Anthology Encompass vs. Kindsight iWave

Great for the simpler side of online transactions and not-so-complicated events. Is not as robust as other programs when trying to accomplish complex events (like a Homecoming weekend) that span multiple days and venues. It does require some level of expertise with the system to get the most out of it. It's less WYSIWYG and more coding/customization.

Incentivized

iWave is well suite for gathering a better idea of who you should focus on for major giving efforts. While it gives you a lot of good information, some of that information feels not very important and therefore, clogs up the data you actually need. iWave should not be used for something like direct mail list making. iWave seems to really be focused on the major donor aspect and it is not a tool to be used to help with regular annual giving

Incentivized

• It allows us to create fields as needed.
• Creating an export of data is really easy.
• Merging of records is fairly simple.

Incentivized

• The 360search allows you to do a comprehensive search across the multiple data sources at the same time.
• You can stay organized during your research with the user-friendly and customizable Profiles and Labels.
• The PROscreen ranking system allows you to get a quick snapshot of the alignment of a particular donor with your mission in an easy to read format that can be exported for another colleague with little extra explanation needed.

Incentivized

• User Interface, Clunky appearance.
• Can require deep customization.
• API can be fragile.

Incentivized

• It's honestly tough to say what needs to be improved on a platform that I am a big fan of. The only time I am ever frustrated has more to do with the fact that some individuals are very adept at masking their charitable activities from public databases, and given that iWave can only show you what is publicly documented information I wouldn't consider that a liability of the product... rather it's a challenge of the field.
• Some areas of improvement could include more online filtering and searching of Foundation grant histories. My current workaround is to download the entire grant history as a CSV (another good feature of iWave), and use Excel to sort and filter my results.

Incentivized

It does not have the automation or event tools that we are desperately needing at this time.

Incentivized

Includes nice features like click-through tracking, where an email recipient can click a link and land on a gift or RSVP page with their information pre-filled. Though it requires some back-end customization to really make it hum, in areas like user fields, taking the time to do the work allows for some really neat role-based experiences where certain criteria deliver a different experience to different individuals. However, those fields and roles require manual manipulation instead of automatic attribution.

Incentivized

It is easy to understand and user friendly. Even the upload format for screenings is simple. You are able to alter scoring levels and layers to tailor to your organization's hierarchy. The new color scheme for Kindsight is a bit harder to see but there is workarounds by using an extension within your web browser for that

Incentivized

It is usually up and running.

Incentivized

No integration.

Incentivized

I usually get an accurate response to issues. Your service techs are knowledgeable in how the software works and is set up.

Incentivized

iWave customer support is more responsive than most software platforms I currently use. My requests are always handled promptly, and support is incredibly responsive, friendly, and patient. Plus, I can always get someone on the phone immediately if I need a problem resolved right then and there. In addition to the live and personal support, the iWave knowledge base is frequently update with new content, including video webinars that help you become a more powerful user of the software.

Incentivized

N/A I've only attended webinar training, which is great when you are on live, not so much when watching a recording.

Incentivized

Most are recorded, so questions that arise are not easy to get answered.

Incentivized

Unknown. I wasn't here.

Incentivized

Encompass provides the closest thing to a single-vendor service for many engagement activities. An entity like GiveCampus, while it excels at microcampaigns, is also highly limited to that functionality. Encompass offers Advancement offices the opportunity to manage one API, define a superuser, and extend features on an as-needed basis, customizing them to the user experience.

Incentivized

iWave is affordable, offers current data, and is continually adding new data sources. They are the only product that offers international prospect information, which is helpful as our institution borders Canada. I was impressed when our sale representative went out of his way to teach me about how I could screen Canadian prospects in a way that helped us calculate an estimated real estate value for our prospects. We had no other way of getting this information as Canada does not provide the information publicly like tax assessor offices do in the United States.

Incentivized

• Single solution for multiple options is a positive ROI. Only one vendor needed.
• Other vendors may excel in one area (like events), creating a trade-off between a single user experience and the use of multiple vendors.
• It can easily take in 10X the dollars vs. the annual cost.

Incentivized

• We have consistently been able to increase our annual donations year over year since using iWave. There was an 11% increase just between our last fiscal year and the previous fiscal year.
• Time spent on researching donors has decreased since all of the information needed is on one website rather than searching all over the internet for the information needed.

Incentivized