Bloomerang believes in Habitat for Humanity’s vision of a world where everyone has a decent place to live. That’s why we’re so proud that numerous Habitat for Humanity affiliates nationwide have chosen our donor management software.
Below are just a few thoughts and success stories from organizations just like yours.
Habitat for Humanity of Lincoln is a 501c3 charitable nonprofit organization that brings people together to build homes, communities and hope. We were established in 1988 as by local community members, faith leaders and city officials to address the need for affordable housing.
Habitat for Humanity of Lincoln was looking for a modern, innovative and adaptable donor database that could replace their old basic system. “When I came into my position we had a database that didn’t do much, it didn’t talk to any other products, didn’t give additional reports. It just was. I was looking for something that was adaptable, something that understood fundraising and what fundraisers needed out of their data, and could work with my website,” said Christina Zink, Development Director at Habitat for Humanity of Lincoln.
Christina was originally drawn to Bloomerang because of its seamless integration with their website and ease of use. Since then, she’s come to appreciate the updates made, innovative and helpful features like the Ahern Audit, and continued education and free training options available to all Bloomerang customers on not just the software, but also on fundraising best practices. “Originally, I liked that Bloomerang was compatible with my website and it is so easy to use. But what continued to impress me was the trainings and webinars offered, not just on how to use the system but ways to be a better fundraiser – you have the Ahern test built inside your thank you letter! Plus, Bloomerang continues to evolve, take subscribers’ needs into consideration, and offer new products, some free of charge.”
Bloomerang’s fundraising-focused features have fit nicely into Habitat for Humanity of Lincoln’s donor retention and gift development processes by giving them increased insight into, and the ability to segment, their donor data. “Bloomerang allows me to add a lot of details onto donor profiles so I can segment, target, and thank appropriately. I can add attachments to their profile from the newspaper (birth announcements, obituaries) or notes they wrote us. I love the dashboard with the new reminder to call new donors! I can’t wait to start using donor preview and DonorSearch!”
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ince implementing Bloomerang, Habitat for Humanity of Lincoln has alleviated several fundraising pain points around storing and updating donor data and easily communicating with constituents without needing a separate system. They found the one-stop shop for their development needs and could save money by ditching other software. “After switching to Bloomerang, all of the donations were immediately transposed onto the donor’s profile, one less step! The built in email system allowed me to cancel a separate email program saving us money, plus it tracks the email on the donor profile and still provides analysis. Bloomerang has become more of a one-stop shop where I can store donor information, send out emails, and track volunteer information.”
Christina and the team at Habitat for Humanity of Lincoln have also benefited from using Bloomerang to segment their data and communications to focus on successfully winning back lapsed donors. “Since switching to Bloomerang we have really had a focus on lapsed donors. With the ability to pull a variety of reports, learn more about those donors, and target them appropriately, we’ve seen a number of them return.” In that same vein, Christina has overall benefited from better quality constituent communications and increased productivity since making the switch. “Being able to send communications (email) through Bloomerang has alleviated a large headache. The new templates are great and the ability to test and preview on desktop and mobile make sure we have everything correct before sending it out. We’ve even started an e-newsletter to a specific constituency base and with the analysis we can track the open rate and see who isn’t reading our emails!”
All in all, it’s amazing what an insightful, innovative, and updated donor database can do for the growth of an organization such as Habitat for Humanity of Lincoln. “Bloomerang has it all! And if it doesn’t have what you want, they are probably working on it.”
Habitat for Humanity of Madison & Clark Counties (HfHMCC) is a non-profit, 501(c)3 organization and ecumenical Christian ministry that works in partnership with local families to build simple, decent, affordable housing. The houses are sold to Habitat home buyers at
Since 1992 local volunteers and donors have partnered with 121 Habitat families to build or improve a place called home. Over 100 affordable housing solutions have been built in Berea, Richmond or Winchester. We continue to build or rehab 3-5 homes per year and have a goal to complete 7 home repair projects in 2017. With Habitat you build more than walls, windows, and roofs; Habitat builds strength, stability, and independence through shelter.
Habitat for Humanity of Madison & Clark Counties was looking for an updated, user-friendly donor management system that could help them with reporting and gauging how engaged their constituents are with their mission. “The database we were using was archaic and not conducive to reporting usable information,” said Jennifer Gormley, Fund Development Manager at Habitat for Humanity of Madison & Clark Counties.
While attending the Habitat Global Conference in 2017 and hearing from a lot of affiliates that use Bloomerang and love it, Jennifer was sold. “We were in the process of looking for a new database. I checked Bloomerang out and really liked how easy it is to use.”
Jennifer and her team had finally found the solution they were looking for in Bloomerang. “Bloomerang is very easy to use and I really like the engagement level ‘meter’.” She also likes how easy it is to access the data that’s most important to their organization. “I like the ‘snapshot’ page that comes up when you log in. It also allows you total control over additions, deletions, and changes.”
Habitat for Humanity of Madison & Clark Counties appreciated finding a system that could help them track their constituents’ engagement, and give them better visibility into their donor data. “I’m still learning our donor base. However, the Engagement Level helps me to immediately recognize our better donors.”
Jennifer and her team have also taken advantage of Bloomerang’s free resources, articles, and knowledgeable support team. “Your help desk is fantastic and immediate. I appreciate their thoroughness.”
Jennifer and her team have benefited from better data and have been able to make more informed fundraising decisions. “Because it’s easy to use, and we cleaned up our database, I feel the information we are gleaning from Bloomerang is accurate and accessible.”
The team at Habitat for Humanity of Madison & Clark Counties has also seen improvements in key fundraising metrics since implementing Bloomerang eight months ago. Bloomerang’s reporting functionality gives them the tools and the insight to not only see the data that’s important to them, but also use it to improve their donor retention and dollars raised metrics. “Our key fundraising ‘season’ is October- December. I like that I can easily pick time periods, or zip codes, or donors by dollars given, etc to run reports, and see where we stand.”
It’s amazing what a user-friendly, data-focused tool can do for the long-term growth of an organization such as Habitat for Humanity of Madison & Clark Counties. “From the beginning, the staff has been wonderful to work with and the database is easy to use.”
Habitat for Humanity of Southwest Utah (HFHSWU) was established in May of 1998 and serves Washington County. To date, they have built 21 homes in Washington County and tithed their earnings for construction of another 21 overseas.
“Keeping our donors and volunteers in one specific place, that more than one person can update and view, is huge! No more spreadsheets!”Lil and her team were also able to cut the additional expense of an email program. “No more MailChimp or Constant Contact!”
Now, HFHSWU finally has an all-in-one solution. “Because it is so user-friendly, and the reports are so easy to use, I don’t have to think too much to use them. I see that it will make a difference by keeping track of my donors and making sure I don’t forget key information.”
“We’ve had a great experience with Bloomerang. The software has been very useful for tracking donations, thank you letters and reports. The customer service team has been so prompt and helpful. If we have needed help or had any questions we’ve been able to hit the help button and have received assistance almost immediately.”
David Bieker, Development Coordinator, Kauai Habitat for Humanity