NeonCRM

Kommentare: I have actually used Neon CRM in two very different nonprofits. One was previously using eTapestry and we switched because of the greater flexibility offered by Neon. That organization received much of its funding from individuals and was focused on one main program. The second was a transportation think tank that had no previous CRM system and received much of its funding through memberships. In both cases, I have found the system to work well and meet the needs of two very different organizations.

Vorteile: The interface is easy to use, very similar to comparable CRM systems in terms of flexibility and customization, but built for fundraising. The customization, in particular, is easy to understand and flexible enough to work for a variety of applications in a variety of nonprofits. I like the automation features as well, such as with donation appreciation and membership renewal reminders.

Nachteile: The single log on functionality and link with Wordpress needs to be further developed, I think. Sometimes the integrations with other systems, like MailChimp, are not as robust as I would like.

Vorteile: From the beginning, their customer service was outstanding. In our research phase to find a new CRM vendor, we contacted at least 1 dozen different companies. We provided the sales people with an extensive list that outlined the data that we collect, as well as our database needs. Some companies looked at the list and upfront said that they couldn't provide what we needed. Others never bothered to contact us at all. Most sad, the fundraising software/donation processing company that we've been with for more than a decade never contacted us to let us know about their new services, they only increased our annual fees and decreased functionality. So NeonCRM emerged as one of our top choices very early on. Best yet, in talking to their sales person, and now our account manager, as well as their data consultants, they work with us to discuss and figure out solutions. For example, for many years we have used our database as a way to check of tasks in the data collection process. NeonCRM helped us to figure out if we needed a combination of data points or a process document to ensure that all of our users entered consistent information. That kind of collaboration and solution-based thinking has been immensely helpful. More so, given that we have planned for our data migration to happen over 2 years, with specific benchmarks. It feels like NeonCRM will be there with us all the way. One of our Board members is an engineer, and the way that NeonCRM does consultation allowed us to invite our Board member and our web site builder and designer into the meetings. That way we could all learn and develop solutions at the same time. Best yet, we've been able to work with NeonCRM staff, from sales to data consultants, who actually understood arts nonprofits, so they understand what to do with our earned income. Other companies were best for health or educational nonprofits, or advocacy & policy nonprofits, or some other kind of nonprofit. To have a team that understands the work that we do, the size of our organizations, the ways that our events function, and is willing to work with us to meet our needs (instead of trying to cram us into their system), made all the difference.

Nachteile: There are bits of functionality that other companies have that we would like. Such as the ability to tweet or make facebook posts, and track that information, from within the CRM, something that Nation Builder does really well. We would also like to be able to integrate silent and online auctions into fundraising efforts, but this is not something that can be done just yet. Finally, we would like to have our ecommerce products tied to their makers, something that NeonCRM can't do. However, they provided us with an API integration solution that will work in the meantime.

Vorteile: The software has a lot of really useful features, like email blasts and the reports are really customizable.

Nachteile: The software isn't terribly intuitive, especially with reporting, and the training videos on YouTube are hours long. I also could not find the answers I needed in the help section when trying to customize reports. I learned more from the user forums than the actual help feature of the software.

Vorteile: I have had my NeonCRM system now for about four months, and what I love the most about it is probably its elegance. It's like the designers sat in my office, watched me work, and then designed a system that would not only take care of the many things I need when working with our donors, but also thought of a whole lot more! The system is very comprehensive, and while it is quite large and will take many more months to completely master, it is consistent. This consistency throughout makes it relatively easy to learn to work, even in the beginning.

Nachteile: The thing I have found the most frustrating is that I run a Mac, and this system is more compatible with PC. For instance, I could not run the tutorials on my Mac, so I had to haul out an old PC laptop for my training webinars. It worked out okay, as I could be working on the Mac in the program while watching the tutorial on the PC, but we Mac users get frustrated with these situations. Later, I learned that the internal mail merger program would not work on anything but Internet Explorer, which is unfortunately no longer available for Mac. It would have been nice if we could have at least had Firefox or Chrome, both very commonly used browsers, as an option. This is not a deal breaker for me, but for the price and quality of the system, I would have liked more compatibility.

Kommentare: If your experience is anything like mine was, you are currently struggling with outdated software. You are having to maintain multiple databases manually in order to do all the things that are standard operating procedures in these fast-paced days, and you are working on a shoestring budget with a great but stretched staff. For me, this is where Neon came in to help us. Is it perfect. No. Of course not. Unless you have a zillion dollars to house your own tech department you are unlikely to find absolute perfection. Is Neon, in my opinion, the closest thing to perfect for a non-profit organization? Yes! Why do I think that? 1) Technology upgrades every 18 months (at the longest) which is almost impossible for a non-profit to keep up with while remaining competitive within today's business world. Neon is an ever-evolving system that shares functionality with all Neon clients; your membership database is always up-to-date with new innovations appearing and available to be customized to meet your needs for reasonable pricing (unlike other systems that, in my experience, started customization at around $25,000 a piece). 2) When hosting our own CRM on-site, we were responsible for maintaining our server; with an aging server and without a hardware specialist on staff, our data was always at risk, even though it was backed up. With Neon, our system is now a cloud-based system, leaving the hardware support to the experts at Neon. This was not only a worry off our backs but also a fiscal savings. 3) In order to keep up to date, we were maintaining multiple databases. We had our member database, our event database, our website member-only database, and our email database. This doesn't include the QuickBooks upkeep and our area membership lists that had to be maintained and exported separately on a monthly basis. Needless to say, this ate up a lot of time and was susceptible to human error. With Neon, everything was in one place (Please note we chose to use Neon's email because another service would mean we once again would have to import/export data and not have the tracking material on the records where we wanted them). This was a huge benefit. Having everything available in one place freed up our staff to work on other projects and spend time on long-term strategic planning as opposed to just working in the moment. 4) With our old system, we were the experts. We were all alone. If we wanted customer service, the vendor could sort of help but the service teams wouldn't take time to understand the way we were using the system and could only provide generic answers. With Neon, we have experts at the end of a chat or a phone call (depending on your needs and service package) who can log into your system, see what you are seeing, and team with you to find an answer to your issues. 5) With our old system, our volunteers and members had limited abilities and options available to them. With Neon, our volunteers and members have a greater level of interaction with their own records, as well as with each other. So with all that said, my overall advice is get Neon. But when you do jump in also be realistic and patient with both Neon and your staff. Remember change is always hard. Expect that the transfer of data will be stressful. Expect that the first six months will include hiccups. Expect that in a year you will be an expert in NEON. Expect that your "sophomore" year experience will make it all worthwhile.