In Use:

Steve Sherrill, COO of Golden emphasized the importance of integration. Sherrill who has been with Golden for the past five years stated - “We believe very strongly in interoperability of technology platforms. All technologies that a nonprofit use should talk to each other to have a coherent and cohesive view of their constituents across all different activities…” It’s important to Sherrill and Golden that charities view their fundraising goals and volunteer retention rates in one place.  

A main focus of Golden is automation. Golden is equipped with push notifications to remind volunteers that they signed up for an event, QR codes for easy check-in or digital waivers for volunteers who sign up on site saving nonprofits time – as these would otherwise be manual tasks. To put this in perspective - Golden was able to save the Midwest Food Bank over 400 hours per chapter per year due to automation and volunteer engagement.

In addition to the dashboard that nonprofits can login to, charities can also utilize a mobile app to feature volunteer opportunities. Prospective volunteers in the area can sign up using the app. 

Golden varies in pricing. According to Sherrill- “Smaller organizations can access advanced features for as little as $25/month, whereas CRM integrations start at $75/month.” He also noted that additional branding and customizable packages are available upon request. Advanced features include email automation, statistics, digital waivers, and access to their mobile responsive app.

Ease of Use:

– Golden’s primary clientele are nonprofits so they understand the need for easy-to-use solutions. Often a nonprofit only has a few volunteers to manage fundraising, donor retention, and volunteer recruitment. Having a tool like Golden makes it easier to for small to medium nonprofits to see their data in one place. As the nonprofit organization gets larger and integrates with CRMs, it does get a bit more complicated – but users will have access to resource centers, a customer support team, and real time chat during business hours.

Furthermore, the dashboard that charities use to track their progress and events is easy to use. The mobile app allows volunteers use to sign up for volunteer opportunities and push notifications to remind them of an event.

Technology Used:

While on its own, Golden – is a great volunteer management software, they really shine in their ability to integrate with popular CRMs. In this way, charities can see their data all in one place. Among the CRMs that Golden integrates with are Kindful, Salesforce, and Blackbaud.

The mobile responsive app is also available on both Apple and Android devices.

Recap:

A volunteer management software, Golden allows nonprofit organizations to save time and money by automating processes and procedures associated with volunteering. Golden users have access to a mobile app where volunteers can sign up for an event; send push notifications to remind volunteers about the event and digital waivers that volunteers can sign at the time of arrival.

Their backend dashboard also has the ability to integrate with a charity’s CRM to analyze fundraising goals, view donor retention rates and manage volunteers all in one place.

Advantages:

• Free 30-Day trial for Community and Professional plans
• Push notifications, digital waivers, and other tools and features to save charities time and money
• Integrations with the top CRMs like Blackbaud and Kindful
• Customizable and branding opportunities available

Disadvantages:

• Customer service isn’t available 24/7 for events after working hours
• Mobile app could be more intuitive for both charities and nonprofits

My Opinion:

There are many features that nonprofits can benefit from by signing up for Golden. They can automate emails and reach their constituents for fundraising and volunteer opportunities. With the ability to try out the software with a 30-day free trial – you can’t lose.

As the software matures, I would like to see more access to customer service. If I was organizing an event on the weekend and something went wrong with digital waivers or checking in volunteers there wouldn’t be any way for me to contact Golden because their customer service representatives only work during business hours.  

I’d also like to see the mobile app improved. It’s a great idea to feature volunteer opportunities in the area but I’d like to see the app be a bit more intuitive. I don’t live close to Florida but yet I was getting in-person volunteer events in Florida. It’s also discouraging when you sign up for the app wanting to help your community and you don’t see any events in your area. 

Otherwise, Golden is a great opportunity for a nonprofit to fundraise and connect with their volunteers and donors. It’s easy to see that Golden put a lot of thought into creating their software. It shows with the added tools and features that their customers can utilize.