Questions to ask before adopting fundraising technology

Start with the work, not the demo. Which tasks are slow today: thanking donors, reconciling gifts, sending an update, or explaining results to a board? A tool that does not touch those tasks is a distraction.

Ask who owns the donor list and the gift history, and in what form you can take them with you. If the answer is unclear, treat that as part of the price.

Ask what the system stores about a donor, who on your team can see it, and how a person can ask for a correction. Payment card data should stay with a payment provider built for that purpose. Your staff should not be copying card numbers into email.

Ask what happens when a campaign ends. Can you export the appeal, the messages, and the results, or do they live only inside one login?

Ask what “available” means. A feature on a marketing page is not the same as a feature turned on for your organization, with a person you can call when it breaks. Get the scope in writing before you announce it to supporters.

This note is a draft for editorial review. Prabalta’s own service boundaries should be confirmed directly with the organization. Nothing here is a fee schedule or an eligibility rule.