What is a charity CRM integration connector and why does your charity need one?

What is a charity CRM integration connector?

If you ask a technical person, they’ll describe a charity CRM integration connector as a type of iPaaS. Don’t be put off. The term iPaaS stands for 'integration platform as a service' and refers to a suite of digital products that have been made to link third-party applications (think MS Office, WordPress, EventBrite) together. As a subset of this, ‘charity CRM integration connectors’ are a tool to help non-profit organisations link their burgeoning world of third-party apps to a single, centralised hub – in this case, your charity CRM.

Imagine that every digital tool you use is part of a jigsaw puzzle. A charity CRM integration connector is the glue that binds them together, the final step that allows you to maintain and see the bigger picture.

While some connectors can be complex and technical to use, the Access Group has teamed up with Make to bring non-profit organisations a user-friendly, no-code solution. Gone are the days of downloading analytic files and uploading them to your database. With a charity CRM integration connector on your side, you can set up automatic ‘Scenarios’ and workflows that link each application directly. It only takes a few clicks. Once each application is connected, the information will flow into your CRM automatically – making it easy to build an accurate and complete picture of donor, volunteer and supporter activity.  

What are the benefits of a user-friendly charity CRM integration connector?

Investing in a charity CRM integration connector might not be the most glamorous purchase you make this year, but it is an essential one. Today, the average company uses more than 130 different software products. A (user-friendly) CRM integration connector is there to make sure your team is making the most out of the services and information each one provides.

Key benefits include: 

Simplified integration processes

Digital tools might be at the heart of modern fundraising, but the reality is that only a third of UK non-profits have a dedicated digital lead. The advantage of a user-friendly tool like Make, is that you don’t need to be a technical whizz to use it. Its no-code, drag-and-drop platform is highly intuitive and has been carefully designed to walk you through the integration process. For popular tasks and workflows, a suite of predesigned templates make life even easier, and are quick and easy to edit and adapt.

Integration with the vast majority of third-party platforms

Designed to connect hundreds upon thousands of different software applications, another advantage of a charity CRM integration connector is that you don’t have to wait for a product update or patch on your core CRM. This means you can select the products you need to do your job, safe in the knowledge that every piece of software you select will be quick and easy to connect.

Fast and accurate data imports to your charity CRM

Where manual uploads can take hours, CRM integrations allow you to import data from multiple applications in seconds. Automatic syncs will also remove the margin for human error and make sure that you are always looking at the most accurate and up-to-date information.

Improved data analysis

Data analysis has always been something of a weak point for the third sector. Not anymore. When you use Make, it’s easy to bring data from third-party applications into your CRM and build a 360-degree view of donor and volunteer activity. And if you’re using a powerful tool like Access Charity CRM, you know it’s quick and easy to pull reports and start spotting (and strategising around) different patterns and trends.

Cost savings and efficiencies

A user-friendly charity CRM integration connector not only reduces the need for (and cost of) technical expertise, it also saves valuable time by applying automatic - previously manual - processes. This leaves your team free to focus on fundraising while making sure they have access to the data they need to make strategic decisions that drive future fundraising success.

Optimised donor journeys

The better your data management and analysis, the better equipped you are to deliver on your donor relationships. With a CRM integration connector on your team, you have everything you need to:

• Better understand donor motivations, preferences and giving habits
• Target and personalise donor and volunteer communications
• Develop data-driven, responsive, engagement and acquisition strategies
• Streamline workflows and processes
• Optimise donor communications and stewardship

Afterall, it is the quality of the donor experience – and the relationships that underpin it – that are the key to building, maintaining and maximising your fundraising income.

Find out more about the benefits of a charity CRM

What does a charity CRM integration look like?

It sounds great in theory, but what does CRM integration really look like? In this next section, we’ll take a look at how a user-friendly connector can help you take advantage of some of the sector’s most popular tools.

Eventbrite

Let’s imagine your team is in the middle of managing sign-ups for a marathon or another event. Keeping on top of registrations can be a demanding and time-consuming task. A user-friendly charity CRM integration connector like Make will help you optimise and streamline this process by creating ‘Scenarios’ and workflows such as:

• Regularly scanning EventBrite for new sign-ups and registrations
• Importing an individual’s registration information
• Creating new event bookings in your charity CRM

Survey Monkey

The more you know about your donors and their reasons for giving, the easier it is to create communications strategies that speak directly to them. Survey Monkey is a great way to collect this data, and with a charity CRM integration connector on your team, you can automate workflows that allow you to:

• Keep track who has received and responded to your survey
• Update the communications history of individual donor fields in your CRM
• Automatically import survey data into your CRM for analysis

Twilio

Fundraising communications come in all shapes and sizes. Whether you’re looking to send campaign messages, make a text-based ‘ask’, or share supporter updates, third-party apps like Twilio are perfect for managing SMS-based comms with donors and volunteers. Using Make to link this, or similar applications to your charity CRM will help you integrate key workflows and tasks, such as:

• Regularly importing key application data and logging this against donor profiles on your CRM
• Automating ‘thank you’ messages as soon as donations are received
• Sending out event reminders to increase attendance rates and engagement

It doesn’t stop there. As well as linking applications through to your CRM, with Make, it is quick and easy to set-up workflows that cut across different applications. For example, you could use your CRM integration connector to:

• Send a ‘thank you’ message through Twilio, to people who registered to an event using EventBrite
• Link incoming data from Survey Monkey to office apps like Excel or Google docs for deeper analysis

Find out more about our charity CRM integration solution

The sky truly is the limit. Suitable for organisations and teams of every size, our charity CRM integration connector is designed to help your team do more. By breaking down digital walls, you can make sure that your team has the information it needs to make data-driven decisions that take your fundraising to the next level.

If you want to find out more about how a user-friendly charity CRM integration connector can help bring your digital world together, why not get in touch and speak to us directly? Our experts are available to provide their specialist knowledge and guide you in the right direction.

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