November nonprofit of the month: Renewal House of Danbury, CT November 10, 2010 By Mary Pat Donnellon

We thank David E. Lias, executive director of Renewal House, in Danbury, CT, for submitting this story.

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For the past 12 years, Renewal House has strived to save older homeless men and women in the Danbury, Connecticut, area from a life on the streets. The creation of the shelter was truly a grassroots effort. After the founder formed a board that incorporated Renewal House in 1993, it took five years of hard work before the first resident was admitted to the program.

Renewal House focuses on helping people as young at 58 who want to change their lives. There is no other facility in Connecticut offering transitional housing for older men and women. Over 90% of residents who have completed our two-year transitional counseling and housing program have maintained stable independent living afterward.

GiftWorks helps us to take advantage of opportunities to secure the funds needed for Renewal House to succeed and thrive, and it is easy to recommend to colleagues for a number of reasons:

• It has particularly intuitive operation for the user. This is especially important to Renewal House, which has only two employees to operate the agency.
• It demands minimal time for day-to-day maintenance of donor accounts.
• Functionally it rises to or even above the level of more expensive and elaborate database software.
• The GiftWorks team gives attention to helping nonprofits secure financial support by continuously offering how-to information through webinars, regular emails, and online discussions.

As Renewal House moves to web-based fundraising, we anticipate confidently taking advantage of additional services offered by GiftWorks.

October nonprofit of the month: Idaho Botanical Garden October 11, 2010 By Mary Pat Donnellon

We thank Idaho Botanical Garden for submitting this story.

The Idaho Botanical Garden, in Boise, Idaho, is a nonprofit organization that does not receive operating dollars from city, state, or federal sources. We rely on membership dues and on donations from businesses, corporations, and individuals in our community to operate a beautiful public garden that has become a regional destination.

It is critical that any contributions that we receive are tracked in an efficient and organized manner, and that our fluid communication with our valued donors is documented. GiftWorks has enabled us to organize and maintain necessary and vital information about all of our contacts, as well as improve relationships with those who have made our organization what it is today: a full garden experience for all ages that enhances our community’s quality of life through our plant collections, our educational programs, and our entertainment, cultural, and community events.

Since we converted to GiftWorks,
we have seen a significant increase in our
total membership, sponsorships, and donor base.

We believe that our community deserves to have a hands-on horticultural resource for local students, gardeners, and those who simply love to experience nature. Because of our donors, over 10,000 elementary school students are able to discover and learn about plants and wildlife in an outdoor educational experience each year. GiftWorks allows us to keep in contact with area schools and to spread the word about our educational programs for both children and adults through the simple efficiency of SmartLists and the mailing center. The SmartList feature creates contact lists using a variety of donor criteria that can be easily exported for mass mailings or generated through GiftWorks' own mailing center, allowing organized printing in-house.

Idaho Botanical Garden relies on hundreds of volunteers to maintain the landscape and assist with programs and events. Without our volunteers, we would not have the time or resources to continue our educational programs or cultural events. It is important that we use volunteers productively while giving them a quality experience; however, tracking volunteer hours and abilities can become a hassle when staff size is limited, and details are easily lost without efficient record keeping. The GiftWorks Volunteers add-in is a lifesaver for our volunteer coordinator. Tracking volunteer needs, skills, and hours has never been easier. The ability to create reports based on volunteers hours and skills allows us to use both volunteer time and our staff resources efficiently.

The GiftWorks Volunteers add-in
is a lifesaver for our volunteer coordinator.

GiftWorks fundraising software has benefited our organization by producing enormous results. The most important development since we converted from our previous database software to GiftWorks in 2007 is a significant increase in our total membership, sponsorships, and donor base. In 3 years, the number of Botanical Garden memberships more than doubled because we could better track incoming donations and membership details, easily generate timely thank-you letters, and generate appeal and acquisitions SmartLists for direct mailing campaigns. The rise in sponsor, individual donor, and member response proves that accurate tracking and quick reactions result in a valued connection between the donor and the organization and therefore an increase in contributions.

The GiftWorks team responds to our questions
and suggestions with an honest effort
to make their software the best it can be.

