Which CRM Dashboard Widgets Should I Use?

This is a tricky question. The answer is, "it depends." Different users will have different needs when it comes to the dashboard. Finance users may want to keep up with recent gifts and track pledge fulfillment. Marketing users may be more interested in seeing which outbound channels are performing best.

Below, we've laid out a guide to all of the available dashboard widgets, including notes on available customizations, interactivity, and recommendations for which teams might be best served by each.

The Donor Retention widget displays current statistics showing how many Contacts were added to the database in the last 12 months ("New Contacts"), how many of them made a single gift ("First-time Givers"), and how many made more than one gift ("Retained").

Customizable? No.

Interactive? Hover over any column with your mouse to see the actual totals

Great for: Development staff, marketing or annual fund staff

Gift Ask Pipeline Forecast

The Gift Ask Pipeline Forecast widget displays the overall gift amount that will come in based on the expected fulfillment date. In other words, this is what you are projecting for your Gift Ask(s). It includes your weighted total amount, gift ask total amount, and your progress toward the total amount. The weighted total is a percentage of the gift ask total based on the probability to close, and the gift ask total is based on the actual gift ask amounts.

Customizable? Yep! You can select a user to view their specific Gift Ask Pipeline Forecast. Users can also select a specific time frame for the widget, including: Next 30 Days, Next 60 Days, Next 90 Days (this is the future, after all!), Last 30 Days, Last 60 Days, Last 90 Days, This Year, Last Year, This Fiscal Year, and Last Fiscal Year.

Interactive? Not really, outside of customizing the dataset.

Great for: Leadership and development staff, especially major gifts teams

Gift Ask Pipeline Overview

The Gift Ask Pipeline Overview widget displays a visual graph to show the number of gift ask proposals in each status.

Customizable? For sure! You can select a user to view their specific Gift Ask Pipeline Overview. Users can also select a specific time frame for the widget, including: Last 30 Days, Last 60 Days, Last 90 Days, This Year, Last Year, This Fiscal Year, and Last Fiscal Year.

Interactive? You bet. Hover over any of the "wedges" on the graph to see the actual numbers of proposals. Click on any Status in the legend to remove it from the graph entirely.

Great for: Leadership and development staff, especially major gifts teams

Gift Ask Pipeline Progress

The Gift Ask Pipeline Progress widget displays the overall gift amount that will come in based on the gift ask date. This includes your weighted total amount, gift ask total amount, and your progress toward the total amount. The weighted total is a percentage of the gift ask total based on the probability to close, and the gift ask total is based on the actual gift ask amounts.

Customizable? Yep! You can select a user to view their specific Gift Ask Pipeline Progress. Users can also select a specific time frame for the widget, including: Last 30 Days, Last 60 Days, Last 90 Days, This Year, Last Year, This Fiscal Year and Last Fiscal Year.

Interactive? Not really, outside of customizing the dataset.

Great for: Leadership and development staff, especially major gifts teams

Gift Ask Pipeline Totals

The Gift Ask Pipeline Totals widget displays current statistics showing total gift amounts (based on actual gift ask amounts) in each status.

Customizable? You bet! You can select a user to view their specific Gift Ask Pipeline Totals. Users can also select a specific time frame for the widget, including: Last 30 Days, Last 60 Days, Last 90 Days, This Year, Last Year, This Fiscal Year, and Last Fiscal Year.

Interactive? Hover over any column with your mouse to see actual totals measured by dollars

Great for: Leadership and development staff, especially major gifts teams

Gift Ask Pipeline Weighted Totals

The Gift Ask Pipeline Weighted Totals widget displays current statistics showing weighted total gift amounts (percentage of the gift ask total based on probability to close) in each status.

Customizable? Yes! You can select a user to view their specific Gift Ask Pipeline Weighted Totals. Users can also select a specific time frame for the widget, including: Last 30 Days, Last 60 Days, Last 90 Days, This Year, Last Year, This Fiscal Year, and Last Fiscal Year.

Interactive? Hover over any column with your mouse to see actual weighted totals measured by dollars

Great for: Leadership and development staff, especially major gifts teams

The Giving by Campaign widget displays a visual graph to show the top 5 Campaigns, measured by dollars received, for your organization.

Customizable? Yes! Users can select a specific time frame for the widget, including: Last 30 Days, Last 60 Days, Last 90 Days, Last 365 days, or This Year

Interactive? You bet. Hover over any of the "wedges" on the graph to see actual totals. Click on any Campaign name in the legend to remove it from the graph entirely.

Great for: Marketing and development teams primarily

The Giving by Channel widget displays a visual graph to show the 5 best-performing Channels, measured by dollars received, for your organization. These Channels are measured across all Campaigns and Communications.

Customizable? Yes! Users can select a specific time frame for the widget, including: Last 30 Days, Last 60 Days, Last 90 Days, Last 365 days, or This Year

Interactive? You bet. Hover over any of the "wedges" on the graph to see actual totals. Click on any Channel name in the legend to remove it from the graph entirely.

