Key Digital Tools for Your Small Charity

One reason small charities lag behind in adopting digital is that they do not have the time to make the most of their tools even when they have them. Charities tell us time and again that they are spread thin and don’t have the time to learn the skills needed for digital.

So, it can be overwhelming when a resource provides too many things for you to sift through. Instead of listing an extensive list of all the tools out there that you could use, this chapter hones in on the key tools for small charities, the ones you’re most likely to use no matter what kind of program you are delivering, with a brief explanation on what they do, the benefits to using them and how to make the most of them.

Don’t forget that many tools offer a free version for charities or a steep discount so it could be more budget-friendly than you think. There are also organizations out there like TechSoup Canada that help to connect charities with technology, and that is another great place to start when looking for digital solutions.

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1. Office Productivity Tools:

Many types of software fall under this banner, such as word processors, spreadsheets, presentation software, email and calendar applications. You’re likely already using some of them. The most accessible and commonplace contenders in this area would be Google Workspace and Microsoft 365, both of which have nonprofit programs for up to 300 users.

Google Workspace emphasizes collaboration and a user-friendly interface and has integrations with many other tools. Microsoft 365 however, has some more sophisticated functions and is better suited to organizations that already work within the Microsoft ecosystem (e.g. Azure, Teams, Sharepoint) or have needs that go beyond office productivity such as coding development. 

They are quintessential in the modern workplace and allow you to communicate, enhance productivity and collaborate; here are some ways you can ensure you are getting the most out of them:

• Develop a file organization protocol: structure your file storage in a way that makes sense to everyone using it and ensure the file naming conventions are consistent and descriptive. Moreover, ask everyone to keep work-related files in the appropriate place. Employee turnover is a significant issue in the charitable sector and when that happens, without documentation, institutional knowledge is lost, or stuck on someone’s personal computer.
• Create templates: Encourage consistency and speed up your work by creating templates for your organization. That could include templates for meetings, content briefs, slide decks and project management. 
• Dive deep into the tools that you use: Put aside an afternoon each week to upskill. Get familiar with the interface and challenge yourself to use it for something you haven’t figured out yet. Google and Microsoft have their own learning resources for each tool, Google Workspace Learning Center & Microsoft 365 Training. For example, have you tried creating macros that automate repetitive tasks for you in Google Sheets?
• Learn about other tools on a surface level: Did you know that Google Workspace actually comes with 11 applications? Even if you don’t plan to use them now, it’s handy to know that they have Google Forms that you can use for surveys, or the Gemini AI tool for speeding up your work in a variety of areas.

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2. Constituent Relationship Management (CRM)/ Donor Management System (DMS): 

As much as we try to avoid jargon and abbreviations, CRMs and DMSs are unavoidable. They stand for “constituent relationship management” and “donor management system”. DMS are a type of CRM but not all CRMs are DMS; a DMS is essentially a donation-specific CRM that helps charities to manage the contact information and relationships involved in the donation process.  

In all organizations, there are many relationships to manage. Having a CRM allows you to keep it in one place so that your staff members are working with one source of truth. This is incredibly important when you may have employee turnover, a remote team or many contact points with the same person. With a CRM, you can see at a glance how many contacts you have, each staff member can access and self-serve, and you can begin to make more data-driven decisions.

If you manage donations, having a DMS goes a step further. A DMS should be specifically configured to help you manage donations and have automations so you don’t need to copy and paste information between spreadsheets, or manually issue tax receipts and thank you messages. 

To get the most out of your CRM/DMS:

• Take the Time to Setup: Few CRM/DMS are completely “out-of-the-box” because every organization has its own way of using them. Taking the time now to put in data validation rules and a limited list of values where it makes sense; for example, limiting the salutations field to a drop-down so you don’t get multiple spellings of “Mr, Mister, Mr. Master,” or any other typo etc. Ensure the same format is being followed for dates and currency.
• Keep Your Data Clean: Remove duplicates, unnecessary or irrelevant data periodically. You may want to review fields that can be archived with your team if they are no longer being used. 
• Provide Training and Documentation:  Document how your organization uses the database, even though you may feel it’s intuitive, there are nuances in how each organization notates things. Provide simple guides to common processes e.g. updating contact information, and give definitions to any ambiguous fields like “relationship”. This could be a living document that is provided to all staff, particularly upon onboarding.
• Learn What Reports To Look At: Data is gold, but only when you can draw insights from it. Learn how to create reports of your key fundraising metrics such as donor retention rate, acquisition rate, average gift size, average frequency and donor lifetime value. These numbers will help you budget and understand whether or not your campaigns are successful. 
• Integrate Your Database with Other Tools: See if there are integrations with your communications tools or emailing platform so that you can seamlessly use your data in a meaningful way. We will speak more about this in the next section as there is some overlap.

