How can nonprofits do more with funding when challenged?

Despite rising competition for grants and falling support from individual donors, the best nonprofit organizations are still raising money for pivotal causes. How are they doing it?

Financial resources are harder to come by for many nonprofit organizations. The number of people who regularly donate has declined for three consecutive years, according to UK Giving 2019. While the number of registered charities has reached its highest level in a decade, says the Charity Commission.

However, there’s an opportunity in these statistics for organizations ready to use them as a rallying cry. But what is it?

The ERP for nonprofit opportunity

Conditions might be tough, but with the right approach and a dependable infrastructure specifically built for nonprofits – it’s entirely possible to raise money, and use it more efficiently, even in a highly competitive climate. With the right technology and an insight-based approach, nonprofits can ensure that less money makes more of a difference.

To make donations work harder for their organization, many invest in purpose-built nonprofit enterprise resource planning (ERP) platforms to run their operations. The benefits of this investment are manifold; for example:

Proof of performance, for everyone involved

The best ERP software on the market includes built-in grant management tools, so nonprofits can easily meet compliance and auditing requirements, and keep up with restrictions and regulations. This reduces the burden on administrative staff, so they can put more power behind value added activities.

Additionally, a good ERP platform features detailed reporting capabilities, for granular analysis of performance. Doing this validates future decision-making using the impact of previous spending, making organizations more agile in reacting to what is working best for front-line service delivery.

Plus, transparent reporting shows both institutions and individual backers how their contributions are being spent. This proof that resources are being used wisely encourages donors to keep supporting the cause – and in some cases, motivates them to increase the amount they are donating.

A solid foundation for raising more money

Ultimately, whether it’s a case of securing grant funding or attracting new donors, raising money relies on two things:

• creating an attractive proposition, and
• demonstrating that resources are being spent in the best possible way.

Leading nonprofits are using ERP solutions to better manage finances, track the impact of donations, and build trust with all types of donors, to ensure continued loyalty. But more importantly, the technology they use helps these organizations become more agile and transparent in their operations. Letting them allocate more resources to activities that make a difference, including raising more money for their key causes.