If you missed us at the Partnership for National Trails System’s Workshop this fall, we wanted to share a recording of our conference talk with you!

What’s the best software for managing volunteers and donors? The answer changes as your organization’s “data culture” matures. Chart your own organization’s path along our “trail of data culture,” and compare your experience of the Arizona Trail Association as it tried three separate software products which fit its needs better and better.

The software you use and how you use it can influence your bottom line and contribute to or hinder your organization’s ability to raise donations. A previous study of rivers organizations showed that over a three-year period, groups which kept their data in a single, shared database almost doubled their income from individual giving, whereas groups that kept their volunteer or donor data in written lists shrank.

Listen in as Wendy Lotze, the Arizona Trail Association‘s former Director of Volunteer Programs, shares what she learned on her journey from an early Microsoft Access database to a custom-built WaterGrass system which allowed them to track the contributions of their volunteers, donors and members in a holistic way.

You’ll also hear from WaterGrass’ Baird Straughan, who discusses what he’s seen in the evolution of databases and how new developments like Artificial Intelligence (AI) will radically change how we gather data and work with it.