If they’ve been around for a while, the club organizers or others in the room will know them.

And truth is it's far FAR more weighted on a person, the personality, vs any company organization or lack there of. 

If you want in the game another very highly productive way to do that is to become an agent then go to work at a CRE brokerage house rub elbows with guys/gals/thems/it that sell this stuff for a living and make 1 mil a year or much more..

One month deposit and written clarification of who will pay for damage and organize the repairs.

What are some simple CRMs that are recommended to stay organized when coming in contact with leads?

I would 100% start attending some local meetups or builder groups.I have always found my partners pretty organically and given your skill set & background I think you bring a ton of value.Investing closer to home and having boots on the ground is always easier to get started.

Fourthly, buy "The California Landlord's Law Book" by an organization called NOLO.

I own a marketing company and a  Non-profit organization for assisting homeless veterans. 

I'm going to implement RUBS, but am looking for guidance on the proper allocation here. 

Or go to a conference sponsored by one of the organizations that does them (PitBull has one in AZ coming up next week), if you want to learn about the lending world.