Spring is more than a season, it’s a mindset. As trees bud and flowers bloom, it’s a natural time to pause, reflect, and reset. For nonprofits, this season offers a valuable opportunity to review your fundraising progress, optimize your tools, and realign your efforts with your year-end goals.
This blog post walks you through a quick checklist of questions to help your team stay focused, energized, and on track.
Is Your Nonprofit Making Full Use of Its Software?
Take inventory of your tools: donor management (CRM), email marketing, accounting software, board portals, design platforms, and any other programs your team uses regularly. Are you using them to their full potential?
When used properly, nonprofit software should help lighten your load. If things feel underutilized, now’s the time to plan a training refresh. Block off a team meeting, schedule trainings, or take advantage of platform-specific resources.
Pro Tip: DonorSnap users can make the most of our free Wednesday Webinars, in-depth Help Site, and on-demand training videos.
What are your goals for year-end? Are you on track?
Before the whirlwind of fall fundraising hits, pause to review the goals you set at the start of the year. Pull key reports from your nonprofit CRM to see how the first quarter measured up.
Is your donor retention rate where you want it to be? Are you hitting your revenue targets? Identifying gaps early helps you pivot strategically and keep your team aligned.
If you have key stakeholders that need to be in the loop on numbers (board members, development heads etc.), set up and schedule monthly reports to go out so you don’t lose track. All of this can be done with DonorSnap’s helpful reporting tools.
Need help analyzing your data? Check out this post on top nonprofit CRM reports.
What were the results of your spring events? How’s your follow-up?
If you hosted a spring fundraiser or community event, it’s time to debrief. What went well? Where did you fall short? More importantly, how are you following up?
A thoughtful follow-up strategy can boost donor engagement and improve your long-term outcomes. Be sure to:
- Thank attendees personally
- Share event highlights and financial results
- Celebrate your wins—or make a short, clear follow-up ask if you didn’t quite hit your goal
Read more: What to do if you don’t reach your fundraising goals
Have you been keeping donors in the loop so far this year?
Consistent donor communication is key to strong stewardship. Take a moment to review your outreach calendar. Are you keeping supporters updated outside of fundraising appeals? Delivering impact is one of the key reasons people will keep supporting your cause. They want to know that their donors are hard at work.
If your nonprofit doesn’t already, now may be a good time to start sending out a quarterly newsletter. Now is also a great time to send out an Impact or Annual Report.
Read more tips on creating nonprofit annual reports here.
Is it time to upgrade your nonprofit CRM?
If you have been thinking of upgrading to a new CRM, Spring is the ideal time to do so. This will give you and your team plenty of time to learn the new system before the busy season ahead. With so many options available it can be difficult to narrow it down. If you need guidance on how to find the best CRM for your nonprofit, read How to Successfully Switch to a New Nonprofit CRM, which will guide you through all the steps you should take to ensure your success.
Final Thoughts
Taking time this spring to realign your tools, goals, and communications ensures you’re set up for success in the second half of the year. A quick check-in now can prevent a scramble later and make your year-end fundraising stronger than ever.
Ready for a Fresh Start?
If your current CRM isn’t helping you stay organized and reach your goals, it might be time for a change. DonorSnap makes donor management simple, affordable, and effective — so you can spend less time on admin work and more time advancing your mission.
Make the switch this spring and set your nonprofit up for a strong finish to the year.
