Fourth Quarter 2010
eInsights is published quarterly and contains information about SofTrek, our product and service offerings, partner announcements and news, fundraising articles, and links to resources for nonprofit professionals. Read this issue to learn about: SofTrek's professional, data and administrative services; our solution for quickly and efficiently complying with your PCI obligations; and two new best practice reports from our partner organization, WealthEngine. Then test your knowledge of nonprofit trends and industry stats by taking our Fundraising Quiz. To learn even more about SofTrek and our nonprofit technology solutions, please browse our website.PRODUCT NEWS
SofTrek Launches Professional and Data Services Initiative
To help nonprofits be even more successful, SofTrek has launched an initiative to offer additional professional and data services. Our primary objective is to help nonprofit organizations just like yours maximize your investments in our technology by providing both consultative and value added services.
- Business/System Consulting
- Conversions
- Duplicate Solutions
- Custom Programming
- Direct Marketing Support
- Implementation
- Integration Consulting
- Report Development
- Duplicate Resolution
- Geocoding
- Name Parsing
- Address, Phone and Email Validation
- Wealth Screening
- Auto Updates
- Batch Handling
- Credit Card Processing
- Data Import/Export
- Data Vaulting
- Reporting
- User Security Profile Management
Nonprofits Move Toward SAAS and Automated Solutions
Over the past several years, many nonprofit organizations have opted to move to a software-as-a-service (SAAS) model. As hardware, software and networking environments become more complex, there is no question that it is cheaper and easier for an organization to have their technology managed by professionals whose sole focus is delivering stable, high-performing environments. SAAS solutions offer several advantages: they are more secure, more compliant with standards and regulations, and significantly reduce costs compared to in-house hardware and software solutions.
SofTrek takes SAAS a step further with automated office solutions and administrative services tailored for the unique business needs of a nonprofit. The SofTrek team knows fundraising and the challenges and costs associated with complex tasks such as processing gifts and PCI compliance as well as routine activities such as producing daily acknowledgments. Working closely with each client, SofTrek’s business analysts work as an extension of an organization’s team – helping to develop automated solutions to problems like integrating a website with a donor database, processing hundreds of gifts per day, or producing mail merge files for easy letter production.
SofTrek’s automated office solutions and administrative services allow all types of organizations save both money and time, freeing them to focus on their missions. That’s why so many of our clients rely on the SofTrek team for:
- developing processes for scanning gifts directly into a donor database to replace costly caging services;
- scheduling ETL processes like NCOA to improve the integrity of data and save the cost of using bad addresses;
- performing wealth screening imports and exports to help target the right donors;
- assisting with establishing criteria for automated monthly reporting in order to save staff time;
- performing batch updates to improve data; and
- working to create algorithms for automatically de-duplicating donor records, thereby maintaining and improving donor relationships.
The SofTrek team does this everyday, for nonprofit organizations just like yours. Could moving to an SAAS model be beneficial to your organization? Start reducing costs, creating efficiencies, and focusing on your mission. To learn how SofTrek can help, please This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .
back to top
Fundraising Quiz
- A) Email
- B) Mail
- C) Phone call
- D) In person
- A) Improving local communities
- B) Youth develop
- C) Improving and preserving environment/wildlife
- D) Improving health and social services
- A) Generation X, those born from the mid ’60s to late ’70s
- B) Generation Y, those born roughly between 1983 and 2000
- C) Boomers, the generation born from 1946 to 1964
- D) Silent Generation, those who grew up during World War II and the Korean War
Social Media
- A) Digital fundraising on smartphones
- B) Convergence of web with television
- C) Print campaigns
- D) A & B
- E) None of the above
- A) 5%
- B) 15%
- C) 25%
- D) 50%
8. True or False: Facebook, Twitter and video sharing sites are the most widely used social media channels by nonprofits, at 73%, 56% and 49% respectively.
Answer Key: 1)D, 2)A, 3)B, 4)T, 5)A, 6)D, 7)T, 8)T
(Sources: ibj.com; emarketer.com; idealware.com; bls.gov; paperlesschoice.com)
SofTrek Credit Card Vaulting Service Offers Solution for Nonprofit PCI Compliance
Any organization which processes credit cards will be held to new Payment Application Data Security Standard (PA-DSS) and Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard (PCI DSS) requirements. The goal of the standards is to ensure card member safety.