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3. Communications & Marketing Tool: 

Whether your role lies in marketing or not, you’re probably no stranger to email! Even with the critique around email and our crowded inboxes, it remains a critical part of the toolbox for building relationships. Mailing to one large list, copied and pasted from an Excel spreadsheet and BCC’ed is often the starting point for Canada’s smallest charities but this method is unscalable and lacking in nuance.

• Build your list: To make the most of email, you need to have a list. Having an email list is powerful. Unlike other platforms, like Facebook or LinkedIn, you own your audience and you can communicate with them unaffected by changes in the algorithm. Start building one today by asking donors if they’d like to stay in contact after a donation or provide a way for people to connect with your charity on your website even if they’re not yet ready to make a donation.
• Segment your list: What are useful details that can help you divvy up your list into more manageable “segments” and in turn, tailor your communications so they are relevant and timely? In fundraising, this could be targeting your donor list that gave “last year but not this year” often shortened to LYBUNT, but it could also be based on demographic details like “aged between 29-35”. Here are some characteristics you may wish to segment by:
  
  • Demographic details
    
    • Age
    • Location
  • Actions
    
    • Attended your charity event
    • Volunteered 
    • Signed up to the mailing list
• Test and analyze: While we can share anecdotes and statistics, every organization is unique. Once you have lists and segments, you can test out different content and messaging, just make sure you don’t test too many things at once and try it with a large enough audience to have confidence in the results. Here are some tests you could try:
  
  • Send from an individual vs. from your charity
  • Test different levels of personalization e.g. referencing their name or previous interactions
  • Test urgent messaging around time-sensitive campaigns

If you’re already doing all of this or looking for some email specific resources, check out these blog posts:

• Email Hygiene: How to Clean Email Lists and Drive Engagement
• How to Win Back Inactive Subscribers with Re-Engagement Emails
• Ten Email Templates For Year-End Fundraising

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4. Online Fundraising Platform:

As Canada’s largest online platform for donating and fundraising, we would be remiss not to mention a fundraising platform! Online giving has shown significant growth, with online donations through CanadaHelps doubling between 2019 to 2023 and the average one-time donation growing to $226.78 in 2024. 

While there will always be a place for offline donations through cash and cheque, diversifying your fundraising is helpful to mitigate impacts such as the 2024 year-end Canada Post strike. Some charities prefer to receive donations through EFT though that can cause friction to your donor journey causing donors to drop off and also create a lot of manual work to issue your donation receipts. Online fundraising platforms typically follow best practices to ensure that donors have a great experience, and decrease the manual work needed for follow-up, while also issuing tax receipts and thank you messages to the donor.

To make the most of your online fundraising platform:

• Embed your donation form: The beauty of having a donation form is that the donor stays on your website and has a seamless experience within your site. Linking them away from the site or asking them for an EFT can increase the likelihood of them “dropping off.”
• Diversify your online fundraising: Make it easy for people to give in memory of, or in honour of with e-Card options. Make it easy for those looking to give securities or give monthly, both rising trends in giving. You can also look at ways to run peer-to-peer or event fundraising through online tools. 
• Set up any automation it offers: If the platform offers automations such as thank you messages and tax receipting, ensure that you’ve added branding and messages for your charity where appropriate. This can reinforce your relationship with your donors and confirm for them that they have donated in the right place.

If you’re looking for more information on online fundraising, check out these blog posts:

• How do CanadaHelps Donation Forms Make Your Job Easier?
• 7 Tips for Creating a Stellar Online Donation Form
• How to Improve Your Donor Conversion 

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Embracing digital tools is crucial for small charities to increase their capacity in today’s digital-first world. Adopting a few key tools well can make all the difference for your charity and your mission. This is a starting point that hopefully shows you the possibilities of your key digital tools and how you can use more of their full potential. While there is a learning curve and some time taken to implement things at the beginning, the pay-off of better operational efficiencies and greater relevancy in a digital world will help you continue to fulfill your mission far into the future.

If you found this blog helpful, be sure to check out the eBook: Digital First Steps for Your Small Charity or check out the other blogs in this series:

1. Digital First Steps for Your Small Charity
2. ‍Key Digital Tools for Your Small Charity
3. Coming Soon!