imports it into their database.  Integrated solutions are typically more expensive, but the online donation functionality works seamlessly with a constituent database, saving organizations time and preventing errors in entering donations.

 

GiftWorks Online Donations is integrated and combines the affordability of the stand-alone solution with the value of an integrated solution.

 

Second, an organization can collect donations in two ways:  Using an aggregator or establishing their own merchant account.  With an aggregator, the nonprofit uses a merchant account belonging to the online donation provider instead of having its own.  Each way can have pros and cons:  With an aggregator, when a donor makes an online donation to the nonprofit, the nonprofit name does not appear on the donor's credit card statement, but rather the name of the online donation provider does.  Also, when using an aggregator, online donation funds may be transferred to the nonprofit only once or twice a month.  On the other hand, aggregators are generally cheaper and easier to set up.  When a nonprofit has their own merchant account, the pros and cons are reversed:  Donors will see the name of the nonprofit on their credit card statement.  Also, online donation funds are transferred within only 1-2 business days to the nonprofit, so the nonprofit can access their donations much faster.  Historically, however, having one's own merchant account has been more expensive and difficult to set up.

 

GiftWorks Online Donations provides nonprofits with their own merchant account, but is very affordable and easy to set up.

 

Third, an organization must consider what features are important to them.  Here are some of the questions to consider:

 

-Can the organization easily set up donation pages that match the look and feel of their website? 

 GiftWorks Online Donations = Yes

 

-Can the organization accept recurring gifts (monthly, quarterly, yearly, etc.)? 

 GiftWorks Online Donations = Yes

 

-Will your organization and donor data be completely secure? 

 With GiftWorks Online Donations, Yes.

 

Your nonprofit should consider the features that are critical to its success when making the online donation solutions decision.  We think that GiftWorks users will find GiftWorks Online Donations to be a powerful and affordable way to raise maximum funds with minimal effort!  Click here to find out more!