In Use:  

GivingTrak provides nonprofits with the dashboard they need to view and track their donor data – whether it’s active donors or retention rate.  Besides being free- the best part of GivingTrak is donors don’t have to wait a full calendar year to get results – GivingTrak refreshes each client’s dashboards weekly so charities can get a current view of where they stand and how their metrics compare with last week or last month.  

GivingTrak is currently free and includes goal setting, onboarding, and weekly automated data updates. Starting in the Spring, GivingTrak is offering a monthly subscription to GivingTrak Pro for $99/month. This will include industry benchmarks, data query, and segmented donor types. 

Technology Used: 

GivingTrak resides on the cloud so there is no need for a charity to download any software in order to get started. They will however – have to upload their donor data so the dashboard can accurately display their results. To do this – GivingTrak integrates with certain CRMs and are working on building connectors for others.  

Ease of Use:  

Not everyone is a “numbers” person. For those who aren’t – the dashboard is an easy way to digest these metrics. GivingTrak is easy to view and easy to understand with numerous graphs that display everything from lifetime value, average annual giving, retention rate, and total fundraising income. The dashboard also compares year-over-year statistics so nonprofits can make an educated choice on how best to manage their donor base.  

Recap: 

GivingTrak was implemented in November of 2019 and is a free dashboard for nonprofits to display and  analyze their donor data. GivingTrak is new but they have big plans ahead.  

Advantages:  

• GivingTrak does not ask for any personal donor information and instead relies on the Donor ID to base a nonprofit’s dashboard on – thus insuring a donor’s privacy. 
• GivingTrak’s dashboard is updated every Sunday – so a nonprofit’s statistics will never be outdated. 
• Nonprofits can visually see how they measure up to themselves year-over-year enabling them to make the right choices for themselves 
• The dashboard is free  

Disadvantages:  

• While they are working on integrating with more CRMs, at the moment they do not connect with Blackbaud.  
• $99/month for GivingTrak Pro will benefit medium-large nonprofits but will cost too much for small charities take advantage of. 

My Opinion:  

GivingTrak is a great way for any nonprofit to track their donor metrics. The easy-to-read dashboard lets anyone from a key stakeholder to a data analyst quickly see and process donor metrics. The weekly refresh allows those metrics to be up-to-date so the organization can get a clear view of their donor base.  

GivingTrak has only been around for a few months but they have already helped so many nonprofits understand their data. In the future, GivingTrak wants to offer benchmark statistics, and advice to nonprofits who want to know how they compare to similar charities.