Challenge

Adam Murray, Director of Development, was struggling with Giftworks’ non-cloud-version and lack of mobile capabilities. He was drawn to Bloomerang’s low-cost and simple design.

Solution

When STMCNC implemented Bloomerang it instantly revitalized Adam’s one-man development department.

“Our ministry is composed of four staff members and my focus is strictly development, meaning I am the only team member who uses Bloomerang. I use Bloomerang for all mailings, contact reports, transactions, end-of-year reports, receipts, thank you notes, and anything else associated with donor relations. The product interface is wonderfully easy to use, whether you work in it every day or once a month.”

Results

Adam loves the versatility that Bloomerang offers.

“I was finally able to access our database while traveling. For example, our old software required me to print out past contact reports as well as contact information for when I went on visits. After our switch, I am now able to call benefactors without even dialing their phone numbers! The constituent thermometer makes it very easy to see how connected each benefactor is.”

“Not only is the product easy to use, but customer service is also fantastic. The Bloomerang Academy offers a free weekly webinar that touches on all aspects of development. Bloomerang caters to every need of the customer!”

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Challenge

Saint Mark’s High School was looking for a cloud-based, user friendly donor database that would be easy for staff to learn and use, but that also had a reliable and knowledgeable customer support team they could lean on when needed. “When I arrived at Saint Mark’s we had a database that no one could manage. We sent staff to trainings and they came back uniformed and simply could not manage the data. When we asked for help issues were put in a queue and were never solved the same day. In some cases it took weeks to resolve the problem. As a result data was not entered, reports were not run or took weeks to generate and even simple thank you letters were delayed or not delivered.

We wanted and needed a database that was user friendly for all and with support that could give us a solution in a timely manner. We also wanted a product that was cloud based, giving us the ability to access our data anywhere at any time,” said Pete Curcio, Director of Advancement at Saint Mark’s High School.

Solution

After getting a recommendation for Bloomerang, Pete was initially drawn to its usability, and data and relationship management capabilities and functionality. “We were involved in a funding program that recommended Bloomerang for not only data management but also relationship management. We found both in Bloomerang. When we got the system we found that everyone could manage the process. We still have dedicated people for specific functions, but truth be told anyone can pick up a process at any time because of the system’s ease of use. On a side note we dropped the funding program but are very glad that we were introduced to Bloomerang because of it.”

The team at Saint Mark’s High School was excited to see improvements with their donor retention and gift development processes by being able to manage and keep better track of their constituent data. With Bloomerang they could gain more power over their data to make more informed fundraising decisions. “We use Bloomerang on a daily basis. In the fundraising world data is king. We have found that with Bloomerang we can generate reports that are beneficial to our donors and Board members, and provide us with the right information to make the right decisions when approaching a donor for a gift no matter what the size. Through Bloomerang we can determine where the donor is in the donor cycle and make the right ask.”

Pete is happy to tout Bloomerang’s ease of use, reporting, functionality, and support as reasons to recommend it as a top donor management system for Catholic-based organizations like theirs. “When I made the switch I did it alone with no help or support. It was basically the administration daring me to make the switch. The changeover was seamless and the benefits to the organization immeasurable. I would encourage any organization to make the switch for ease of use, reporting, functionality and support.”

Results

Since implementing Bloomerang, Saint Mark’s High School has benefited from improved reporting functionality and gaining better access to their data. “Speed and good data have made our lives much easier. When we set up a report we can tailor it to the needs of the donor and the campaign. The program has the flexibility to add and change fields to provide the right data that we need in every situation. We recently ran a campaign and participants wanted different data points throughout the process. By using Bloomerang reports we were able to deliver every time.”

And since increasing their efficiency and gaining better access to their data, Pete and his team have been able to benefit from seeing the big picture when it comes to their donor retention rate and overall campaign progress. “When we begin the year we enter our goals into the system. Thus, on a daily basis we have a snapshot of where we are relative to campaign progress. The donor retention wheel also provides a good picture of where we are with individual donors throughout the year. These are key data points that give us the big picture.”

In addition to high number growth, the team at Saint Mark’s High School has also seen improvements in the quality and frequency of their reporting, data segmentation, and constituent communications. “We now use Bloomerang for all mailing both regular mail and electronic. Each week throughout the school year we send an e-newsletter to our alumni and through the program we can track reads and responses. As a result we are now able to do segmented emails and letters to constituents in our database with ease.”

All in all, it’s amazing what an easy-to-use and innovative donor database can do for the growth of an organization such as Saint Mark’s High School. “The product is great and it has evolved over the years since we began. Keep it going!!”

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Challenge

St. Elizabeth Ann Seton Catholic School was looking for easy-to-use donor management software that could streamline their processes and keep all their data stored in one accessible place. “We had our data in too many places. Every time I wanted to mail or email something, I had to combine spreadsheets and never felt I was including everyone I wanted to,” said Missi Adami, Development Director at St. Elizabeth Ann Seton Catholic School.

