Non-profit organisations need software designed specifically to meet their unique project, financial and customer relationship management needs, delegates were told on the second day of the "ICTs for Civil Society" conference, hosted by Sangonet.
This follows research conducted by World Wide Worx, on behalf of Sangonet, which reveals that local NGOs are being neglected by the local IT industry.
Speakers in the "Constituent and Business Management Systems for NGOs" session say while software designed for business meets some of the reporting needs for NGOs, it is inadequate.
"Ninety-five percent of donor funds are managed on Microsoft Excel, not standard financial tools. This is untenable and something that would not happen in the private sector," says Klaus Merckens, MD of German software enterprise developer CIWI.
Merckens says while software like Pastel may be effective in providing financial reports, it does not have the functionality to track donations. Traditional financial software is also unable to provide NGOs the capacity to report to donors in the format of their choice.
Stronger accountability
He argues that NGOs need to be more professional to ensure stronger accountability, and the ability to track funding is critical to this core value.
Many donors require that NGOs open a separate bank account for the funds they provide. They also demand the right to sign cheques for those funds, he says. The ability by NGOs to track their funding would negate this requirement.
Impact Consulting marketing officer Janice Kennedy says only 23% of local NGOs use CRM software, with only 3% using fundraising software. As a result, there is a lot of duplication of donor information, and communication with current and potential donors is not recorded, she says.
Mission-critical information about NGO projects and donors is usually on paper and inaccessible, unless one asks the right individual, Kennedy adds. "What happens if, God forbid, the fundraiser is run over by a train?"
NGOs need a CRM programme that links organisational projects, donor information, individuals and communications related to these institutions, she says.
Impact is also developing similar CRM software for small business enterprises, Kennedy concludes.
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