The GiftWorks team responds to our comments, questions, and suggestions with an honest effort to make their software the best it can be. GiftWorks’ upgrades, free webinars, and efficient customer service have all contributed to a great overall experience with our essential donor database.

The Idaho Botanical Garden credits GiftWorks with helping to improve donor relations by offering a better way to track and respond to all of our contacts. Without GiftWorks, we would not be able to reach our goals and provide the valuable educational and cultural resources for the community that we do today.

September nonprofit of the month: 4 Paws for Ability September 14, 2010 By Mary Pat Donnellon

By Anthony Fucito

When Karen Shirk was diagnosed with myasthenia gravis, a condition that causes catastrophic muscle weakness, she required a wheelchair, was constantly in and out of the hospital, and had lost much of the hope she had had in her young life. Multiple service dog agencies rejected her application because she was considered too disabled, until finally she received a beacon of light: her service dog, Ben.

With Ben’s help and inspiration, Karen found a new life and went on to start 4 Paws For Ability, an organization that enriches the lives of people with disabilities by placing highly trained service dogs that provide companionship and promote independent living. Begun in a spare bedroom in Xenia, OH, 12 years ago with just a few thousand dollars, 4 Paws has grown to a $1.6 million organization and has placed 450 service dogs in 40 states since its inception.

4 Paws has set a precedent by providing dogs to those who need them regardless of their age or disability and by ensuring that the dogs are trained with the new owners so they form a special connection.

To support the growth of its hands-on, connection-based training programs, 4 Paws is undergoing a $5 million dollar capital campaign to construct a new training center and veterinarian clinic, where a new program will be launched to provide free service dogs to disabled veterans of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.

This is where GiftWorks Standard and GiftWorks Volunteers come in handy. Karen reports that 4 Paws has used GiftWorks to “manage our donations from private donors and from the families who are raising money for their service dogs. We have a constant flow of checks and donations coming in every day, and GiftWorks has helped us manage this information as well as receipts and thank you letters.”

If you would like to support 4 Paws For Ability or would like to consider obtaining a service dog for a loved one, please contact them at 4pawsforability.org.

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Anthony Fucito recently completed a stint as a marketing intern at GiftWorks and is now continuing his studies in Communications at Millersville University in Millersville, PA.

Nonprofit of the Month: Daystar for Medically Fragile Infants August 10, 2010 By Mary Pat Donnellon

Each month our intern Anthony Fucito highlights one of our GiftWorks customers as nonprofit of the month. If you'd like to be featured, please let Anthony know by emailing info@missionresearch.com.

Office manager Nancy Heath and her diligent colleagues are busy! Their organization, Daystar for Medically Fragile Infants, is wrapping up its biggest fundraiser, the Daystar Derby Party. Few people are available to input information for 400 guests and acknowledge the $140,000 in donations that the event yielded. Fortunately, GiftWorks has been making this seemingly difficult task run much smoother.

Amid the hectic everyday life of a nonprofit organization, Nancy was still able to talk to me about Daystar, our August Nonprofit of the Month.

GiftWorks is a critical tool
for a very special day care center

Daystar takes care of infants and children, age 6 months to 3 years, who cannot go to regular day care centers for various medical reasons. Because Daystar is the only licensed, nursing-supervised, medical day care for this age group in the state of New York, it is faced with a space problem and can host only 10 infants at a time. With saving, fundraising, and perseverance, its supporters hope to be able to double Daystar's capacity and initiate services to older age groups as well.

Daystar has been using GiftWorks to facilitate this effort:

We finally have a system that not only keeps track of our day-to-day donations, but also allows us to keep an abundance of information about our individual donors. It allows us the ability to compare the results of our fundraising efforts year to year. We can group individuals and categorize organizations, donors, and donations in a myriad of ways. I love SmartLists and Reports! We also have a tremendous number of honorary and memorial donations that can be simplified for acknowledgements. Speaking engagements can be kept track of, as well as the results from these engagements. We work with many medical professional organizations and, again, they can be separated out."

While Nancy and all of her peers down at Daystar continue to push forward toward expanding their facilities, they are in constant need of support from both local and global communities. To find out more, go to www.daystarhome.net.

