AFP, the Windy City, and More March 17, 2011 By Steve Fafel

It has been a long cold winter here in Lancaster, PA.  There was snow on the ground for most of the winter, plenty of cold weather, and a good mix of snow, ice, and rain.  I think it's about time I treat myself to a warm getaway.

So, off to Chicago I will go.  I just checked the 10-day forecast and it looks great!  Ok, not great - rain every day and temperatures in the 40's and 50's.  But nevertheless, I am excited to get there...and it's more than the weather.

This Sunday, March 20th through Wednesday, March 23rd I will be joining thousands of other attendees, exhibitors, and speakers as we gather for the 2011 Association of Fundraising Professionals conference entitled "Perspectives for Your Profession".  It is a great opportunity to meet nonprofit professionals from across the country and around the world and to see how our team and GiftWorks might continue to be a valuable contributor to the nonprofit community.  The annual AFP conference is a great place to have initial introductions, meaningful conversations, the sharing of ideas, and the ability to rub shoulders with others in the nonprofit world.

This year, I am not going alone.  Jonathan Leaman, a long-time member and software developer on the GiftWorks team, will be going as well.  He is looking forward to asking a lot of questions about what can assist nonprofits and their fundraising needs...and how GiftWorks can help.

While I am there, I am going to try and get a one-on-one meeting with Queen Latifah or President Clinton.  I'm not sure I'll be successful.

So, if you are headed off to warm and sunny Chicago and the AFP conference, be sure to come and say "hi" to us at booth 248.

You’re a GiftWorks user and you haven’t joined the GiftWorks User Group on LinkedIn? January 27, 2011 By Steve Fafel

Here are 10 reasons you should!

10.    2,006 members can’t be wrong (maybe even more).

9.     Peer to peer, in-the-trenches advice.

8.     Access to consultants, users, and GiftWorks staff – experts all around.

7.     Community – be a part of something larger.

6.     Early information on free webinars, training, specials, and more.

5.     Answers from all walks of life – many different viewpoints and techniques.

4.     One stop for all the latest GiftWorks news and events.

3.     Learn where others in the nonprofit world are focusing their time.

2.     The GiftWorks team follows the LinkedIn group to know what users want in new product functionality and upgrades.       

1.     Consultant Duke Speer looks good in a tux.   Join the GiftWorks User Group and take a look.

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To join the GiftWorks User Group on LinkedIn:

• create a LinkedIn account
• search for the GiftWorks User Group
• click the "Join Group" button

 

Happy New Year - from the GiftWorks team December 30, 2010 By Steve Fafel

On behalf of everyone on the GiftWorks team, we want to wish you a joyous and prosperous 2011.  We count it a privilege to be able to create and deliver powerful and affordable software to nonprofit organizations across the United States and around the world.

2010 was a great year for GiftWorks and our entire team.  We surpassed 11,000 customers who have discovered GiftWorks, 1000 consultant partners who help us deliver GiftWorks to nonprofit organizations, and donated over 600 GiftWorks licenses to needy organizations through our partnership with TechSoup.  In addition, we launched our new website, www.giftworksconnect.com and released another great upgrade, GiftWorks 2011, which launched in September with new and improved features.
 
As we move into 2011, we have some changes on the GiftWorks team that we wanted to let you know about.  Mary Pat Donnellon, our CEO since 2008, has moved on to new opportunities and we are grateful for all that she did to help GiftWorks and our team grow.  Steve Fafel, our former CTO, has assumed the role of General Manager and will lead the growth and development of GiftWorks and our supporting products. 

To our GiftWorks customers...thank you so much for the time you spend and the effort you put forth to make a difference through your organization.  Our hope is that GiftWorks can continue to play a part in 2011 helping you accomplish your mission.  Please let us know how we can enhance or improve GiftWorks so that it can continue to be a valuable tool in your organization.