SofTrek offers a Credit Card Vaulting service that provides an easy and cost-effective way for nonprofit organizations to address the responsibilities of compliancy with PCI requirements. Our Credit Card Vaulting service is a hosted solution which eliminates the need for your organization to store sensitive payment information on-premise. Your organization’s credit card and bank account information is stored securely in SofTrek’s PCI compliant data vault.
“Our credit card vaulting solution allows nonprofit organizations to comply with PCI requirements quickly and easily. This solution is ideal for organizations that want to avoid the cost, effort, and responsibility of becoming PCI compliant,” indicated Bob Girardi, SofTrek’s Vice President.
SofTrek’s Credit Card Vaulting service is an on-demand, hosted solution which means there is no hardware or software to purchase or install. And, because our vaulting service is integrated with your donor database, it supports real-time and batch entry of credit card and bank account information into a secure PCI compliant vault.
Remember, if your organization accepts or processes payment cards, you must comply with PCI requirements. Non-compliance can result in steep penalties and puts your organization at risk for security breaches resulting in the theft of donor payment information. A full description of the data security standards is available here.
To learn how SofTrek’s Credit Card Vaulting service works and could benefit your organization, click here. Please
This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it
for a demo.
WealthEngine Best Practice Reports
SofTrek business partner WealthEngine, the leading provider of sophisticated prospect research tools and analytics, has released a second edition of its Best Practices for Prospect Research in Healthcare Fundraising. This research report is intended to facilitate knowledge sharing and help healthcare organizations achieve a higher level of fundraising effectiveness. The updated edition outlines nine best practices, details several healthcare case studies, and includes a number of sample worksheets and planning documents. To download a free copy of Best Practices for Prospect Research in Healthcare Fundraising, please visit: http://info.wealthengine.com/HCBP-2010.html.
WealthEngine has also released a new research report entitled Best Practices in Arts and Cultural Fundraising. This best practices report is intended to facilitate knowledge sharing, stimulate dialogue and help arts and cultural organizations achieve a higher level of fundraising effectiveness. The report outlines seven fundraising best practices, from the capture of ticketing information to the use of wealth screening, from effective data management to measuring fundraising return on investment. To download a free copy of Best Practices in Arts and Cultural Fundraising, please visit: http://info.wealthengine.com/arts-culture-best-practices-pr.html
The SofTrek team is pleased to welcome the following nonprofit client:
Buffalo City Mission
Buffalo City Mission is returning as a SofTrek client. Since its founding almost 100 years ago, Buffalo City Mission has worked to fulfill the physical and spiritual needs of poor and homeless individuals and families in Buffalo. The mission provides long-term recovery programs, counseling, work and life-skills training, education assistance and health-care services. SofTrek solutions will help Buffalo City Mission fulfill its mission by better managing fundraising, volunteers, and community relations. SofTrek will work in partnership with Russ Reid to ensure that the mission’s direct mail fundraising activities continue to be a success.
Webinar: Creating Closer Relationships with Your Donors
SofTrek recently presented an educational webinar titled "Creating Closer Relationships with Your Donors." In this brief webinar, the SofTrek team discussed the value of a portal as a marketing tool to deliver customized content to donors and presents a demonstration of our full-featured Donor Portal. If you missed the webinar, but are interested in learning more, you can access the presentation slides on our website. To request a personalized demo of our Donor Portal for your organization, please
This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it
.
Charity Navigator (www.charitynavigator.org/)
Charity Navigator rates nonprofits on a set of organizational efficiency and organizational capacity metrics with a “star-based” system of one to four stars, using algorithms derived from publicly reported financial data. The website offers access to studies, articles, tips and resources, and hot topics in order to guide intelligent giving.
National Issues Forums (www.nifi.org/)
This voluntary, nonpartisan, national network of forums and study circles supports citizens coming together to deliberate about common problems in order to act on them. The website has NIF Reports, a schedule of workshops to learn more about convening and moderating forums, and a message board.
NASCO (www.nasconet.org/)
The website of the National Association of State Charity Officials (NASCO) is designed to allow regulators and enforcers of state charity laws in the U.S. to engage in ongoing dialogue with nonprofit leaders around the world about current issues facing the nonprofit sector. The website includes access to press releases, relevant news stories, and federal government information.
Contributions Magazine (www.contributionsmagazine.com)
This publication offers current and archived feature articles of its bimonthly print publication on its website, as well as an index of the current issue's other articles available by subscription. There is also a list of articles pertaining to nonprofit issues, book reviews of its own current fundraising publications, and a forum of links to sites offering services or products to the nonprofit sector.
