eTapestry's IT management and other features attracts Grand Rapids Metropolitan YMCA

Bob Branch had the go-ahead to spend thousands of dollars on expensive and traditional nonprofit fundraising software.

Just before the Grand Rapids Metropolitan YMCA was expected to sign on the dotted line, the nonprofit's management team changed course in favor of eTapestry, a less expensive Web-based solution that provides the accessibility and accountability that the YMCA needs to mount a $45-million capital campaign.

Branch isn't the only nonprofit administrator who was looking for greater return-on-investment from his donor database system. Since eTapestry was founded in September 1999, it has served 1,200 different nonprofit agencies in North American and Europe. eTapestry also has partnerships with Goodwill Industries International, Inc., the American Baptist Church, the Nazarene Compassionate Ministries and Seventh-day Adventist to serve them and their affiliates.

eTapestry's dominance in Web-based fundraising software has been reported in an independent survey published in the Chronicle of Philanthropy's June 14, 2001 edition. At that time, the survey said eTapestry had 1,000 customers while its nearest competitor had 240 customers.

"We're adding four to five new customers every day," said eTapestry CEO Jay Love. "This is a growth rate that no other company in this industry has seen or enjoyed."

Love, former Master Software CEO, began eTapestry with three other employees of the fundraising software company that was purchased by Blackbaud in 1997. Since starting eTapestry, Love has seen many Internet companies come and go.

"Unlike eTapestry, many Internet companies coming into the market did not think about establishing a customer support and training department and staffing it with people with industry experience," said Love. "Also, we knew if we created something that took all the IT management and legwork out of the picture that the product would fly off the shelf. For many customers, they would have to significantly increase their budgets to pay for the kind of security that eTapestry provides their data."

Branch said IT maintenance was one of his key issues when considering which software to buy.

"The more traditional software had a lot of upfront hardware and software costs with no guarantee for return," said Branch, who estimated eTapestry will save him 40 percent to 50 percent of his total costs over five years. "My IT employee would have to back up the software and manage it if it went down."

With other systems, Branch said once the YMCA bought the system that it was on its own unless it wanted to pay for costly training services.

"When you look at the eTapestry model, it's pay-as-you-go. eTapestry is going to earn my dollar every day, because if I'm not satisfied, I'm under no obligation a month from now," Branch said. "That arrangement gives eTapestry a greater incentive to keep me happy and it gives me a greater level of confidence because we are both sharing the risk of the decision."

About eTapestry
Founded in 1999, Indianapolis-based eTapestry.com is the first Web-based donor database and communications management system that rents its software to customers who access it over the Internet. Nonprofit organizations of all types and sizes using eTapestry.com do not pay the large upfront purchasing costs or the ongoing maintenance and support contracts typically paid in the purchase of more traditional software. For more information, go to www.eTapestry.com.