By Sarah Hidey, JVA Consulting

Having worked in the social change sector for my entire life, I have often found myself thinking that all “big ideas” come from within the sector (as many of our past Big Ideas blogs have shown!). But what I’ve also come to desire is for other sectors (such as the technology sector!) to come up with some “big ideas” that will make the lives of those of us working in the nonprofit/social enterprise world easier. Who hasn’t yearned for some brilliant organizing tool or service that will make the day-to-day operations of our ventures smoother and less stressful?

This blog highlights PaySimple, a for-profit Denver-based company that does just that—makes our lives easier through its cloud-based technology for small businesses, social enterprises and nonprofit organizations (NPOs). PaySimple provides the technology to accept income (donations and purchases) and track donors or customers—all through one integrated system accessible through multiple platforms.

The Issue

Does this scenario sound familiar: Your nonprofit operates a social enterprise selling handicrafts made by refugees—you derive your income from the sales revenue as well as individual donations. For your handicraft sales, you use the Square technology to accept credit card payments. On your website, you accept donations using PayPal. To manage and track your donor information, you manually enter all PayPal and Square information into your donor database: Raiser’s Edge. In the course of one day, you are using three+ different technologies (and paying for them all as well). This isn’t cost effective OR time effective—two things that are highly valued in the nonprofit world where we never seem to have enough of either (money or time).

The Solution

What if you had ONE cloud-based software that provided you with all of the above: mobile swipe technology, website donation function and a donor database. All integrated.

PaySimple’s big idea, developed in 2005, was to offer this exact full-service, integrated solution—a web-based nonprofit management technology that allows small businesses, social enterprises and nonprofit organizations the opportunity to accept income (restricted or unrestricted donations, reoccurring donations, event registrations and merchandise sales) from multiple platforms: smart phones, laptop, tablets and over the phone. When donations or purchases are processed, the information from the donor is automatically captured and stored in a donor database—eliminating the need to pay for a separate donor database where donor information must be entered separately. PaySimple manages donor information in an easy-to- use cloud-based software—simplifying the donor-tracking process and empowering NPOs to fundraise more effectively.

Ryan Kalman, PaySimple’s Product Expert Team Lead, shared that PaySimple was originally created in 2005 by CEO Eric Remer to make the efficiencies that were available to “big businesses” accessible to small businesses, including start-ups. PaySimple soon realized that the social sector—nonprofits and social enterprises—needed similar technology that was affordable and time-efficient to ensure that more time and more money were flowing toward creating a social impact in the community, and not spent on inefficient technologies. Organizations (for-profit and nonprofit) have benefited from PaySimple’s technology because it streamlines all payment and informational management systems. It allows more ways for client/donors to make payments (online, in person, over the phone), while simultaneously capturing and storing the individual donor/consumer’s information for future stewardship or marketing—allowing nonprofits and social enterprises to be more focused and efficient in the marketing of their product or services.

The best part—it’s affordable: PaySimple is a month-to-month subscription service, with no start-up fees or contracts. Just this month, PaySimple launched new, affordable pricing for nonprofits based on feedback it had received from the nonprofit sector. PaySimple designed two different price points based on the size of the organization and the number of monthly transactions. The functionality of all price points is exactly the same—allowing smaller organizations and start-ups to use and benefit from the software without having to make a large financial investment.

At JVA, we are excited about PaySimple because of its affordability and opportunities for social enterprises. Social entrepreneurs are often on the cutting edge—implementing innovative ventures and solving problems using unique strategies. The technology we use MUST keep pace with the ever-changing environment we operate in, and must be accessible “on the go”—whether we are at the office, at a trade show, or selling our social enterprise products at a fair.

PaySimple is a sponsor of JVA’s Social Enterprise Academy, premiering April 8–12, 2013, and will participate on our “Shark Tank” pitch panel, providing business advice to entrepreneurs making a pitch.