To those of you who are considering GiftWorks for your nonprofit organization...we hope that you have all the information you need to make the best decision about your fundraising management and the software that helps you.  We hope you've taken time to download the trial or attend a tour or watch a few videos.  As we begin 2011, do not hesitate to contact one of our sales people to talk about how GiftWorks can help.

To our vendors and partners...thank you for helping us empower the organizations that use GiftWorks.  You play an important role in doing good throughout the world.  Never underestimate the effect we can have on the world through working together.

As we enter 2011, we are excited and passionate about improving GiftWorks and introducing new organizations to the power which GiftWorks provides...and together, doing good.

Start using our new website! September 29, 2010 By Mary Pat Donnellon

We've been working hard on our GiftWorks website makeover. We definitely like our new look, and we have heard from many of you that you do to!

At the end of October our old website at www.missionresearch.com will be redirected to our new website, www.giftworksconnect.com. The new site is organized a bit differently, but all the popular resources are being brought over.

One big change will be our online store. It's currently in the makeover studio and will emerge as a new, beautiful, easy-to-navigate storefront by November 1.

Please take a moment to check out www.giftworksconnect.com and share your feedback!

Check Out Our New Website! May 23, 2010 By Mary Pat Donnellon

If you have clicked through to read this blog in its entirety, you are seeing our new GiftWorks website: www.giftworksconnect.com.  As I have described in prior posts, we hope our new look and new site reflect who we are: Energetic, Committed, Knowledable, Caring, Friendly and Open folks dedicated to serving the nonprofit sector with simple, powerful fundraising software.

Our "old" site is still in existance, and will be for a while (www.missionresearch.com).  There are more advanced resources on that site for our current customers, and we will be migrating these tools over to the new site throughout the next few months.

For prospective customers, we are hoping you can find most everything you need to know on www.giftworksconnect.com, and that you get a better sense of our spirit and purpose. 

Everyone: Please do share your feedback on the new site - we want it to work well for you and count on you to let us know where we are succeeding and where we could be better! 

 

Mission Research Closes $2 million Series B Investment from Triple Bottom Line Ventures March 24, 2008 By Steve Fafel

Wow! So we have quite a story here. Last year I had a great talk with Mark Finser of RSF Social Finance (Rudolf Steiner Foundation) at the Social Venture Network members meeting in April. He had said we should keep talking because he was moving on to create a new venture firm focused on social entrepreneurs, and he was very impressed with what we do here.

In October I met the rest of his team from TBL Capital, one of whom is Joe Marshall, who served as the lead on our deal. Our values are aligned, the price of the capital was right, and the timing was perfect, because we were ready to grow given the new release, rapidly expanding customers base, etc.

Fast forward to about 4 weeks ago: we closed the deal in about 3 months from seeing the first version of the term sheet! That's actually very fast, and we're thrilled to have them on board. And we've been so busy since then we didn't even have time to make the announcement!

So what's patient capital? And what does this mean for GiftWorks customers?

Patient capital is just that--investment that is patient about the outcome of the investment. It's capital that invests in companies, not just opportunities; in people, not just deals. The triple bottom line stands for the elements of sustainability: people, planet, and profit. Each is important to the company, and to the investors, making us mission-aligned. It means they aren't looking to flip the company with a quick payout, and that the company may in fact never sell to another company. That doesn't mean investors won't get a great return, it just means that the primary driver is not immediate return on capital. And even if the company does sell someday, it will sell with its values, customers, and software intact.   

So for customers this is great news: we get to invest more in support, in broadening our product lines, and in customer education. We'll be able to handle our growth more smoothly. We'll be a stronger company, and invest more in R&D. In fact, that's where I'm spending the bulk of my time now, while Mary Pat Donnellon runs the Nonprofit Division.

So when you're making decisions about what company you want to buy software from, keep in mind that we're not just verbally committed to social responsibility, great products, and great people, we're actually structurally committed. And we hope that shows in the care we put into the product features, design, customer support, education, and all of our interactions with you.

