Success Tag Archive

Why e-Pledge?

Old habits die hard. Though  United Way California Capital Region's  Our Promise  campaign had been using paper pledge forms since 1957, the system was far from perfect. What was already a long and arduous process (distributing and collecting 290,000 paper pledge forms from across the large State of California presented many difficulties in itself) was only highlighted when the pandemic hit. As 80% of the state workforce went remote overnight, the time to go digital was more apparent than ever. 

With the nudge of necessity from the pandemic, United Way California Capital Region (UWCCR) chose Andar Software's e-Pledge solution to offer donors a way to give safely from the comfort of their own homes.

Building e-Pledge 

It was a complex undertaking to switch from paper to digital, and relationship management was crucial to launching e-Pledge. Tabitha Angel, Senior Director at UWCCR, credits a strong relationship with Andar (as well as the State) for helping them get up and running as quickly as possible – in what was an impressive four-month launch! 

As they built out the donor portal within e-Pledge, they wanted to prioritize ease of use and donation. They worked closely with Andar Software developers to customize e-Pledge to suit their requirements, design and specific security needs. "They have really great developers at Andar," says Tabitha. UWCCR decided to offer three different pledge types: a payroll deduction, one-time gift, or a "do not wish to give at this time" option. Though the goal of a campaign is always to raise funds, they never wanted employees to feel forced or pressured to give. Giving this option was a great solution to this situation.

UWCCR decided to keep the pledge section as one page for straightforward use and used hyperlinking and search features to allow donors the flexibility to find the specific nonprofits that they wanted to donate to. They could also accept credit card payment – a huge upgrade from the previous cash or check donation limitation.

Additionally, before e-Pledge, donors never had the ability to update personal information on their account, like a simple change of address. This portal allowed them this important flexibility and the ability to check and track their own donation history.

Giving is as easy as 1-2-3 with e-Pledge

The Results

So, the big question is: was it worth it?

The answer from UWCCR was a resounding yes. And the results speak for themselves. 

Our Promise Final Campaign Stats 

• Raised $5.3 million dollars 
• 28,000 donors, 11% participation rate
• $5 minimum monthly deduction
• Ability to give to any nonprofit of personal choice

Though it was large undertaking upfront, making the move to e-Pledge ultimately played out to be an incredible investment of both time and money. Not only were they able to save money on processing, but also on the pure amount of labor that was previously needed for data entry. e-Pledge also helped take human error out of the equation; the digital system eliminated the occasional mistakes that happen when humans are the ones responsible for data entry. And, to make things even better, the process was an incredible efficiency improvement, drastically decreasing the timeline of processing. 

"We created a better system for us - it was awesome! It saved us so much time and labor and was a huge win for us", says Tabitha.

Thanks to the online shift with e-Pledge, Our Promise is better set up to serve both its donors and employees while continuing their incredible charitable giving work. 

Who
United Way of Midland County, Midland, MI
Fundraising Reach
$5.1 million for local campaigns, $4 million in local Disaster Relief dollar, $2 million in out of area campaigns

Solution
Andar/360

Quickly Adapting to a Pandemic and a Devastating Flood: How United Way of Midland County Processed $11 Million and Signed Up 3000+ Volunteers

Kali Cochran, Director of Investor Relations at United Way of Midland County says that having Andar/360—a highly customizable CRM system—was crucial to adapt and respond to a pandemic and a devastating flood.

Not One Crisis, but Two 

The pandemic took its toll on Midland County, leaving about a third of the state's workforce unemployed. The schools and community program closures left vulnerable students, seniors, and homeless populations without meals. 

In May 2020—with precarious timing amidst the pandemic—heavy rain resulted in catastrophic failures of two dams northwest of Midland. This once-in-500-years flood led to 10,000 Midland County residents evacuating their homes. 

Flood waters tore through a house. Photo credit: The Midland Sun

These two crises created new needs in the most vulnerable populations like never before. Kali says, "we are facing steep increases in health and human services need at the highest level in our generation. At the time of great economic uncertainty, many nonprofits are facing cuts in funding, suspension of revenue-generating programming, and doing more with less. We are committed to ensuring the 56 vital programs through our 25 partner agencies survive and thrive."

When a crisis strikes, United Way of Midland County does not buckle. They rise together because they are built for this.

In 2020, United Way of Midland County's campaign results and volunteer support were remarkable:

• They processed $11 million through Andar/360 in 2020
• They raised $5.1 million for their local campaign, $4 million in local Disaster Relief dollar, and another $2 million in out of area campaigns
• They brought in more than $1.5 million in donated supplies
• They had 3,346 volunteer registrations and more than 2,00 people sign up for volunteer text and alert emails.

So, how did they do it?

"Having all the data and tools in one place is crucial to managing the multiple facets of an effort like that effectively. What we did for the pandemic relief and the flood wouldn't be possible without Andar/360. Andar is so adaptable as a CRM system, so we were able to leverage the tools that we are familiar with and tweak them slightly to create a completely new experience for our corporate partners". 

