While it is clear that knowledge is power, what is not so clear is how community foundations can systematically harness their knowledge in ways that increase impact. We don’t build widgets, but we do know many things that can be used to advance the commitment we have to making our communities better. Customer Relationship Management (CRM) is a key technology that will enable foundations to systematically capture and communicate that knowledge in strategic ways.

What is CRM?
Customer Relationship Management (CRM) is the alignment of business processes with customer service strategies to build customer loyalty and to increase business over time. CRM involves targeting the right customer, crafting the right value proposition for that customer, instituting the best processes to reach them and then motivating employees to maintain the system and work to retain customers.

CRM describes the process of collecting and storing the information we need about these customers as well as how this information is passed to the core systems supporting foundation operations. Our success in this process can determine the quality of our relationships, the efficiency of our workflow, and ultimately the success of our enterprise.

A lack of quality CRM options means that often…

• Donor information is split between multiple files, databases and logs.
• Financial information is unavailable or out of date.
• Program availability, requirements and status are organized around the needs of grantors, not grantees.
• Transactions typically require being touched by multiple hands, multiple levels of sign-off, with consequent confusion, delay, possible error and lack of feedback to client.
• Opportunities fade away for lack of follow up.

While some limited CRM capacity is built into core systems (i.e. some necessary fields are present) the functionality is difficult to access. A rough estimate is that FIMS has perhaps 10% of the CRM capacity identified as needed in field-wide research. Collectively, the FoundationPower sites, which employ a highly customized version of FIMS, comprise perhaps 75% or more of the CRM capacity needed, but individually no site has more than 40% of the CRM capacity identified as needed.

CRM tools will allow organizations to access their knowledge assets so that:

• When a donor calls, you to know the extent of their relationship with your organization.
• When a potential grantee calls, you to know the grants programs open to them for application and the status of their current applications, if any.
• When any client initiates any transaction, you can ensure a response.
• When a lead is given (such as information regarding a potential donor), it will be taken seriously.
• When information is disseminated, it is accurate and consistent across departments.

The CRM industry is renowned for its propensity to overreach. Projects fail due to poorly defined scope, lack of distinct deliverables and confused understanding of return on investment. The top five priority areas for CRM include:

Online Grants Management – Online grants management offers huge productivity improvements. A core premise of Online Grants Management is that data entry will be generated by the nonprofit applicants rather than by granting organization staff. This sets the stage for significant workflow improvements.

Opportunity Management – This will enable development staff to track and manage the interactions with donors, prospects, funds, and staff in a way that makes service appear seamless to donors. Efficient response to donor inquiries results in savings in staff time. Reporting shortcuts will allow staff to quickly sort data and produce targeted communications (matching donor interests and to foundation events, for example).

Automated Processing and Reporting -- The ability to re-use information in multiple areas of the database without the need to duplicate data entry is a trait both simple and conspicuously absent from current systems. To address correspondence, or provide activity reporting that merges accounting and development information, current tools require a degree of technological savvy beyond the reach or interest of most employees. The Automated Processing and Reporting module addresses this business need.

Although CRM is widely used in the corporate sector, its ability to fuel operations in the nonprofit sector is contingent upon customization that addresses the business needs listed above. Even so, technology is only a means to an end. Effective implementation of CRM technology requires a deep understanding, indeed an organizational cultural shift, in which all staff realize that knowledge is power and must be systematically captured and deployed to advance ambitious community betterment agendas.