CRM for a small non-profit

[YG]

Hi y'all,

The landscape of CRM products seems to be changing relatively quickly.
Does anyone have recent/current experience with a CRM that would be not/recommended for a small non-profit?

There are many options around and most blog posts comparing them are not as helpful as their titles make them seem.
Anyone here have a product that that would recommend using or staying away from?

I use salesforce at another organization and am not stoked with it.  Very powerful, but not particularly user friendly and I do not want to have to start designing a whole custom system (and it is extremely ugly).

[etech0]

Hi y'all,

The landscape of CRM products seems to be changing relatively quickly.
Does anyone have recent/current experience with a CRM that would be not/recommended for a small non-profit?

There are many options around and most blog posts comparing them are not as helpful as their titles make them seem.
Anyone here have a product that that would recommend using or staying away from?

I use salesforce at another organization and am not stoked with it.  Very powerful, but not particularly user friendly and I do not want to have to start designing a whole custom system (and it is extremely ugly).

Salesforce Lightning is much more user friendly (and pretty) than SF Classic, but may not have enough features for you yet.

Have you used the SF Non-Profit Starter Pack? The newest version that just came out is supposed to be very good.

[YG]

I was not aware of lightning, I'll look into it, thanks.
I use the Non-profit one at work (dont know whether it is the starter pack or something else).
I find it to be powerful, but not intuitive or user friendly, and practically a lot of the available power ends up not being utilized because of those factors.

Also, I think that because it is so extremely flexible, it can also be a disadvantage, because you have to go through an entire process of figuring out exactly what you want it to do and how it should work and configure it appropriately, and for large corporate environments that would be a big plus, but for a small non-profit I think it could end up being overly overwhelming, and create an unnecessary requirement in the process of configuring etc. I'd think that the CRM needs of small non-profits shouldn't be THAT complex, and would probably be relatively consistent to a large extent, and that there should probably be able to be more user-friendly, relatively standard products that could cater to their needs. The question is whether there is a GOOD product that fits that description . . .

[etech0]

practically a lot of the available power ends up not being utilized because of those factors.

I think that's the key issue. You need to be very familiar with NPSP in order to set up a system that works for you and utilize all the cool features, and educate your users regarding how to use it. That's for sure a pitfall I have encountered. If you're using SF, you might want to check out powerofus.force.com - great resource for SF admins.

Could there be something more user friendly? Sure! Is there - I don't know. Let us know if you find something!

[ryg]

SF is huge and cumbersome. In my experience the only way to make it usable is to invest 7-10k in a developer to turn it into the system you want.
There are many options around - but it really depends on what you want from your CRM. What is the purpose of the system.
I am happy to consult if you want - PM me.

[etech0]

SF is huge and cumbersome. In my experience the only way to make it usable is to invest 7-10k in a developer to turn it into the system you want.

Yes and no. The trend has been moving towards "clicks not code". As long as you have a good understanding of the database model and the SF ecosystem, you can do a LOT on your own.

Also, the more "typical" your CRM needs are, the less customizing you'll need, and the less customizing you do the more you'll benefit from a lot of the built in features.

[etech0]

BTW, you may want to check out SalesforceIQ. It's supposed to be a lighter version, more email-centric and user friendly. I don't know if they donate licenses to nonprofits, though.