How Harvesters Reaching the Nations Optimized Fundraising with Bloomerang
Harvesters Reaching the Nations has been at the forefront of transformative change in South Sudan through its commitment to nurturing the lives of orphans, providing quality education, spreading the gospel through churches, and offering medical care in one of the world’s most challenging environments. Megan Thompson, the organization’s Director of Development, leads the organization’s fundraising and sponsorship programs and has spearheaded the integration of Bloomerang to help elevate donor management and fundraising strategies.
The challenge
Harvesters Reaching the Nations struggled with their former CRM system, eTapestry. As functionality progressed with newer CRM systems in the marketplace, eTapestry remained stagnant. After doing some research, we became aware that the parent company of eTapestry was investing in its next-tier CRM system and would not be improving the functionality of eTapestry. This left Harvesters stuck managing an antiquated system that caused a lot of inefficiencies for our staff. Specifically, it lacked the ability to integrate with tools like Constant Contact, Quickbooks, and fundraising platforms like Qgiv, which led to a lot of manual data entry. “We were manually entering far too much information by hand,” Thompson noted. Even worse, a data breach exposed the system’s outdated security, underscoring the need for a modern solution. “Our final straw was the data breach,” Thompson disclosed.
The solution
In seeking a new donor management system, Thompson focused on security, seamless integration, and ease of use: “Coming on the heels of that data breach, we needed to know our data was secure.” Their search also focused on compatibility with their existing tools.
With its user-friendly design and customization, Bloomerang has helped to streamline Harvesters’ operations, making report generation straightforward. “It doesn’t take a rocket scientist to build reports,” Megan quipped.
The ability to sync data seamlessly from Qgiv has helped to streamline fundraising processes, enhancing efficiency and donor engagement. This has enabled Thompson to manage donations more efficiently, reducing administrative overhead and improving the donor experience.
TrueGivers—included with Bloomerang—continuously updates the organization’s mailing lists, saving a lot of money and reducing printing waste and postage for outdated addresses. As Megan noted, this “little thing that turned into a big thing” substantially improved operational efficiencies and resource allocation.
Thompson has found the Bloomerang mobile app to be an invaluable tool that not only saves time but also enhances her ability to connect personally with donors. She recalled forgetting a piece of information, ”I just went straight to my phone and pulled up that information. I love the mobile app!”
Highlighting Bloomerang’s overall ease of use, Thompson shared, “I always tell people, it’s like using your iPhone. Anybody can hop on Bloomerang and understand what they’re seeing.”
The results
After adopting Bloomerang, Harvesters Reaching the Nations saw transformative outcomes. “Bloomerang helped us maintain our already exceptional donor retention rate at around 80%,” Thompson observed, reflecting on the organization’s robust donor base. “Because of its ease of use, we can focus on what we do best.”
A notable achievement was the increase in major gifts, crucial for their mission’s expansion. “[Major gifts] for us are gifts over $5000; those gifts were up 73% over three years,” Megan shared, showcasing the significant impact on their operations and outreach. Despite challenges, unrestricted income grew by 25% over three years, underscoring the resilience and effectiveness of their fundraising strategy.
“[Major gifts] for us are gifts over $5000; those gifts were up 73% over three years,”
What’s next?
Thompson is particularly excited about integrating Constant Contact, aiming to streamline communications and increase efficiency. Another focus is customizing and building a more personalized and effective workflow, with Thompson keen on tailoring the Bloomerang experience to fit her team’s unique needs. “We’re starting to learn more about customization features on the dashboard.” she shared.
Megan also values the community aspect of Bloomerang, actively contributing feedback for ongoing product improvement. “I do make some suggestions, or I go in and vote for others,” she mentioned, showcasing the ability to engage proactively with the platform’s development team.
“I always tell people, it's like using your iPhone. Anybody can hop on Bloomerang and understand what they're seeing.”
Donor retention
In major gifts
In unrestricted income
