GiftWorks Stories May 27, 2009 By Mary Pat Donnellon

Over the last few years, we have heard many stories about how GiftWorks has made a difference for all kinds of nonprofit organizations.  When we're as busy as we are, we sometimes neglect to share them with each other and with you.  So yesterday we started a contest for our customers where they can share their GiftWorks stories and perhaps win software for themselves and another organization they care about. 

Here is the very first entry in our contest.  It's a great story and I can't wait to read and share more. Thanks to our friends at World Medics in Loma Linda, California for responding so quickly and passionately!  Enjoy!

"Fundraising research tells us that there are three things that donors want from the charities they support-timely acknowledgment, assurance that their gift was used as they directed and knowledge that their gift made a difference. Giftworks makes it easy to do all three.  Small charities need efficiency just as much as large ones do. Efficient communication and timely responses to donors keeps them on board with their support.

Once the gift is made, Giftworks makes it easy to write donor thank you letters and issue charitable receipts. Because the core of Giftworks is the donor database creating mailing lists for newsletters and other communication is easy.

Even the accounting and bookkeeping that are essential to meet board and donor expectations as well as  the annual IRS 990 oversight reports can been integrated with Giftworks. The bottom line is that it doesn't take a huge executive staff and a bunch of accountants in cubicles to make even small 501 (c)(3) organization run smoothly.

World Medics operates with a small budget and several hundred donors. When the shift was made to Giftworks a volunteer took over a paid secretary/treasurer position saving several thousand dollars that had paid for a stipend. The money saved was used to support the purchase of food processing equipment for a school in Kenya, pay the salaries of several teachers in Thailand, buy a satellite dish for a school in Mozambique and subsidize the dental education for students in the Philippines among other projects. Money saved on administrative functions just made the organization better at helping people.

Donors give, the charity does what it says it will do. Only the charity knows that Giftworks makes it possible."

-Maynard Lowry, World Medics

A New Partnership for GiftWorks: Arkansas Coalition for Excellence May 21, 2009 By John Walker

We are extremely pleased to announce that Mission Research has become an endorsed member of Arkansas Coalition for Excellence (ACE), the state nonprofit association of Arkansas. ACE, based in Little Rock, is dedicated to promoting nonprofit success in Arkansas.

 

ACE joins twelve other state nonprofits associations who recommend GiftWorks fundraising software to their members. These organizations include the Pennsylvania Association of Nonprofit Organizations, New York Council of Nonprofits, Colorado Nonprofit Association, Hawai'i Alliance of Nonprofit Associations, N.C. Center for Nonprofits and Connecticut Association of Nonprofits. All of these organizations are nonprofit leaders in their states and we are honored to work with them.

Whether you are a nonprofit, consultant, or just someone who cares about the nonprofit sector, please consider joining your state nonprofit association. For information on what your local state nonprofit association may offer, please visit The National Council of Nonprofits where you can find links to your local state associations.

 

"Champions of the Common Good" Meet in South Carolina May 4, 2009 By John Walker

Nonprofit organizations are "champions of the common good" says Tim Delaney, President and CEO of National Council of Nonprofits in his speech to members of South Carolina Association of Nonprofit Organizations (SCANPO) at their 12th annual meeting last week in Spartanburg, South Carolina. Mr. Delaney's talk was one of several memorable sessions at this three day meeting.

For the GiftWorks team, this meeting was a great chance to connect with South Carolina nonprofits and talk with them about GiftWorks. As a preferred partner of SCANPO, GiftWorks is one of the products that SCANPO recommends to its members. 411 SCANPO members were in attendance.

 

Another highlight of the meeting was a workshop by Tom Ralser of the Capital Strategists Group. Tom preaches the "investment driven model" of fundraising which says that money given to an organization should be regarded as an "investment" for which a return is expected rather than a gift which has no expectations attached to it. He goes on to teach organizations that they need to show their donors both the outcome that their "investment" made possible as well as the ultimate value to the community of that outcome. That is the key, he says, to winning and keeping donors.

I would like to extend my thanks to the SCANPO team, particularly Beth Singletary (Director of Finance and Administration) and Mason Hardy (President), for pulling off a great meeting! For more on the South Caolina Association of Nonprofit Organizations, please visit their website.www.SCANPO.org.