Small group grows with help from web-based tool

Maureen Macdonald's nonprofit, Moonlight Cultural Foundation, was without phone service for a month after it moved offices.

A corroded line kept the foundation's frustrated staff of two from operating a fully functional office to support the efforts of the Moonlight Stage Productions, an outdoor theater and an indoor playhouse run by the City of Vista in California.

Cell phone service didn't reach inside her office, forcing the executive director and her assistant to brave the elements to talk to donors and vendors. But technology woes didn’t stop the checks from pouring in during the nonprofit's annual patron drive.

"Fortunately, technology issues did not keep us from getting our jobs done," Macdonald said. At night, Macdonald accessed eTapestry, her Web-based donor management system, from her home Internet connection to keep up with recording and managing donations. "It was wonderful. Having access to databases through the Internet was the greatest thing ever developed. We thought we would lose gifts this year and our budget would be impacted due to this uncommunicative time, but we ended the year with a small profit," Macdonald said.

When she began searching for a donor database system four years ago, Macdonald said a Web-based system was not even on her mind. As a hospital foundation veteran, she had used Fund-Master as her donor database management system. A colleague told her that management team members from Master Software Corp., the maker of Fund-Master, had founded eTapestry.

Macdonald also discovered that eTapestry was providing their base service free to organizations with fewer than 500 records.

"That was the big decision-maker right there—not having to make a big purchase to get started," Macdonald said. "Why not try it? I think it's great, and eTapestry is maintaining it all. I don't have to worry about it."

Since eTapestry opened its doors in 1999, it has assisted many small nonprofits with a very economical way to manage their donor and gift records. With a minimal investment for training and support services, and the base service still offered free to groups with fewer than 500 records, eTapestry gives nonprofits the professional tools that would normally costs thousands of dollars to purchase and maintain.

"It's a mutually beneficial program," said eTapestry COO Steve Rusche. "It certainly helps the smallest nonprofits gain access to high-quality tools for managing their operations at little expense. There is no large upfront purchase of hardware or software needed. Just a small investment in training and support and they can be successful. eTapestry grows with the organization and allows them to add features and services as the need arises. We believe eTapestry allows organizations to focus more of their resources on their mission and less on their fundraising software."

Moonlight Cultural Foundation began its relationship with eTapestry with only about 200 records culled from old Excel spreadsheets. The theater has relied heavily on production fundraisers and corporate donations since it was first established as an outdoor theater in 1976. The bicentennial project began with a small stage and grass seating tiers.

Over the years, permanent seats, a stage house and technical improvements in lighting and sound have enhanced the appeal of the shows and allowed for winter and summer productions with such classics as “The Sound of Music," "Camelot," "The Music Man," "South Pacific" and "Oklahoma!" In a summer season alone, the outdoor theater hosts cumulative audiences of more than 50,000 and takes in sales of more than $700,000.

Since first cobbling together old records from the Excel spreadsheets, Macdonald has been able to establish more than 900 individual donor records in eTapestry.

Over the last few years, Macdonald said she has quickly trained several assistants in eTapestry. When she has questions, Macdonald said she gets a quick response from eTapestry’s support office.

"Someone is always there to help us," Macdonald said. "The turnaround time is good."

Macdonald said she has encouraged her board to use eTapestry, and one board member, also a nonprofit director, took that recommendation a step further and signed her own organization on with eTapestry.

"With eTapestry, it's easier to extract the information you need," said Macdonald. "At board meetings, we pull reports and give board members an update of the revenue at every meeting. When we used Excel, we weren’t sure if it was truly correct."

The Moonlight Cultural Foundation is a non-profit organization that supports programs of the City of Vista, CA, including Moonlight Stage Productions through fund-raising and development. Their mission is to promote philanthropy in North San Diego County for the performing arts at the Moonlight Amphitheatre, Avo Playhouse, and other theatrical and environmental community projects. www.moonlightstage.com