January 20, 2011; Source: benzinga.com | Nonprofit organizations are turning to technology more and more to aid them in the “reinvention and evaluation” of fundraising programs, according to a report released yesterday by Blackbaud, a provider of software and services designed for nonprofits.

Nonprofits are hungry for direction as they deploy technology in new ways, whether in fundraising or mobilizing action but this Blackbaud paper, Top Technology Trends contains not much that is particularly new unless we missed something.

Here are the highlights from the report: Nonprofits should expect mobile-powered major giving applications that provide constituent data on the go to become widely used in the coming years; the web continues to grow as a primary channel for messaging and communicating an organization's mission; tools to localize and personalize fundraising– while retaining efficiencies and economies of scale associated with centralized systems – will be key; and social media remains an evolving tool and is best deployed as part of a comprehensive, mission-based strategy.

As with most reports, or white papers as someone has unimaginatively deemed them, it’s important to always read with a critical eye and to consider the source. Blackbaud is a vendor in the area it studies.

“We think it is very important to share fundraising technology trends with the nonprofit community, yet the fundamentals familiar to any fundraiser still apply,” said Kristen Fulks, Blackbaud principal consultant and co-author of the paper. “With the ever-demanding challenges of the economy and other influences, it is even more critical to get donors engaged faster, rather than just using technology for technology's sake.” Read the complete report here.—Aaron Lester