Great for: Marketing and development teams primarily

The Giving by Project widget displays a visual graph to show the top 5 Projects, measured by dollars received, for your organization.

Customizable? Yes! Users can select a specific time frame for the widget, including: Last 30 Days, Last 60 Days, Last 90 Days, Last 365 days, or This Year

Interactive? You bet. Hover over any of the "wedges" on the graph to see actual totals. Click on any Project name in the legend to remove it from the graph entirely.

Great for: Development staff or finance teams

The Giving Comparison widget compares the total dollars raised over a recent time period with the equivalent time period immediately preceding it. Put another way, it helps track recent trends to see whether overall giving is increasing or decreasing.

Customizable? Yes! Users can select a specific time frame for the widget, including: Last 30 Days, Last 60 Days, Last 90 Days, Last 365 days, or This Year.

Interactive? Not really, outside of customizing the dataset.

Great for: Leadership and development staff

The Giving Overview widget provides a high-level snapshot of overall giving, including the total number of unique givers, for your organization, with a comparison to the previous year's totals for perspective.

Customizable? No.

Interactive? Also no.

Great for: Leadership and development staff

The Project Goal Overview widget displays the current amount raised for a specific Project vs. the Financial Need Amount for that Project. Financial Need Amounts may be expressed as fixed amounts (i.e., this Project needs to raise a total of X dollars to be successful) or as ongoing needs, with monthly, quarterly, or annual targets. The widget is based on the Need Amount frequency for the selected Project. Projects with a fixed amount will display totals over the entire Project duration, while a Monthly Need amount will display the current month-to-date total and the target amount.

Customizable? Yes! Users can select a specific Project to use with this widget and a specific time frame for the widget, including: Last 30 Days, Last 60 Days, Last 90 Days, Last 365 days, or This Year.

Interactive? Not really, outside of customizing the dataset.

Great for: Leadership and development staff, missionaries or other staff raising their own support, anyone assigned to or focused on a specific project or initiative

The Project Overview widget displays the current amount raised and the number of unique donors for a specific Project over a recent time period with the equivalent time period immediately preceding it. Put another way, it helps track recent trends and benchmark against past performance.

Customizable? Yes! Users can select a specific Project to use with this widget and a specific time frame for the widget, including: Last 30 Days, Last 60 Days, Last 90 Days, Last 365 days, or This Year. If the Project you're looking for doesn't display in the top ten drop-down, you can use the type-ahead feature to search for the exact Project you're looking for. 

Interactive? Not really, outside of customizing the dataset.

Great for: Leadership and development staff, missionaries or other staff raising their own support, anyone assigned to or focused on a specific project or initiative

The Project Success widget displays the current amount raised for a specific Project over a recent time period with the equivalent time period immediately preceding it, as well as the percentage increase or decrease between the two. Put another way, it helps track recent trends to see whether overall giving is increasing or decreasing.

Customizable? Yes! Users can select a specific Project to use with this widget and a specific time frame for the widget, including: Last 30 Days, Last 60 Days, Last 90 Days, Last 365 days, or This Year.

Interactive? Not really, outside of customizing the dataset.

Great for: Leadership and development staff, missionaries or other staff raising their own support, anyone assigned to or focused on a specific project or initiative

The Recent Gifts widget displays a list of all recent Gifts to your organization, in reverse chronological order. The data displayed includes the date, amount, donor name, and Project designation. 

Customizable? Yes! Users can select a specific time frame for the widget, including: Last 30 Days, Last 60 Days, Last 90 Days, Last 365 days, or This Year.

Interactive? Not really, outside of customizing the dataset.

Great for: Leadership and development staff, missionaries or other staff raising their own support, anyone interested in keeping up with recent activity

The Recently Lapsed and Acquired widget provides totals for the number of Contacts who have lapsed or been acquired within the last 30-day period. Acquired donors are those who have made their first gift. Per-Lapsed donors have not given a gift in the last 6 months, Lapsed donors have not given a gift in at least one year, and Deeply Lapsed donors have not given a gift in at least two years. This data can be used to track churn within your donor population.

Customizable? Not really.

Interactive? Not so much.

Great for: Leadership and development staff

The Recurring Gift Fulfillment widget shows the difference between the amount your organization expects to receive from recurring gifts each month versus what is actually received in recurring gift payments. The data is shown for the most recent 12-month period.

Customizable? No.

Interactive? Sure! Click on the "Expected" or "Received" items in the legend to remove one or the other from the graph.

Great for: Leadership and development staff, missionaries or other staff raising their own support, anyone depending on recurring gifts to reach a monthly goal

The Yearly Giving widget displays monthly fundraising totals for the last two years, providing a view of long-term trendlines in your organization's giving. This data can be especially helpful when planning and setting fundraising goals. Monitoring these trends can also alert staff to potential drop-offs in performance that need to be addressed.

Customizable? Not really.

Interactive? Sure! Click on either of the blocks in the legend above the graph to remove one year or the other and view data for a single year.

Great for: Leadership and development staff