Recently I caught up with nonprofit researcher Janna Finch of Software Advice, a company that provides online research and reviews for fundraising and donor management software. Here is the “Q and A”.

You recently released your Fundraising and Donor Management Software Report. What’s the top requested functionality that nonprofits are seeking in their fundraising and donor management software?

Requests for email marketing & outreach tools increased 133 percent over last year. As most everyone knows, successful fundraising requires engaging donors. It costs less and the returns are greater when you find a way to turn one-time donors into repeat donors, and the best way to make that happen is to build a relationship with donors, maintain communication, and show them how their contribution directly impacted outcomes. Nonprofits are looking to email marketing tools to help share those stories.

Were there any interesting findings related to social media?

Something new we found this year was 17% of our sample requested social media integration. These days, a lot of fundraising pros have social media duties in addition to the rest of their job, so if you have a system that integrates with Twitter, or Facebook, its a better way to ensure messaging is consistent on those channels and you’re easily engaging donors there, even when there isn’t a campaign or appeal.

What recommendations do you have for fundraisers looking to start using software, or upgrade/replace their current system?

There are three steps you can take to increase the chance you will choose the right fundraising software. First, speak to everyone who will be using or supporting the software and create a list of “must-have” and “like-to-have” and features/functionality. Be as specific as possible.  If you need the software to handle recurring donations and allow you to define donation amounts on donation forms, write it down.

Once you have your wishlist, you can create a shortlist of 3-5 products by doing some preliminary research online. You can also talk to peers and other organizations to see what they use, read product reviews or confer with a consultant. .

Then, it’s on to running through demos and trials with the vendors themselves. Ask about whether the product has your must-haves and like-to-haves, and work through what you learned to determine which is best for you. Don’t just choose the best on the list if it’s missing key functionality or integration options. Choose the product that is truly best for you.

Here are the top reasons for replacing nonprofit software.

Top reasons for replacing nonprofit software