Solution

After getting a Bloomerang recommendation from a fundraising consulting firm, Missi agreed that it could be the solution to their donor data challenges. With Bloomerang, Missi also found that her day-to-day development responsibilities could be a little more manageable. “I am able to be much more consistent with my communications which helps our relationship with our donors.”

Missi recommends Bloomerang to other Catholic schools that could benefit from an intuitive system to empower their development decisions. “I do think Bloomerang is a good product for a small development office. It is simple to use if database management is not your strongest suit.”

Results

Since implementing Bloomerang, St. Elizabeth Ann Seton Catholic School has alleviated several fundraising pain points through its reporting capabilities, which in turn has given them the ability to make more informed decisions about their donor data. “Bloomerang streamlined our donor database to one system. It also helps me remember when and how I have communicated with the donor.”

Missi and the team at St. Elizabeth Ann Seton Catholic School have found that Bloomerang fits nicely into their current gift development processes while enhancing what they already have working for them by having an all-in-one system that fits their needs. “Truly keeping my data organized and allowing me to easily communicate with my constituents has been a lifesaver.”

Missi has also been able to see significant improvements in the quality of their constituent communications through segmentation capabilities, as well as increased productivity and efficiency. “Improved productivity and consistent constituent communication have truly made me better able to fill my role as development director. I feel I am able to be more organized and plan in my processes thanks to Bloomerang. I look forward to continuing to improve in this area.”

All in all, it’s amazing what an easy-to-use, fundraising-focused database can do for the growth of Catholic schools such as St. Elizabeth Ann Seton Catholic School.

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Challenge

NUACS did not have a donor database and needed a way to efficiently track their alumni and donors. They were previously using Excel and a separate program to email their constituents.

Solution

When Bloomerang was implemented NUACS saw an immediate impact.

“We use Bloomerang as our alumni database. We originate all of our mass mailings, labels, thank you notes, and receipts in Bloomerang. We also use it to track all of our donations from alumni and friends. In addition, we generate email blasts out of Bloomerang as well as reports for our Board of Directors,” said Sara Rieland, Director of Development and Alumni Relations.

Results

“We believe we are reaching more alumni through email blasts sent via Bloomerang. It is especially nice that you can see, by the donor, all correspondence sent to them.”

“We have greatly increased our productivity in that we can easily email blast any communication via Bloomerang. In addition, we can easily generate reporting to assist in our mailing (we can use filters to identify a certain mailing group, then send that Excel report to our print to directly print labels. This has saved us a lot of time!)”

“Bloomerang makes donation tracking very easy. It also makes all mailing functions fast and efficient. Their support is also top-notch! No waiting on hold for someone to help you, your questions are answered instantly!”

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Challenge

Bellarmine Preparatory School was looking for flexible donor management software to help them with donor outreach and engagement. “Our primary challenge with our old system was the inflexible nature of producing reports and lack of linkage to our electronic method of engagement and solicitation of many of our donors,” said Dean Hanks Vice President of Development at Bellarmine.

Solution

Setting up a donor database solution with Bloomerang looked appealing to Dean and his team. They were initially drawn to the system’s accessibility and intuitiveness. “From the outset, Bloomerang was a more accessible and intuitive system that our entire team could use more capably. We have been able to produce reports quickly and easily with consistent and accurate data outcomes, and our ability to reach our donors linking Bloomerang to electronic platforms has been seamless. The ability to access all of Bloomerang’s applications on multiple devices was particularly appealing.”

After choosing Bloomerang, the team at Bellarmine hasn’t looked back. “We are very pleased with our switch to Bloomerang, and we even have the President of our school easily and directly adding his donor engagement notes to the donor record immediately after his visit. This is something he did not do when we were with Blackbaud because of how complicated and cumbersome the process was.”

Results

Since implementing Bloomerang, Bellarmine Preparatory School has alleviated several fundraising pain points. They now have a central system to house and easily report on all of their donor data. “The primary remedy that Bloomerang provided for our entire team was the ability to easily and effectively access data for donors and easily create and produce reports for analysis and review.” They have also been able to focus more time and energy on improving the quality of their constituent communications. “The immediate impact has been felt in that each team member can more easily review donor information and engage donors more effectively.”

Bloomerang has also fit nicely into Bellarmine’s donor retention and gift development processes. “With more than 10,000 registered alums, we are constantly striving to enhance our electronic communication with them to keep them informed of what is happening in their school and how they can help us achieve our mission. Bloomerang gives us the tools to seamlessly and effectively stay in contact with our donor base and effectively track their level of support and involvement.”

In a nutshell, the team at Bellarmine is confident in its ability to retain more donors and raise more money through engagement. “We are confident that by better measuring the quality and frequency of how we engage our donors it will most certainly affect our donor retention percentages and our overall dollars raised.”

It’s amazing what a user-friendly, donor engagement-focused tool can do for the growth of an organization such as Bellarmine Preparatory School. “If you desire a database management system that is open, flexible, user friendly and still provides high-quality donor records and provides for more effective interaction, then Bloomerang is what you should consider.”

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