A Holiday Feature Release

We decided to hop on the holiday gift-giving bandwagon! We released a bunch of software features over the past couple of months (and will release more soon!) that will make nonprofits excited about all that can be accomplished next year. They’re totally free, developed with your success as our goal. 

Ready for us to roll them out? You’re about to see how CharityEngine: 

• Makes it easier for constituents to manage their data 
• Adds globalization to your settings 
• Allows you to customize your data views 
• Increases your ability for social shares 
• And makes sure you’re addressing donors correctly 

Let’s take a closer look at how we do it. 

CharityEngine’s Newest Feature Releases 

User Center Enhancements 

The user center is the hub where constituents manage all their data: personal, communication, giving, and more. Here are three updates you and they will appreciate: 

• Pledge accounts can now be managed. 
• The primary point of contact can manage their organization settings. 
• Event guests can answer custom questions. 

What’s the value to clients? We’ve made it easier than ever for constituents to manage their own data. This will make them more self-sufficient, leaving less for you to do and helping them feel empowered. 

Admin Console Enhancements 

This is a big one, but it’s in the first stages of development...so you can see it, but you’ll have to wait to really be blown away by how cool this is (and how different it is from what others offer). We’ve added a time zone framework so that clients can specify a time zone, and the software will convert data to the specified time zone. 

After the new year, you’ll be able to set time zones for email campaigns and auctions. So, for example, you can open bidding on auction items across the globe or deliver emails with local time specificity.  

We offer globalization features, so there are no limits on where your nonprofit can reach. While the functionality is limited now, it will be increased over the next few months. It’s available to all CharityEngine clients...and like all our software updates, it’s totally free. 

Contact Screen Enhancements 

While this sounds boring, it’s a pretty cool update. Users can now rearrange and remove panels on donor contact records. 

This means that whatever donor data is most important for you to see quickly can be moved to the most prominent place on the contact screen. This feature is user-specific, so you don’t have to worry about someone else coming along and changing your settings. 

As we learn ways these screens can make it easier for clients to get the information they need quickly, we will build the functionality! 

Social Sharing Enhancements 

Social media is a magnificent tool for nonprofits to broadcast their mission and outreach efforts, like GivingTuesday campaigns, and drum up support.  

The software now features social sharing tokens, meaning you can share graphics and messages that are site-specific with the touch of a button. It’s your big chance to go viral! 

Salutation Enhancements 

It's time to mail tax forms to donors, and nothing pours cold water on a relationship like calling someone the wrong name. Or using the wrong salutation! 

CharityEngine now offers template merge forms so that Misters and Doctors and Misses all stay in the right place, attached to the right names. Custom salutation tokens for individuals, households, and organizations will make sure your year-end forms are addressed correctly, showing implicit respect for your donors. 

Here’s a link to a Help Center document for configuring salutations: https://help.charityengine.net/Configuring-Salutations/

And What’s Coming Up Next? 

CharityEngine clients benefit from iterative software that’s always evolving. We love to tease updates coming down the pike! Keep an eye out for these wow-able upgrades: 

• We mentioned that we will continue to roll out the time zone features, which will be available to all clients. 
• We’re also about to offer a Microsoft Excel connector. This new integration will particularly help clients load and refresh data from a query into a spreadsheet and manipulate that data to create the custom reports you need to really do your job! 
• And stay tuned for even more upgraded dashboards! The next few will focus on form performance, making measurement easy, and advocacy, which will help nonprofits rally support and find donors. 

A Look Back at Five of the Biggest Software Updates 

So we jumped on the gift-giving bandwagon, and we want to wrap up this post by also jumping on the retrospective wagon. Here are five feature updates that our clients found most helpful this year. As a reminder, we listen to you! So let us know when you think something could be easier, clearer, or more streamlined. And next year, we might just be recapping your great idea! 

1. Our survey app makes it easy for nonprofits to see what donors think and feel. This tool lets you set up surveys on any subject, segment your audiences, collect responses, and then use advanced analytics to identify trends and needed actions. 
2. We released a lot of new dashboards this year, but our clients particularly loved the dashboards offering insights into email deliverability and sustainer actions. These comprehensive views of activity offer quick views of the metrics that matter to you. 
3. The online bill pay application allows you to send a link to your donors, leading them to a secure payment page customized for your organization. The app can tell if the donation is for membership, pledges, or sustainer payments, and donors can update their payment information right on that page.  Oh, and donors can give any way they want or even make partial payments for ultimate flexibility. 
4. Communicating with donors is a breeze with our out-of-the-box communication series. You can automate welcome emails, set the system to automatically send donor receipts, or reach new constituents with a one-click job. These communication tools will help nonprofits keep open and active lines of communication with donors, enhancing relationships and building loyalty. 
5. And finally, clients loved how we made event logins easier for peer-to-peer initiatives and auctions. Users who are in the system can log into CharityEngine using a code sent to their mobile number or email address. This two-factor authentication keeps your data safe and means that donors don’t have to remember complex passwords.

CharityEngine is Working for Nonprofits 

As our clients can tell, we are borderline obsessed with them. We are committed to making it easier and safer for nonprofits to engage donors and raise money, all in the hopes of bringing help and change. Have feedback or ideas for new features? We’re all ears.