Telzio provides business phone services for nonprofits, along with special monthly discounts that are easy to apply for. Learn about nonprofit phone systems from Telzio, and how to get discounts on phone service for nonprofit organizations.
VoIP Phone Systems for Nonprofits
The best thing you can do with your nonprofit phone system is to upgrade from using traditional phone service to a business VoIP service. There’s a wide range of benefits in doing so, namely the cost benefits and added features.
In this article, you’ll learn about what those benefits are, how Telzio benefits non- and for-profit organizations, and how to get special pricing on phone service for your nonprofit.
VoIP provides the opportunity for nonprofits to utilize dozens of business phone system features used by enterprises - even on a tight budget.
Here are just 10 of the many VoIP features that can be implemented today.
1. Web User Interface
Before we dive into all the other features, we have to mention the web interface aspect. Using VoIP moves everything online, which means services are more easily managed. Managing the entire VoIP phone system can be done remotely from any location, including setting up desk phones.
Telzio Call Flows make it simple for anyone to design an inbound call routing system, with professional features like auto attendants, call queues, user extensions, and more. The Call Flow makes it a visual experience, where you can click and drag options that tell the system how to handle an incoming call.
For example, the start of the Call Flow can be a business hours filter. During open hours, the system will route calls in one direction, and during closed hours the system will route calls in a different direction… like to a voicemail.
2. Automated Attendant
An auto attendant is a professional way to greet your callers, and works 24/7/365 to route incoming calls. You can customize a greeting, and allow callers to press corresponding numbers on their dialpad to be connected to the right place.
The auto attendant can be used to provide information to callers, reducing the time staff has to spend answering common questions over the phone.
The auto attendant also acts as a spam blocker to filter out robocalls, and serves as a sort of gatekeeper that prevents annoying calls from reaching your team members.
Related: How to Create an Auto Attendant in 5 Steps
3. Toll Free Numbers and Hotlines
Nonprofits can easily set up toll free numbers and manage hotlines with a VoIP system. Whether it’s a 24/7/365 help hotline or an annual telethon fundraiser, Telzio provides the reliability and flexibility needed for a nonprofit phone system.
Child & Family Services of NW Michigan turns to Telzio every year for their telephone fundraiser. Not only does Telzio help them secure a local vanity number, but it also enables them to accept donations over the phone (more on that below).
"This is a great company and service! Great customer service, great phone service and connectivity, easy and user friendly call flows, and stellar prices compared to other providers we have researched. Thank you Diana and our friends at Telzio!"
- Amanda Elliot, Marketing & Development Specialist
When it comes to permanent campaigns such as crisis and help hotlines, a VoIP phone solution from Telzio is as reliable as it gets. Telzio customers include emergency police dispatchers, ambulance services, and hospitals. Even when your phones are out of power or the internet connection is down, there are ways to ensure your nonprofit’s phone service continues operating.
Related: How to Set Up a Nonprofit Hotline in 3 Steps
4. Time-Based Call Routing
Time-based call routing enables you to create business hours, holiday hours, and schedules for different teams. Incoming calls are then routed to the appropriate party depending on the time and day.
For example, you can set calls on weekdays to go to person A, and calls on weekends to go to person B. You can get even more granular with schedules, so that, for example, calls on weekdays between 8 am to 12pm go to person A, and calls after 12pm go to person C.
In addition to scheduled call routing preferences, employees can also manually enable do-not-disturb during breaks as desired.
5. Mobile App
VoIP enables workers to be able to continue using a physical office phone, and it also adds the convenience of being able to use computers and mobile devices. The Telzio Mobile App provides powerful calling functionalities such as:
- hold,
- transfer,
- mute,
- record,
- conference, and
- company directory.
With a computer, workers can simply log into the Telzio website to use the webphone. The webphone is a virtual phone that’s built into the browser, so there’s nothing to install or download.
The mobile app and the webphone make it easy to support remote workers and volunteers. For heavy phone users who may prefer a desk phone, VoIP provides remote flexibility as well. A VoIP desk phone can be used from any location that has an internet connection.
Related: Beginners’ Guide to Understanding VoIP Phones
6. Voicemail to Email
Voicemail to email is an extremely convenient feature that saves a lot of time, not just because you can access all your voicemail in your email inbox, but also because the voicemails are transcribed as text. Voicemail transcription means that you can read the text of the audio directly in your email, and get the message without having to play and listen to it.
7. Customized Caller ID Name
Telzio provides a feature called CNAM, or caller ID name, which enables you to customize the caller ID name that is displayed when you call out from your nonprofit phone numbers. This provides branding benefit as well as a practical element if you are calling potential donors, so they know it’s your organization calling.
8. Unlimited Users
With a VoIP solution, you no longer need physical phone lines for each employee. You simply need to create a User for them on the VoIP phone system. Most VoIP services and SaaS providers in general charge customers on a per-user basis. However with Telzio, all users are included at no additional cost. This is significant for nonprofit phone service, as it provides the ability to scale at minimal cost, and easily add/remove users as staffing changes.
Related: Why you shouldn’t pay per user for a VoIP phone system
9. Texting
Text messaging is an integral part of daily life, and more organizations are adopting an SMS communication strategy for reaching the communities they serve.
LIFT Communities is one national NPO that uses Telzio business SMS services to keep in touch with families. With the Telzio app, mentors can call and text from any location, while keeping a separate Telzio line on their cell phone. It's easy to see when a work call comes in versus a personal call because the work call comes through the Telzio app. With this mobile flexibility, mentors can continue to serve their mission, even when they're away from their desks.
In addition to one-on-one texting conversations, incoming text messages to the main phone number can also be set up to go to one person or to a group.
10. Pay-by-Phone
One of the other benefits of using VoIP for nonprofit phone service is the ability to easily integrate a pay-by-phone feature. The Telzio - Stripe integration enables such a capability, and takes seconds to implement with an existing Stripe account.
You can use the feature to securely accept donations over the phone. The caller enters their payment information via their dialpad, so the staff member never has to collect or handle any personal information.
Explore more features from Telzio.
Discounts on Phone Service for Nonprofits
Telzio provides generous monthly discounts on nonprofit phone systems to organizations that provide social and environmental services to the greater community. At a reduced rate, your organization can get full access to a robust, cloud telephone service platform.
Visit Telzio.org to learn more, or email nonprofits@telzio.com .
Getting Started with a Nonprofit Phone System
Setting up a complete nonprofit phone system is easier than you think. Before you get started, you can familiarize yourself with the steps so you’re prepared for a smooth transition.
- Phones. Decide what type of phones you want to use. You can always get started with the mobile app and webphone, and eliminate the cost of purchasing IP phones. If you already have IP phones, you can most likely use them with Telzio.
- Phone numbers. You can port your existing numbers over to Telzio, with no interruption in your phone service. It takes about a week for the porting process, and in the meantime you can preconfigure your services with the temporary number given to you during the trial period.
- Call Flow. During the free 30 day trial, you can set up your users and Call Flows. Telzio gives you a free local or toll free phone number to test with, so you can make sure everything is working as intended before starting the number porting process.
Want to learn more? Request a 10-minute, personalized demo of the Telzio platform.