Kali Cochran, Director of Investor Relations, United Way of Midland County

Volunteer Signups and Driving Donations with Andar/360

"As part of the disaster planning committee for our community, we are responsible for bringing in financial and in-kind donations and recruiting volunteers to assist with disaster relief efforts," says Kali. 

In March, United Way of Midland acted fast. They utilized Andar/360 to create an event registration portal for volunteers, emergency relief pages to process donations, and custom webpages for key companies in the area. They strengthened their corporate sponsorships by managing all COVID-19 donations for Dow, DuPont, and Corteva and tracking and distributing funds from all over the world with e-Pledge. After recruiting volunteers to pack and deliver meals safely, Andar/360 texting made it possible to communicate clearly and effectively while coordinating volunteers. 

Above are two examples of custom webpages to strengthen corporate engagement created by United Way of Midland using e-Pledge.

In May, the flood occurred; United Way of Midland ran two different volunteer websites, one for pandemic relief and one for flood relief efforts. Working with emergency response, they recruited volunteers to help manage emergency shelters and eventually rebuild homes destroyed by the flood. 

The above picture is from a United Way of Midland volunteer sign up page. They dynamically show how many spots are remaining as volunteers signup.

Kali remarks, "having all the data and tools in one place is crucial to managing the multiple facets of an effort like that effectively. What we did for the pandemic relief and the flood wouldn't be possible without Andar/360. Andar is so adaptable as a CRM system, so we were able to leverage the tools that we are familiar with and tweak them slightly to create a completely new experience for our corporate partners". 

With Andar/360, fundraising, volunteer recruitment, and marketing are all in one system. "We were able to communicate to the right person at the right time, and it was critical to respond promptly through both of these disasters," says Kali. 

United Way of Midland used Andar/360 to drive volunteer signups, communicate with and text volunteers, process donations, and strengthen corporate partnerships leading to a year of surpassing campaign goals and mobilizing thousands of volunteers.

Pictured above is a screenshot from the Rise Together Fund page created by United Way of Midland County and powered by Andar/360.

Andar Software Customer Support: A True Partnership

During the demanding time of quickly responding to the pandemic and the flood, Kali says that the Andar/360 Customer Support team was there for her. She says, "Andar as a CRM system is amazing, but your team is also amazing! Your team understands the importance of United Way's work and never hesitates to jump in and help when thousands of people are suffering. When our community needs United Way, you are there for us".

Please join us for an upcoming e-Class. These group trainings will cover:

• e-Pledge Refresher - October 30, 2020 (Register)
• Basic Data Mining - November 4, 2020 (Register)
• Advanced Data Mining - November 10, 2020 (Register)

If you have questions please let us know.

*There is a fee for each e-Class.

Please join us on November 12th, 2020, at 2:00 pm ET in this one-hour webinar to learn how to collect and leverage your donor data to raise more money and better engage with your donors.

This webinar combines Perspectives Consulting's 30+ years of United Way donor research with Andar Software's technical expertise. Perspectives Consulting will show you the four types of data your United Way needs to collect on your donors and why this data is critical to your fundraising success. Andar Software will then show you how to strategically leverage this data to engage your donors and strengthen your relationship with them.

Objectives:
1. Identify the four types of donor data you need to attract and engage your donors based on research with United Way donors
2. Illustrate how Andar/360 can help your United Way strategically engage your donors
3. Explore methods your United Way can use for collecting donor data

Register for free here

Are people starting their pledges and not finishing them? Find out who they are in Andar/360 so that you can follow up with them and send them a gentle reminder.

To do this, go to the main menu in Andar/360 > e-Community > e-Community Reports > Web Access Log Inquiry, and there you’ll see all web activities. Click on the filter button to see the “e-Pledge Abandoned” option. Better yet, add this report to your dashboard using the “Maintenance List” app to have easy access to the data!

Get Details

United Way of Broward County saw a 30% increase in Signature donations ($7,500), a 20% increase in Pillar donations ($5,000), and a 9.5% increase in Alexis de Tocqueville donations ($10,000 and above.) Found out how in this Success Story.

Take Me There

Who
United Way of Broward County, Fort Lauderdale, FL
Population
2,000,000
Fundraising Reach
$18 Million Annually

Solution
Andar MIG (Major Individual Gift)
Function
Moves Management

United Way of Broward County implemented a Moves Management strategy to increase their donations.

It was becoming really hard to manage such a large base of prospect donors, and this United Way knew they had to change how they outreach in order to increase their impact power.

CHALLENGES

There were little strategy and structure behind how United Way of Broward County approached individuals in companies. It was common for them to decide on who to contact, but there wasn’t much data backing up their decision-making. For instance, they were able to see that if only 15% of employees in a company donated, there was the potential for outreach to the remaining 85% of employees, but that was too vague of a number to be strategic. Of that 85%, they didn’t know what level those individuals were and what strategy to use to approach them. They needed to look deeper into their data.

