As if life wasn’t challenging enough for charities and not-for-profits already, COVID-19 has added an extra level of problems.
Fundraising is hard work. But it’s a lot harder when you can’t carry out many fundraising activities because of lockdown measures.
It’s even more difficult when many people are struggling themselves and are less able or willing to give, not knowing what’s around the corner.
Many charities are now finding they need to modernise the way they manage and track their fundraising. The twin tools Dynamics 365 and Evo 365 are leading the way when it comes to doing exactly that…
What is Dynamics 365?
Dynamics 365 is essentially a CRM (a Customer Relationship Management system). It records and neatly organises your emails, tasks and all the other details relating to each customer you have a relationship with.
You might be used to tracking your donations and fundraising activities via half a dozen different spreadsheets and various other files spread across multiple platforms and locations. If so, a CRM like Dynamics 365 is going to blow your mind.
In Dynamics 365, you see everything you need to know in one place. It’s a completely customisable and – possibly more importantly – very easy to use dashboard of information showing all the vital details you need to see relating to a given customer. For charities and not-for-profits, this could mean things like:
- Details of your contacts at a given organisation
- Important dates
- Payment codes
- Specific programs and projects
- Assigned team members who are responsible for given programs and projects
- Projections for the future
Plus, if you’re already using Microsoft Office 365 – which you probably should be – then it’s easy to use and integrate with.
If you’re not using 365, we offer a special managed Office 365 service for charities to make adoption and operation simple.
Evo 365
Technically what is known as a Dynamics 365 accelerator, you can think of Evo 365 as a version of Dynamics specifically tailored for the needs of a particular kind of organisation. In this case, not-for-profits and charities.
Evo 365 is a Microsoft recommended product. That means you can trust that it is as easy to use and effective as other products which bear the name. Charities which use Evo 365 will notice that it provides:
1) Streamlined management of fundraising and donations
No matter the kinds of fundraising activities your charity usually takes part in, you will find it easy to manage them via the slick, clearly laid-out Evo interface.
It would be an exaggeration to say there’s almost a “Charity for Dummies” approach in some areas. But the various processes involved in identifying, cultivating and soliciting donations are broken down in such a sensible way that even relatively inexperienced organisers will find themselves in control of their data.
The software provides simple prompts to check for things like pre-existing accounts and the ability to give.
2) The ability to see everything at a glance
The dashboard and reporting features are easy to customise. Yet they also come pre-prepared for the processes most charities and not-for-profits will need to track when fundraising:
- Income and donations management
- Trust and grant management
- Individual project management
- Managing different streams of fundraising and programs within a project
- Tracking of payments to projects and payment history
- The ability to see the actions of individual donors
You can also use charts and the built-in visualisation tools to analyse and assess almost anything you can think of related to the above.
3) Gift Aid management
There’s a special module for managing Gift Aid claims and eligibility, with the ability to automate Gift Aid claims and integrate with HMRC’s systems.
As well as managing your current Gift Aid claims, this module also helps you identify possibilities for donors who might be eligible and haven’t claimed.
4) Handle grant applications and proposals
Another area where Evo 365 is set up to meet the needs of charities is its ability to help you track your grant applications and proposals:
- Track activities, deadlines and results
- Assign individuals to be responsible for managing successful or individual grants
- Set up prompts and reminders for responsible persons to be notified at relevant future stages of the process
- Identify potential opportunities for further applications with more suitable programs or projects in the future
5) Secure, compliant and cloud-based
Vital for most charities is the knowledge that Evo 365 is a platform which is secure, compliant and securely cloud-based.
Is it easy to switch to Evo 365?
It certainly can be! There are handy managed services available for migrating your data to new systems. All you need to do is give the go-ahead and have an expert manage the whole process.
But even if there was a lot of effort involved, it would be worth it. Instead of messy data in multiple spreadsheets and communications split between a half dozen different places, picture your charity running through one neat dashboard and one easy-to-use communication platform like the one Office provides.
That’s the world Evo 365 will help you live in.
If you run a charity and want to see what Microsoft can do for you, why not contact us?
We help nearly a thousand organisations in and around Bristol with their cybersecurity and making their tech work for them.
Why not request a free demo so you can see what you’d be getting? Get in touch to set one up.
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