SWEET Online Fundraising Blog

Attackers Snatch Member Data from 92 Nonprofits by infiltrating systems at Convio

This is unfortunate.

http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,2704,2216161,00.asp

Some people have nothing better to do.  It is however an inherent risk (among others) of placing your donor information in the hands of a third party.

It also brings up issues regarding acquisitions.  Apparently, the donor data was acquired by Convio from GetActive's legacy systems.  Regardless of how careful both parties are, its easy to not address all vulnerabilities when integrating 2 large datasets. 

It's very unfortunate.  Hopefully, the good people that donated to the victimized nonprofits won't be subjected to any more harmful consequences.

Donor Management Software Is Not Effective

Does anyone out there have any data on the impact of donor management software on a nonprofit's revenue?

Better yet, is there data - real statistically rigorous data, not marketing fluff - that donor management software directly results in more revenue for nonprofits.

Are there ROI calculations that incorporate the costs of

• the software
• data conversion
• training
• planning
• and annual support

and weigh those costs against the increased revenue produced by the donor management software?

I don't know of any.  If it's out there, please let me know.  Are there any real reason to spend more than a few hundred dollars on donor management software?