In this blog we explore how CRM systems help charities do more with less by streamlining processes and improving efficiency.
Finding funding for your charity is tougher than ever. Austerity still stalks the land, Local Authorities are on the verge of bankruptcy, and many individuals are still struggling with cost of living. For most charities, it’s tough right now, and the needs for what you do are only increasing.
Efficiency Isn’t A Bad Thing
Efficiency can sometimes be thought of as a bad word. It either means cuts and/or redundancies, or it’s a managerial sort of a word used by people who don’t understand what they’re wanting to make more efficient.
Take those that study maths – mathematicians are fundamentally lazy really. They spend their time looking for easier, neater ways to solve problems. They seek the trick that gets the job done.
That’s how we think about efficiency. It’s the knack of being lazy. Quicker and easier ways of doing what needs to be done. It’s why we started Lamplight all those years ago – fed up of manually tallying piles of paper registers and membership forms in the youth club art room!
Stop Doing That Thing!
The best kind of efficiency is not doing things. If it doesn’t need to be done, then there’s an immediate saving. One of the benefits of our implementation process is that we get to go through all your processes, and often ask “why are you doing that?” and “do you still need to be doing that?’. It’s surprisingly common, and a relief to all, when the answer is “umm… I’m not sure… I don’t think we do need to do that any more”.
In many charities (and organisations generally), there’s a build up of ‘gunk’ – processes that were introduced for a good reason, and have just stayed because that’s how it works and it has never been looked at. And they can be hard to see from the inside – the fresh eyes of a critical friend can sometimes see more clearly.
Is There A Better Way?
If you’ve found some things to stop doing – great. For what’s left, the question is “is there a better way to do this?”
CRM technology can be an answer to this, and for many non-profit organisations there are three big areas where you can save a lot.
- Collecting the Data
So many of us are so used to filling in forms online now. Keying in data from paper membership forms may sometimes still be necessary, but so much can now be collected online. Can your CRM system support this? Can you collect data directly from the people you’re working with – usually saving them time as well as you?
- Only collecting it once
Many of the charities we work with come to us with a pile of spreadsheets. These contain duplicate data that has been collected over and over. Different projects run by different people at various times have each added their own layer of information. A charity CRM should allow you to only collect this once. Once it’s there, you can make it available just to those that need it.
It’s better for your service users too. At the very least it’s not wasting their time; in some cases having to ask over and over can re-traumatise.
- Reporting
For some of the charities we work with, we reduce the time they spend generating reports from days or weeks a month, to hours. Your CRM should be set up to produce the reporting you need quickly and easily. Spend the time thinking about what your data is telling you, and how you can use it to improve further.
STABATA – take care with efficiency!
That’s my own abbreviation for Some Things Are Best As They Are. It’s much more efficient because it’s fewer letters, so I spent much less time typing them.
Be careful with efficiency. This heading may be more efficient but it completely fails to communicate.
I think that austerity has been a big example of false efficiency in recent years. Mass redundancies of (for example) prison officers and youth workers saved money and were completely wrong-headed in the long run. So be careful when thinking of efficiencies and make sure they are the right ones for your charity.
In times of financial uncertainty, leveraging a robust CRM system can be a game-changer for charities looking to do more with less. Investing in the right technology enables charities to operate more efficiently, reduce administrative overhead, and drive greater impact despite funding challenges. With the right tools and strategies in place, charities can build resilience, strengthen relationships, and continue making a difference in the communities they serve.
Photo by lovelyday12
