5 Team Training Tips for Using Fundraising Software
The market for fundraising software is growing, and for good reason. Technology is a must for managing donor relationships, automating communications, generating insightful reports, and more. These robust functionalities support nonprofits’ broader goals of spreading mission awareness and maximizing fundraising potential.
However, fundraising is a team effort, meaning everyone on your team must know how to use this software so they can access its benefits. Let’s review the top tips for effectively training your team members on utilizing fundraising software.
1. Provide an Overview of the Software’s Capabilities
When you’re ready to roll out new fundraising software to your nonprofit’s team, kick off the training process by providing a comprehensive overview. Helping team members understand how this platform benefits the organization will foster excitement about the new tool.
Introduce team members to the fundraising software by presenting:
The problem: What issue or inefficiency does the fundraising software address? For example, a nonprofit wanting to reach a broader audience by transitioning its in-person auction into an online event might leverage a charity auction website.
The solution: How does fundraising software solve the problem? Using our example above, a charity auction website would help the nonprofit plan and execute an online auction through features like an online item catalog and mobile bidding.
The reasoning: Why is this platform the best solution to your nonprofit’s problem? The aforementioned nonprofit could explain that the chosen charity auction website offers event-planning tools that other solutions don’t provide or that this software is more cost-effective than other options.
An overarching view of the tool’s advantages will prepare you to explain its specific use cases in team members’ individual roles.
2. Focus on Key Functions that Align with Team Goals
Next, narrow your training to address specific software functionalities that directly impact team members’ goals. Focusing on these key functions will reinforce the platform’s practical applications.
A few of the teams impacted by fundraising software functionalities include:
Fundraising: Most notably, the fundraising team uses this software to set up campaigns, track donations, and monitor their fundraising goals.
Marketing and communications: Donor data collected by fundraising software can be used to segment audiences and personalize outreach. Additionally, some fundraising software can automatically send communications, such as donation receipts.
Executive: Nonprofit leadership can access dashboards and reports generated by fundraising software to understand the organization’s overall performance and guide strategic decision-making.
Finance and accounting: Donation data tracked by fundraising software allows financial teams to project revenue and allocate resources accordingly.
Create a list of the platform’s key features and determine how they’ll support each of your nonprofit’s teams. Present this list of features in your training, briefly highlighting how each team will benefit.
3. Create Role-Based Training Modules
To make your training especially actionable, host role-based training sessions that explain how each team member can use the software. This targeted approach helps team members get better at using the platform to further their individual tasks. Plus, it minimizes unnecessary time spent training on features irrelevant to their roles.
For example, consider how you might train members of the following teams to use text-to-give software:
Fundraising: Teach your fundraising team to set up the campaign’s logistics through your fundraising software, including your nonprofit’s text-to-give number and shortcode.
Marketing and communications: Demonstrate how your marketing team can build a fundraising page explaining the campaign and a branded donation form for collecting contributions.
Executive: Show your executive team how to access campaign data from the platform. According to Snowball Fundraising, data points such as the average text donation size and frequency can show what’s working and what’s not.
Finance and accounting: Explain how your financial team can access fundraising data, not just from your text-to-give campaign, but from all the fundraisers facilitated through the platform.
The best way to show team members how to use software for themselves is through experiential learning. Offer hands-on practice sessions where team members directly interact with the software’s features.
Design these sessions in realistic, simulated scenarios that reflect the team’s daily tasks. For example, show your financial team how to access fundraising data in the scenario that they’re preparing for an internal audit. By running through common scenarios, you’ll instill confidence in team members that they can self-sufficiently make use of the platform.
4. Utilize Vendor Resources
Even if you have a thorough understanding of the platform, you may encounter issues or questions you can’t answer. In the end, the most knowledgeable trainer for using the software will be the vendor who supplies it.
Explore your software provider’s resources, such as:
Webinars
Tutorials
Help guides
These resources can make onboarding easier and more engaging for employees with different learning styles. For example, a team member who might be overwhelmed by your hands-on workshop could instead watch an online tutorial to help them better understand the tool.
Plus, vendor resources are always available, providing ongoing support as you implement the tool across teams. Access to this guidance reinforces the feeling of self-sufficiency by allowing team members to troubleshoot on their own if needed.
5. Offer Continued Education and Refreshers
Over time, your fundraising software will likely undergo updates that change the way your team interacts with the tool. For example, your auction platform might update to a more user-friendly interface, add new functionalities, or increase its list of integrations.
Continuous learning ensures your team keeps up with these changes to maintain efficiency over time. Here are a few ways you can implement ongoing training:
Conduct quarterly software audits to identify new or underused tools and features.
Offer mini-training sessions for volunteers, who may use the tool to a lesser extent.
Start a “Feature Focus” email series that highlights updates to the platform when applicable.
To ensure your training (both initial and ongoing) is genuinely helpful, regularly ask your team for feedback. Leave a feedback survey open at all times so team members can express opinions about your fundraising software.
Don’t forget to show appreciation to your team for their willingness to learn new skills for your organization’s benefit. After all, implementing new workflows and learning how to navigate new technology is a big feat. As long as you cultivate a supportive environment while training, your team can lean on each other and strengthen their relationships.