The Congregation of Benedictine Sisters of Perpetual Adoration is a contemporary, semi-cloistered monastic community; the sisters live according to the Rule of Benedict. They serve the Church through a ministry of contemplative prayer and a distinctive dedication to the Eucharist. The Benedictine Sisters offer a welcoming space for silence, prayer, and spiritual hospitality in a shared environment of monastic peace. They actively engage in interreligious dialogue, respecting those of all faiths and backgrounds. Their communities include monasteries in Clyde, Missouri; Tucson, Arizona; and Dayton, Wyoming.

The Challenge

The Benedictine Sisters used spreadsheets as a method for tracking donor data, but because the sisters often traveled between each of their three monasteries, they needed an online system that could be accessed from anywhere.

The sisters also wanted one central system to hold each of the three monasteries' databases, which contained information about supporters and their unique details.

The sisters receive more than 1,000 prayer requests a month via email, and they wanted to streamline their prayer answering processes.

The Solution

The Benedictine Sisters selected eTapestry's relationship management software, which is a software-as-a-service (SaaS) solution. This means they can access their database from anywhere with an Internet connection.

The sisters chose to implement specific modules for mass email, executive reporting, and eCommerce. They currently use the eCommerce functionality to accept and manage prayer requests online.

As prayer requests come in, the eCommerce page ties each individual's information back to the database.

The Results

After selecting eTapestry, the Benedictine Sisters have gained a consistent level of knowledge about their supporters, helping them maintain relationships accordingly.

The executive reports have enabled the sisters to demonstrate to upper-level management the impact of their support to their mission.

The sisters have used eTapestry to help identify and segment supporter lists. The advanced email functionality allows them to target their communications and further their reach.

eTapestry's easy-to-use system and recorded training sessions makes it easy for new nuns to learn the database.

Indianapolis' School on Wheels seeks to enhance and enrich educational opportunities for school-aged homeless children. Its vision is to break the cycle of homelessness through education. School on Wheels provides free tutoring services and educational advocacy; engages homeless parents in the educational success of their children; provides resources to adequately prepare homeless children for college; links homeless children with the appropriate services that will pay for their college degrees; and develops strategic educational and financial partnerships, as well as public awareness, that enables the organization to enhance additional educational opportunities for the children it serves.

The Challenge

School on Wheels used Microsoft Excel® spreadsheets to manage its data, but staff could not query for mailings to board members, corporations, foundations, etc. Further compounding the problem was the fact that different spreadsheets were kept across the organization and there was no visibility into the data, its accuracy, or the overall well-being of School on Wheels.

The Solution

More than five years ago, a board member introduced the organization to eTapestry, and as a small organization, School on Wheels began using the free "under 500" database (the very first offering in the eTapestry family). Since then, the organization's database has grown to 2,500 records and staff now use eTapestry's eCommerce, Web 2.0, and Executive Reports modules.

The Results

Staff recently completed a successful online fundraising campaign, raising $30,000 in just one month! They also used the solution to process auction items at the organization's recent gala, which raised more than $40,000. (For this event, staff used Web 2.0 to manage online giving, which was a huge success.)

"Every year we use the database more and more," said Janet Hiatt, vice president of development. "It's so user-friendly, and 'instant message' support is so convenient - the chat feature makes it so easy to contact the support team when we need to."

School on Wheels staff have built stronger relationships with donors and better engaged board members with eTapestry. Executive Reports has been especially useful; board members can personally call, write, or email donors to thank them for their gifts. Plus, staff can update the records with information about why each donor supports School on Wheels, how they got involved, and more, and they can quickly identify donors who have lapsed or downgraded so that the board can ask for their continued support. They say it's a great way to engage board members in the fundraising process and keep valuable information about donors in one place, all while retaining and even upgrading donors.

Looking Ahead

Staff recently purchased the Benchmark reporting tool to help assess how they are doing in terms of donor retention and acquisition throughout the year. This way, they can gauge performance quarterly and make necessary adjustments to their fundraising plans. In addition, they will use the data to apply for grants since potential funders want to see actual program assessments rather than anecdotal stories. They are looking forward to using benchmark reporting to be able to show black-and-white, concrete ways their programs have been successful over the past five years since using eTapestry, in order to secure those valuable grants.

Pasco Education Foundation turns to eTapestry® for reporting and ecommerce needs

Established in 1991 in Land O'Lakes, Florida, the Pasco Education Foundation’s mission is to provide opportunities for the community to help accomplish the goals of Pasco County's public schools through personal involvement and financial support. Since its inception,many committed individuals, businesses, and organizations have contributed both time and money to support the Foundation's work. Last year, the Foundation awarded more than $700,000 in creative teaching grants. In addition, numerous in-kind materials and supplies, as well as volunteer hours, are donated by local businesses and civic-minded individuals and organizations.

The Challenge

The Pasco Education Foundation was using Microsoft Excel® to manage donor information. Since the spreadsheets were only transaction-based and lacked reporting functionality, the organization had no idea how many donors it had in a given year – staff could only tell how many transactions had been completed in a given timeframe. Despite having more than 1,800 records, staff could not report to executives any specific information about the donors
or donations that were its bread and butter. Also, the organization had a website but could not process online donations.

