Evaluating CSR Technology?

Author: Kayla Barnes

Finding your Partner in Purpose

From launching a platform for the first time to switching to a new vendor, evaluating CSR technology can be a daunting task. We know that these types of decisions are not made lightly – the platform you pick to power the impact your employees and organization make in the community is a big deal.

With the rising popularity of CSR technology platforms, there’s been both new entrants to the market and long-standing vendors. Platforms can vary greatly in cost & functionality, and it can be hard to know if you’re asking all the right questions in your vendor evaluation process. Below, you’ll find a compilation of questions that we feel are important to ask if you’re currently in the buying process. This can help you go beyond just ensuring a vendor can check the boxes for functionality at face value. Whether you’re purchasing a platform for the first time or looking to try something new, it’s important to dig a little deeper and ensure the vendor you select can support the nuances of your programs and is transparent in what they can offer.

Centralized & Innovative Technology

The landscape of CSR shifts rapidly, so it’s important that your vendor can innovate and help you stay ahead of the curve. You’ll want to think big picture – how can the vendor support you over time, and how can they support your entire employee base and footprint?

5 years ago, your options were pretty straightforward: employee giving, volunteering, and grantmaking. If a vendor could do these big things, they would be a solid choice! As engaging employees in social impact and giving back to the community have become more common across industries, geographies, and company sizes, new trends and programmatic elements have risen to the top as must-haves instead of just nice-to-haves.

Some questions to consider asking vendors:

• What are all the platforms you offer?
• Do your employee engagement and grants management solutions have any integrations with each other?
• What do innovation and product updates look like for your software?
• How is client feedback incorporated into your product design process?
• Can you pick and choose features and add additional functionality over time?
• What global capabilities exist – how many languages is the platform available in, how many currencies, how many nonprofits are eligible for giving vs. volunteering around the world?
• What features go beyond the basics of giving and volunteering and differentiate your platform over others?

Self-Serviceability

Let’s face it, we all put our best foot forward when it comes to making a good first impression. Any technology vendor you evaluate will woo you with the best of the best that they have to offer in their product demos. While you absolutely see all the bells and whistles and understand the full breadth of a vendor’s capabilities, you’ll also want to make sure you understand just what it takes to operate those features day to day. A major frustration we hear about in the market is a lack of empowerment for administrators to make changes in the platform without the help of the vendor. Your CSR technology should remove inefficiencies – not add new ones.

Here’s some questions to keep in mind:

• Can the platform reflect your branding and color schemes? Are you able to make changes to images and site graphics on your own?

• What parts of the platform require a Customer Success representative to access or make changes to (e.g Homepage layout, cycling out content, creating a new employee resource group, etc.)?
• For grants management, are you able to make adjustments to applications and workflows on your own?
• What do product documentation and self-help resources look like?
• A big priority for our product development teams continues to be increasing the self-serviceability of our platforms. It’s not because we don’t want to provide hands-on support, it’s because we want to give you the ability to manage your programs how and when you see fit.

A big priority for our product development teams continues to be increasing the self-serviceability of our platforms. It’s not because we don’t want to provide hands-on support, it’s because we want to give you the ability to manage your programs how and when you see fit.

Customer and Stakeholder Support

Speaking of self-help resources, you’ll also want to know what account support looks like for all your stakeholders. Your program admins are just one user of the platform – make sure your vendor can support all your employees that will interact with the systems too!

What to ask:

• What support can I expect for my program admins?
• What avenues of support do my employees have access to (live chat, phone, email)?
• Can you help answer employee questions?
• How will you help me grow my programs and meet my goals?
• Do you offer any type of Executive Business Review?
• How do I stay up to date on best practices for the platform?
• What support do you provide to nonprofits?
• Do you offer a portal for nonprofits to access important information like disbursement details?

At YourCause, we provide programmatic support for your admins with our Customer Success Managers, technical support with our specialized Admin Support Team, and end-user support for your employees AND nonprofit partners with our Customer Advocacy Desk.

We are strong believers in making sure our technology helps facilitate good efficiently and effectively. That’s why we pour a lot of time and energy into developing our free to use NPOconnect portal and areas of the platforms like our GrantsConnect application process. Nonprofits applying to grant programs through our technology are able to save progress on applications – you’d be surprised at how many vendors don’t offer this functionality and what a headache that causes for grantwriters!

Disbursements

One massive benefit to partnering with a CSR vendor when it comes to facilitating giving programs is having access to their donation disbursement process. Getting charitable dollars from point A to point B can be much more cumbersome than it looks. Having a trusted partner to help you navigate the regulatory landscape, ensure that charities are compliant and reputable, and manage the ins and outs of checks vs electronic payments can save you a TON of time and headache.

Don’t be afraid to really dive deep into your line of questioning here – a robust disbursement engine is vital for running a smooth giving program!

• How often do you process out donations? Is there flexibility in that schedule on a client-by-client basis?
• Do clients get their own bank account, and are we able to have our logo displayed on checks that are sent out?
• What is your process for handling stranded funds?
• What is your donation efficacy/success rate?
• Can employees see the status of their donations?
• Can employees access charitable receipts for tax purposes?
• Are there any minimum thresholds in place that must be met before funds are sent to a charity?
• Is there any reason our funds would be held?
• Do you ensure all nonprofits are fully vetted BEFORE employees can make donations? (i.e. if an employee wants to suggest vetting a nonprofit that’s not currently eligible for giving, not allowing them to donate and then holding that donation during the vetting process.)
• When it comes to vetting additional charities to become eligible for giving, what’s your outreach process and success rate look like?
• Where can I learn more information about any of your donor advised funds or third-party disbursement relationships?

At YourCause, we partner with the Blackbaud Giving Fund to manage our charitable donations, as well as several international partners like Charities Trust in the UK, CanadaHelps in Canada, and Haus de Stiftens in Germany. This network of domestic and global partners helps us ensure that charitable donations get to their intended destination quickly and securely.

Want to learn more about the Blackbaud Giving Fund and the benefits behind using Donor Advised Funds? Check out this webinar recording!

Pricing and Hidden Fees

Last but not least, there are questions to consider around pricing, hidden fees, and making sure you have the full picture of what a platform will cost you. When it comes to pricing, you’ll want to ensure that you know exactly what you’re paying for. If you’re exploring having any giving programs, be sure to ask for all the details on donation and disbursement fees.

Questions to consider:

• Do you have different levels of pricing plans, or is your pricing more customized and flexible to meet the needs of individual organizations?
• What is your fee structure for donations?
• Can we elect to cover fees?
• Do you charge for customer service?

Make sure that you’ll have access to all the features you need to support your programs and watch out for tricky pricing plans. At YourCause, we don’t force clients into paying for main features they won’t use. For example, we offer volunteer only pricing, which can be cost saving for organizations who don’t want to utilize giving features. We also make it easy to grow your programs with us and add functionality or users over time without having to jump up to a new pricing package.

We hope these topic areas and suggested questions are helpful as you navigate purchasing a platform to help manage your social impact efforts. You can download our full CSR Technology buyer’s guide at the link below. Interested in learning more about YourCause solutions? Click here to request a personalized demo!