Feature Spotlight: NeonCRM's Custom Objects
At workshops and seminars, I’m often asked, “What is the best CRM for nonprofits in the market today?” And as much as I hate to do it, I must give the standard consultant’s answer…”well...it depends.” The truth is...despite the many donor management and CRM systems in the marketplace, none of them are perfect...but there is a perfect one for YOUR nonprofit. This is why it’s important to think through your fundraising strategy and select a CRM that addresses your most critical needs best! This blog post is part of a “Feature Spotlight” series, where we will highlight or evaluate a specific feature of some of our favorite CRM systems. We hope this helps guide you in your decision-making. ~
For those of you who’ve studied the vast array of Nonprofit CRMs in the marketplace, you’ll see that most fall on a spectrum. On the one end, there are the “all-in-one” solutions that meet the core requirements of constituent and donation management. These systems cover all the basic functionality a nonprofit needs, but also tend to be more “closed off” and limit any type of customizations. On the other end of the spectrum are more “open source” CRMs, that are very feature-rich and customizable, but also require more technical skills and maintenance.
NeonCRM, however, is making strides toward a middle ground, through its “custom objects" feature, that allow for more customizability yet still stays true to its “all-in-one” roots.
Where most CRMs have certain modules that come standard (constituent management, donations, activities, events, volunteers, etc.), custom objects allow you to support the unique needs of your nonprofit. Say your organization receives donations to have a tree, bench, or paver named on behalf of a loved one or family member at a nearby park. There a series of details you’ll need to track around this donation that do not easily fit into a standard “donation” form. Rather than trying to squeeze this data into your CRM’s rigid model, or even worse, tracking it in a separate spreadsheet, you can create a custom object to track everything you need about these unique donation types.
Or what if your nonprofit delivers meals to families in need? There are a number of logistics and metrics you may want to track about each delivery. Custom objects can support this as well. What I like most about NeonCRM’s custom objects is that it allows you to:
Keeps your users in one system, with the ability to integrate the new objects with other relevant data in your CRM (donations, constituents, volunteer projects, activities etc.)
Leverage all the same powerful searching and reporting capabilities your CRM offers, even for the custom objects
Build new modules without having to be (or hire) a developer
Scale your technology to support innovations you haven’t even thought of yet!
NeonCRM’s custom object feature is currently in beta, and is available to all customers. ~
Not sure what’s the right CRM for your nonprofit? Or unsure if you’re getting the most out of your existing CRM? Let OneTenth Consulting help! Please take a look at the services we offer and contact us to schedule a consultation.