Problem Statement

Small and mid-sized nonprofit organizations struggle to retain donors after their first gift due to fragmented data, manual tracking processes, and lack of timely follow up. Donor information is often spread across spreadsheets, email inboxes, and disconnected tools, making it difficult for staff to understand donor history, identify at-risk donors, and take consistent action. This results in missed engagement opportunities, lower donor retention, and reduced long-term fundraising revenue.

Target Audience

• Primary users: Nonprofit staff members responsible for donor management, fundraising, and outreach (development coordinators, fundraisers, and administrators).
• Secondary stakeholders: Executive directors, board members, and donors who benefit from improved communication, transparency, and relationship management.

Pain Points

1. Donor data is scattered across multiple tools, leading to incomplete or outdated donor records.
2. Staff lack visibility into donor engagement patterns, making it hard to identify lapsed or at-risk donors and follow up consistently.

Success Criteria

• Increase first-to-second gift conversion rate by providing clear donor history and follow-up workflows.
• Reduce time spent on manual donor tracking by centralizing donor, donation, and campaign data in one system.

Constraints

• Budget: Limited nonprofit budgets require cost-effective, open-source-friendly technology choices.
• Timeline: Initial MVP must be deliverable within a short academic/project timeframe.
• Technical: Solution must be maintainable by small teams and accessible to developers with junior-to-mid-level experience.