United Way of Broward County also realized that their presentation potential had dwindled over the years. Where in the past they would do fifty or sixty presentations at each company, now they were only going in for the big leadership kickoff meeting — this meant that their in-person reach was much smaller, and they needed a new plan of action for outreach.

"By using Moves Management, we are now strategic about who we have on the database, and the next move that we need to make. It’s keeping us more focused.”

Tony Hopper, VP, Workplace Development, United Way of Broward County

SOLUTIONS

United Way of Broward County implemented Moves Management meetings which they didn’t have before. These meetings occur every couple of weeks, and only once a month during campaign season. During the sessions, they pull reports from Data Mining Operations from Andar and then assign Moves Management lists to managers that can focus on who they are looking at moving through their companies and cultivating.

Thanks to the data in Moves Management, they were able to identify people who were good candidates for in-person events. Instead of sending out an impersonal email blast to the entire database, they concentrated on calling prospective donors from their Moves Management lists to personally invite them. Doing this made their outreach more effective because they targeted individuals who had a high potential of interest. They also used the Moves Management data to identify individuals that were good candidates to speak at events because they had a history of participation and giving.

"Where we used to send out a full email blast to the full database, we’re now using Moves Management to identify prospective donors that we should call to invite them to events. This makes our outreach more targeted and personalized.”

Tony Hopper, VP, Workplace Development, United Way of Broward County

RESULTS

The new Moves Management strategy enabled United Way of Broward County to switch their focus from individual giving to major giving. As an example, they run the report of individuals who give $2,500 or above, and add them to the Moves Management list as “Cultivators,” so that during the summertime even if the campaign isn’t running, they are reaching out to those people to meet with them one-on-one and invite them to events.

They also carefully analyzed what being in the “leadership” level meant for donors and why they donated. This change in focus resulted in substantial growth in their three highest leader levels. They noted a 30% increase in Signature donations ($7,500), a 20% increase in Pillar donations ($5,000), and a 9.5% increase in Alexis de Tocqueville donations ($10,000 and above.)

What’s next for United Way of Broward County? They’ll start using prospecting codes to segment and personalize their outreach, which will maximize their Moves Management process even further.

Download PDF of Case Study

How did this United Way improve the donor experience?

They used their donor data to make smart strategic changes. Watch the full video of Chris Gutterud, Data Systems Manager at United Way of Central Minnesota to get the details.

Watch Now

Transcript of Video

Customer Success Story

Project: Using Donor Data 
Solution: Andar/360, Andar e-Pledge, Andar Texting, Andar i-Attend

Customer: United Way of Central Minnesota, Minnesota, USA
Featuring: Chris Gutterud, Data Systems Manager

Hi, my name is Christopher Gutterud. I am the Data Systems Manager at United Way of Central Minnesota.

What are some of your organization’s challenges?

Our struggles have been kind of interesting over the last year. We’ve had staff turnover, a new CEO, we’ve had slightly declining campaigns, we’ve just had a struggle with the different mediums we use for communication; and for actually focusing on our donor engagement, to get them to want to donate. The numbers were going down so we needed to find a way to turn around and make everything work to a positive and flip this around, to get a better campaign, to provide better communication and understanding to our community of what United Way does.

What changes did you want to make?

To go to three focus areas instead of five. To change the way that we go from a campaign fundraiser to a cause fundraiser, to look at how we are focusing our data on our donors and making that into a priority and organizing all of our ways of knowing how to contact them.

How did you make those changes?

Well the first thing we had to do was, we had to have all of our information in the same place. We used other third-party vendors, Constant Contact, Mobile Cause, Galaxy Solutions for volunteering. We used all these, and they would do their job, but they wouldn’t communicate into the database of Andar. So, the vision was, we’re going to move everything into Andar, we’re going to utilize Andar and use Andar to contact the people better. To have a better understanding of who we’re contacting and why we’re contacting, get real on the donor information that we have, use the data that we have – because we have a lot of data! – but actually use it in ways that we can contact these donors and make it more of a personalized vision.

What was the process like?

Our whole staff had Andar training for a week. Somebody came in and taught the staff the functionality of Andar. That was kind of the first step in getting us to where everyone is utilizing the system. From there we went to creating a lot more dashboards and focusing what we were getting out of Andar in the dashboards and realizing DMOs, automatic letters going out for Thank Yous, just making our processes better. You know, work smarter, not harder.

We have done so many different things. We’ve got the texting module that we can do text-to-give, we just purchased the i-Attend module, we’ve actually done the attendance for events in Andar. We’ve done all these things that we used to use spreadsheets for, that we used to use other third-parties for, and now we’re integrating it all into Andar, and by doing that we’re just making our processes that much smoother, that much easier – and we can do more with less.

How do you manage your events?

Hear how Aness Symons, Associate Director, Communications & Donor Experience at United Way Elgin Middlesex, manages her organization’s events using Andar i-Attend. In the video, Aness goes into specific event examples, including how they manage registration types, attendance reporting, and how they follow up with attendees after events take place.

Watch Video