With the accounting, development, and/or visitor services departments of one organization using different database systems, reconciling donor gifts or ticketing data with the accounting or administrative departments can be time-consuming and complicated. 

JCA can make that process less problematic and move quicker by developing middleware software.  Not only will all departments be happier with the new ability to share data, but customers will also benefit.  Since all interactions are tracked on one systems, the integrated systems can personalize the POS actions, acknowledgement letters, or donor recognition gifts.  With personalization, visitors and donors will appreciate the individual attention.

Historically, computer systems in non-profit organizations have been selected on the basis of addressing certain targeted functionality within defined functional groups. The membership office selected the best software for processing memberships. The admissions department selected the best software for processing admission and printing tickets. And the gift shop selected the best system for selling merchandise and managing inventory. The end result has been to have a set of disparate systems that do not share data with one another.

Over the years, as software has proliferated and become more capable of completing complex functions, people have grown to expect a higher level of sophistication from it. The constituents of a non-profit organization are no different from the general population. They expect these systems to provide the same level of sophistication and customer service that they've grown to expect in the for-profit world. However, in the for-profit community, tremendous amounts of money have been spent on developing integrated customer relationship management (CRM) systems that can tie together all points of possible contact with a customer and present them through one integrated portal. A consumer calls a customer care representative who can, from one system, check on the status of a product order, query inventory for a specific item, check to see whether a similar complaint has been reported or even can reference that this is the consumer's fifth call in the past year.

Can a typical non-profit organization provide this level of customer care? Until now, the answer has typically been no, but JCA is changing that. By building affordable "middleware" that bridges data between the various applications, a non-profit organization can now provide this level of service to its constituency.

JCA has worked with an increasing number of non-profit organizations to integrate various administrative and operational systems. Specifically, JCA has built interfaces to tie together such systems as:

• Development/membership
• Admissions/Ticketing
• Retail point of sale
• Food and beverage point of sale (and catering)
• Financial/accounting
• Hospital patient
• Clinical/organizational programs

The goal of many of these integration projects is to build a closer affinity between an institution's constituent - defined as a donor, member, prospect, on-site visitor and/or Web visitor - and the institution. While a typical museum constituent has historically been a visitor to the institution, that singular interaction is no longer the only interaction. The breadth and reach of the Internet, combined with the national scope of an institution's programs, means that the electronic communication between the institution and its constituents will take on an increasingly important role. The ability to track the interests, preferences and attitudes of the constituent - and to fashion the communication and interaction accordingly - is critical to reaching the high level of constituent servicing for which the institution strives. We see the integration of all of these systems contributing to a central repository for collecting, managing and disseminating this information.

Industry-standard open databases are critical to the goal of attaining a higher level of interaction with members and supporters. Data from the admission system needs to be readily available to the Web site to streamline ticketing and sales transactions, to personalize content as well as to push targeted electronic correspondence out to the constituent. In return, the constituent should have the ability to update certain personal data, such as an address, phone number or even an interest central to the institution's mission. This interaction needs to occur electronically with limited or no human intervention.

Similarly, the various systems within institution must be able to share information. For example, admission income should be able to flow to the general ledger without manual re-keying. The admission system should have access to current member information so that a member's status can be checked and the member can then be granted admission. This capability would lay the foundation for an institution to implement an electronic debit system in which guest passes could be redeemed and eliminate many of the ongoing difficulties typically involved with paper passes (e.g. fraud, materials costs, replacement costs, etc.).

The increased level of integration allows for analysis of what typically is disparate and unrelated data. For example, it allows Membership to target mailings to new members who have not yet visited the museum. It also allows Membership to analyze its pricing levels in relation to the usage of all benefits - admission, parking, guest passes, premiums and merchandise. It also gives the Retail management team a window into the demographics of exactly who is buying different types of merchandise, providing the potential for targeting marketing initiatives.

JCA has have been involved in either the design, programming and/or implementation of interfaces using the following software: The Raiser's Edge®, PledgeMaker, Enterprise, BSR Advance, DonorPerfect, Fund-Master, PASS (versions 1.x and 2.x), Select-A-Seat, Lawson Financials, American FundWare, Oracle Financials and Blackbaud® General Ledger.

Learn how JCA helped a few selected clients integrate their systems:

Carnegie Hall
Corcorcan Gallery of Art and School
Hunger Project
South Street Seaport Museum

The marks Blackbaud® and The Raiser's Edge® are registered trademarks of Blackbaud, Inc.  Jacobson Consulting Applications Inc. is an independent consulting firm and as such is neither sponsored nor endorsed by Blackbaud, Inc.