Neon CRM

You want CRM software to do 3 things:
1. Safely store you data
2. Allow you to leverage your data
3. Allow you to interact with your organizations website

Most systems do the first 2 - they better (!), NEON does the third one too and better than any other product in the industry. My only hope is they don't get bought by Blackbaud.

I've done 15 or more conversions with many different product and have never been happier than with NEON. Feel free to drop me a line and I'll share more with you.

I have actually used Neon CRM in two very different nonprofits. One was previously using eTapestry and we switched because of the greater flexibility offered by Neon. That organization received much of its funding from individuals and was focused on one main program. The second was a transportation think tank that had no previous CRM system and received much of its funding through memberships. In both cases, I have found the system to work well and meet the needs of two very different organizations.

If your experience is anything like mine was, you are currently struggling with outdated software. You are having to maintain multiple databases manually in order to do all the things that are standard operating procedures in these fast-paced days, and you are working on a shoestring budget with a great but stretched staff.

For me, this is where Neon came in to help us. Is it perfect. No. Of course not. Unless you have a zillion dollars to house your own tech department you are unlikely to find absolute perfection. Is Neon, in my opinion, the closest thing to perfect for a non-profit organization? Yes!

Why do I think that?

1) Technology upgrades every 18 months (at the longest) which is almost impossible for a non-profit to keep up with while remaining competitive within today's business world. Neon is an ever-evolving system that shares functionality with all Neon clients; your membership database is always up-to-date with new innovations appearing and available to be customized to meet your needs for reasonable pricing (unlike other systems that, in my experience, started customization at around $25,000 a piece).

2) When hosting our own CRM on-site, we were responsible for maintaining our server; with an aging server and without a hardware specialist on staff, our data was always at risk, even though it was backed up. With Neon, our system is now a cloud-based system, leaving the hardware support to the experts at Neon. This was not only a worry off our backs but also a fiscal savings.

3) In order to keep up to date, we were maintaining multiple databases. We had our member database, our event database, our website member-only database, and our email database. This doesn't include the QuickBooks upkeep and our area membership lists that had to be maintained and exported separately on a monthly basis. Needless to say, this ate up a lot of time and was susceptible to human error. With Neon, everything was in one place (Please note we chose to use Neon's email because another service would mean we once again would have to import/export data and not have the tracking material on the records where we wanted them). This was a huge benefit. Having everything available in one place freed up our staff to work on other projects and spend time on long-term strategic planning as opposed to just working in the moment.

4) With our old system, we were the experts. We were all alone. If we wanted customer service, the vendor could sort of help but the service teams wouldn't take time to understand the way we were using the system and could only provide generic answers. With Neon, we have experts at the end of a chat or a phone call (depending on your needs and service package) who can log into your system, see what you are seeing, and team with you to find an answer to your issues.

5) With our old system, our volunteers and members had limited abilities and options available to them. With Neon, our volunteers and members have a greater level of interaction with their own records, as well as with each other.

So with all that said, my overall advice is get Neon. But when you do jump in also be realistic and patient with both Neon and your staff. Remember change is always hard. Expect that the transfer of data will be stressful. Expect that the first six months will include hiccups. Expect that in a year you will be an expert in NEON. Expect that your "sophomore" year experience will make it all worthwhile.