We're thrilled to have you as customers. And we're thrilled to have TBL Capital join our efforts to improve the world through affordable, well-designed technology, Because our mission is to support your mission.

Upcoming News from Mission Research March 14, 2008 By Steve Fafel

I heard from Pat Weaver back in January, who runs our consulting program, that one of her consultants heard that we were being acquired. By one of our competitors that charges a lot more than we do. And I was startled to hear that, because it didn't come from us, which means someone else said it.

Because we're not being acquired, we're growing, we're investing in new features and improvements, we're expanding our support, we're building out our dev team, and we're the fastest growing software company serving nonprofits, hands down. The only company with more customers is Blackbaud, which is quite happy to charge them an average of $40,000 per installation. And that's not something we want to be a part of.

We do have some news: product news, company news, and partner news, each significant and big in its own way. This is the place for GiftWorks and Mission Research news. Stay tuned.   

End of Year: Planning for 2008 December 27, 2007 By Steve Fafel

My wife and I had a really great break for our first Christmas--we saw lots of friends and family, had a lot of fun shopping in downtown Lancaster (buy local!), and ate an inappropriate amount of rich food. But I tend to think about Mission Research even on breaks, and have been working on the 2008 plan in my head, on paper, and on the computer.

Planning for 2008 has been both challenging and exciting. It's challenging because we have so much we need to do, plus the things we'd really like to do but can't. It's exciting because the process of planning has led me back to the origins of the business, and I've been thinking a lot about our values, vision, and original goals, and the gap between that and reality. The planning should help close that gap, and shape the vision for the future.

Our planning process is led by me but it will be a group process spanning several weeks. We have a general plan & goals--shipping a significant upgrade, releasing an exciting new product, and improving every part of the company--but in the process we've learned we should change the way we do some things, the way we measure our efforts, and the way we plan and execute. It's not easy work, but it's worthwhile.

Do you have a 2008 plan? How do you go about planning? For me, it's this: review mission, values, and long-term goals, and use that to inform determining 2008 goals, the plans to get there, and the resources and roles needed to support the plans (we have multiple departments, whose plans will work together for the master plan).

We'll also look at communications, work environment, professional development, etc and weave those into the larger plans. It sounds like a lot but with focus the outcome should be solid and fairly simple.

Wish me luck, and let me about your planning process!

The Christmas Break December 22, 2007 By Steve Fafel

Mission Research closes down for Christmas Eve, Christmas Day, New Year's Eve, and New Year's day. The online store is available, but support and sales phones and email are not monitored during these days.

The company will be open the 26th through the 28th, then again on January 2nd, 2008. We're looking forward to serving you for yet another great year!

2008 will bring new products, upgrades, and some exciting learning opportunities. Keep in touch, and stay safe over the holidays. We truly appreciate your business, your feedback, and the good that you do in the world. It bring sall of us at Mission Research tremendous joy and satisfaction to be part of enabling you to serve your mission better.

Thank you for all you do.

Charlie Crystle
CEO & Co-founder
Mission Research

Have a great thanksgiving! November 21, 2007 By Steve Fafel

We are closed Thursday and Friday this week to spend time with our families. Tonight I'm working on a pumpkin pie--my second! Traditional--pumpkins my wife Amy grew, raw whole milk, organic eggs, yadda yadda. Goodness all around.

I'm thankful this year for a lot of things and people. With respect to Mission Research, I'm thankful for our customers, who are so varied and interesting, demanding in the right ways, and loyal to what we're trying to do for the nonprofit sector; I'm thankful for all of the people I work with, from the product team to sales and support, to the administration and of course the folks in marketing. We have a truly good set of people organized around an important mission--supporting your mission.

So this year I have lots to be thankful for. Including my marriage, which started in September, and which is beckoning me back to the kitchen to prep the pie.

Have a good weekend, folks, and stay safe.