June Nonprofit of the Month: Safe Harbor of Greater West Chester June 5, 2010 By Mary Pat Donnellon

Each month our intern Anthony Fucito highlights one of our GiftWorks customers as nonprofit of the month. If you'd like to be featured, please let Anthony know by emailing info@missionresearch.com.

Safe Harbor of Greater West Chester, PA, is a shelter for homeless people that provides a meal and a safe, secure, and comfortable place to sleep, along with wraparound support to anyone who walks through the door. Its mission is to treat clients with the highest magnitude of dignity, respect, and encouragement while the staff helps them to recover and to turn their lives around during their stay at the shelter.

The folks at Safe Harbor wrote to tell us how GiftWorks supports their mission:

Three years ago, Safe Harbor started a fundraising mission to expand our facility to better accommodate single homeless women in our community. It soon became clear that we needed a database system that could track our current and potential contacts and create meaningful reports to guide our efforts. . . . The database had to be cost-effective, but also powerful enough to manage thousands of contacts and a variety of communication media. GiftWorks was that program.

The ease and efficiency of the program allows us to track and recognize our donors by sending warm and personal thank-you letters. It also allows us to run all kinds of reports and analyses of our donor base.

Equally important to us, given the size of the Safe Harbor staff and the demands on their time, is the fact that GiftWorks Tech Support is always there to help us address any problems or issues. No matter how simple the question, the technical staff responds promptly and with patience and support.

With the current economic turmoil and housing markets troubles, Safe Harbor is always in need of assistance. In addition to donations of money, they value volunteers who can work in the kitchen, teach classes, or help in the office, and they accept contributions of food, clothing, and supplies. To learn more about helping this vibrant and vital part of the southeastern Pennsylvania community, please go to safeharborofgwc.org

GiftWorks Nonprofit of the Month, Healthcare Ministries April 22, 2010 By Steve Fafel

Using Volunteer HealthCare Professionals to Reach the World’s Hurting People

While healthcare issues continue to stew in Washington, grassroots organizations continue striving to provide medical care for those in need. One of these organizations is GiftWorks April Nonprofit of the Month: HealthCare Ministries.

HealthCare Ministries currently has medical outreach teams all over the world, from Haiti to Ecuador, and even as far as impoverished Asian and Eurasian countries. Due to the recent tragedy in Haiti, HealthCare Ministries has had teams back-to-back in Port-au-Prince throughout March, and will continue to do so during the upcoming months. Their clinics are typically comprised of six areas: medical, dental, optical, pharmacy, health teaching and spiritual counseling; they also have special teams just for health teaching and disaster relief.


HealthCare Ministries is a Christian-based medical evangelism organization. Founded in 1984 by Dr. Paul Williams of Lakeland, FL with the Assemblies of God World Missions, their primary focus was to use medical missions as a tool of evangelism. The organization is now based in Springfield, MO.

HealthCare Ministries has been using GiftWorks since 2007; accounting coordinator Holly Cain said that since then, they have enjoyed several benefits.

“We have been able to combine our database of donors and volunteers, compared to before when we had to keep two separate databases. GiftWorks is a much simpler program than our previous one. Previously only two people in the office were able to pull queries, causing information back up. Now, the majority of our staff is on GiftWorks, and can pull the information they need for the project they are working on. Our projects are accomplished more efficiently.”

The organization has recently upgraded to GiftWorks 2010, a move which, according to Holly, has “helped us cut down on the number of duplicates and made our database more manageable.”

HealthCare Ministries also utilizes the GiftWorks Volunteers add-in.

“When creating our list of volunteers for an event, we need to see every contact phone
number they have. Being able to have one report with all the information we need on it has been a big help. We no longer have to add information to the report, leaving less room for error and making us more efficient.”

September 22-24, they are hosting their annual Medical Evangelism Forum which networks churches who are sending their own medical evangelism teams around the world. There is also a pre-forum session September 20-21 that is specific to an RN's role in international medical evangelism. 

HealthCare Ministries can always use the donations, assistance, or prayers of the community. To find out more, go to www.healthcareministries.org.