Customer Story

How Bloomerang Helped City of Good Grow from a Pandemic Response to a Million-Dollar Nonprofit

KEY HIGHLIGHTS

When City of Good was founded in March 2020, it emerged in response to dual crises: a global health pandemic that left restaurant workers unemployed at an unprecedented scale and a disruption to the local food supply chain. Getting started in the midst of COVID-19 also presented organizational challenges to staying organized, tracking supporters, and scaling fundraising efforts beyond just initial quarantines. With Bloomerang’s Giving Platform, City of Good enhanced donor management and fundraising efforts, enabling its transition from crisis response to strategic growth and relationship cultivation. Key achievements include a tenfold budgeted revenue increase to $2.1 million and 4x growth in donor retention to 45%, showcasing the impact of intentional, tech-enabled management. City of Good now fosters collective action to combat food insecurity with 250 active volunteers, a growing workforce, and expanded programming.

CHALLENGE
Enhancing donor engagement for an emerging nonprofit with management tools

Before adopting the Bloomerang Giving Platform, City of Good had no centralized system to manage supporter information and track donor or volunteer engagement. Data was scattered across multiple places, leading to inefficiencies, missed opportunities, and a disjointed donor experience. Donor retention was low at 10%, and inconsistent tracking systems built on spreadsheets hindered strategic growth. The organization struggled with limited insights into donor behavior, making it difficult to understand giving trends and build deeper, meaningful connections. It was clear that without a cohesive solution, the full potential of their mission could never be realized. “We were truly building the bridge as we crossed it,” explained Britt Udesen, Executive Director.

SOLUTION
Cultivating lasting relationships through donor and volunteer management

City of Good turned to Bloomerang’s Giving Platform to strengthen its foundational capabilities and build a roadmap for growth. Now armed with intuitive donor and volunteer management tools, the organization began transitioning from crisis-response to strategic development. City of Good incorporated the Bloomerang platform across its operations—tracking donors, creating custom donation forms, and managing volunteers under one unified system.

One of the immediate priorities was streamlining donor engagement. Bloomerang enabled the team to create personalized, segmented communications that resonated with individual donors while fostering a sense of shared mission. Contributions from donors are now meticulously tracked, ensuring every interaction is meaningful and timely. Improving reporting capabilities empowered the team to analyze trends, better understand donor behaviors, and cultivate sustained relationships. “We are focused on building long-term relationships with individuals, because it’s more reliable than a funding agency or grants,” said Udesen.

“When I came on, City of Good was just a year old and had never sent an annual appeal or tax letter, so I was doing that myself by hand and hoping they were correct,” said Udesen. “This year, we were able to pull thoughtful, segmented, end-of-year and tax statement letters that were correct and easily customizable.”

RESULTS
Improved donor retention and revenue with Bloomerang’s Giving Platform

In just a few years, City of Good has experienced transformative growth. Starting as an organization with $180,000 in annual revenue and one full-time employee, it now boasts seven full-time salaried employees, nine kitchen workers, and five seasonal staff. Their annual budgeted revenue has increased tenfold to $2.1 million.

The impact on programs is equally significant. Originally focused on ready-to-eat meals for children, City of Good now provides multifaceted food security solutions, including delivering fresh, local produce and shelf stable goods to designated school food pantries and supplying meals to vulnerable adults like veterans and medically fragile individuals. These expansions are possible with help from Bloomerang’s Giving Platform, which allows seamless coordination between donor engagement and volunteer efforts.

For its workforce development and food distribution programs, collaboration with volunteers became essential. Using Bloomerang’s volunteer management tools, City of Good tracked over 250 active volunteers, integrating their contributions with donor activities. “We use Bloomerang Volunteer to acknowledge volunteers as donors of their time,” said Udeseen. “We focus a lot on equitable time because volunteers are just as essential as donors.”

Once relying on spreadsheet management, City of Good’s shift to Bloomerang has seen their donor retention rate quadruple, climbing from 10% to 45%. “We weren’t keeping donors when I started because donors were giving as a short-term response to a short-term problem. But food security and sustainability didn’t end when the world opened back up,” said Udesen. “The people we have gained as donors in the last 2.5 years are here for the long haul because they feel invested and we know them well.” The intentional, enduring relationships City of Good is now able to build with its supporters using Bloomerang ensure that their contributions are valued and utilized effectively.

“We recommend Bloomerang’s Giving Platform all the time for ease of use,” said Udesen. “The tools are easy, getting it set up is simple, and it’s visually compelling. We are a bunch of visual learners, so the simple graphics on the dashboard are easy for us to understand and use.” With a combination of grassroots involvement, dedicated volunteers, and a purpose-driven Giving Platform, City of Good proves that sustainable solutions are well within reach, even for a young nonprofit.

“We are focused on building long-term relationships with individuals, because it’s more reliable than a funding agency or grants. We recommend Bloomerang’s Giving Platform all the time for ease of use. We use Bloomerang Volunteer to acknowledge volunteers, and we focus a lot on equitable time because volunteers are just as essential as donors.”

Britt Udesen

Executive Director