The Solution

Director of Development Allison Broihier learned about eTapestry while reading the Association of Fundraising Professionals' technology survey. Based on the information and software options discussed, she knew that eTapestry would best fit the Pasco Education Foundation's budget while meeting its reporting needs and providing a vital eCommerce solution for its website.

The Results

Since purchasing eTapestry, The Pasco Education Foundation has been extremely happy with both the database offering and its reporting capabilities. The eCommerce integration brought a complete redesign of the organization's online donation page and provided the ability to manage several different events and ticket sales simultaneously. "eCommerce gives us the ability to automate transactions and keep records on everything," Broihier said.

Lindquist Dental Clinic for Children Uses eTapestry to Track Donor Interactions, Facilitate Growth, and Better Serve Its Mission

Founded in 1936, Lindquist Dental Clinic for Children is a private nonprofit organization dedicated to providing accessible, compassionate, and effective dental care to children from low-income families who reside throughout the South Sound area of Western Washington. The organization also provides family education and preventive care, and strongly encourages early intervention for even the youngest members of the family.

The Challenge

Lindquist Dental Clinic for Children began operation as a dental assisting program at Bates Technical College and Clover Park in 1936. Since then, the organization has expanded considerably, making several moves from one facility to another in order to accommodate growth. Between 2000 and 2002, the Clinic increased its patient services by more than 50 percent, and staff members describe feeling like the organization was "bursting at the seams." Thanks to its many dedicated donors, the Clinic completed an expansion project in 2005 and moved into a new facility with 10 treatment rooms. The new facility has helped the organization expand the depth and breadth of its dental services, provide better access to care, and collaborate with other specialists to provide expanded services.

During all this, staff members at Lindquist Dental Clinic for Children were having difficulty keeping track of donor information. The Clinic was able to collect donations through its website but didn't have a way to track donations after they came in. Everyone knew that if the organization was going to grow to better serve its mission, it would need to keep track of who was giving so it could maximize exposure with those donors.

The Solution

Lindquist Dental Clinic for Children had always relied on word-of-mouth advertising and local networking with community organizations such as the Boys and Girls Clubs, Tacoma Pierce County Health Department, and the United Way to communicate its mission to the public. After teaming up with these and other local nonprofits and growing its database, it became even more important to track all of the information that came through the doors. The organization knew it was missing out on fundraising dollars because of the lack of visibility to its constituents.

With this in mind, the organization began looking for a database solution for constituent relationship management. The Clinic took a look at eTapestry, and knew it had found what it was looking for.

The Results

After selecting eTapestry, Lindquist Dental Clinic for Children has been able to store all donor information in one secure place. The web-based system is user-friendly and offers a level of convenience that other traditional systems can’t. eTapestry allows staff members to enter and extract information from anywhere, anytime.

Most importantly, the Clinic is now able to trace donor dollars and track donor records, plus provide a level of visibility it couldn’t before. Many of the organization’s donations arrive in the form of grants, and now with eTapestry, the Clinic can record how the money is being spent.

Thanks in part to all of this, the Clinic is well-prepared to open a new clinic. The organization plans to network even more with other nonprofits and eTapestry will help
staff members stay connected with all their constituents during this new endeavor.

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Boys and Girls Club of Evansville Achieves $5 Million Capital Campaign Goal with Help from eTapestry

The Boys & Girls Club of Evansville began operations in December 1957. Originally opened as an all-boys youth serving agency, today the Club provides programming and services for the most at-risk boys and girls of its community.

As an affiliate of the Boys & Girls Club of America, the Evansville Club maintains high standards to remain in good standing with the national organization. In doing so, the national organization provides a variety of services and programs to help in creating a positive environment for young people.

The Boys & Girls Club currently has four sites: the Main Unit on Illinois Street and the Fulton Square Unit on Dresden (a partnership with the Evansville Housing Authority), and the Howard Roosa and Cedar Hall School Extensions (partnerships with the Evansville Vanderburgh School Corporation). There are more than 2,000 kids served at these four sites. In addition to the youth directly served at the sites, the Boys & Girls Club of Evansville is reaching another 4,000 young people through the SMART Moves Program, sponsored by Vectren, in the schools.

The Challenge

The Boys & Girls Club of Evansville was using a customized version of Microsoft Access as a very specific data management tool for their annual fund campaign. This was effective for a one-time specific use only, but workers found it out-dated and inflexible.

Although the organization had experience with Microsoft Access®, reporting on the annual fund campaign from the Access database was almost impossible. The functionality was
one-dimensional, unsolicited donations couldn't be tracked, and the organization had zero reporting capabilities.

The Solution

The Boys & Girls Club of Evansville was one of 15 clubs that participated in a oneyear pilot program managed by the Boys and Girls Clubs national office. As part of the program, Evansville converted all of its constituent data into eTapestry's web-based donor management solution.

The chapter was the first to complete the pilot program, and professionals at the Evansville Club were so impressed with the success in the first year that they became the first chapter in the pilot program to sign up on their own to continue as an eTapestry customer.

The Results

The Boys & Girls Club of Evansville is now able to effectively manage multiple complex campaigns extending months and years. The Evansville Club has also been able to heighten awareness among staff members regarding day-to-day activities. This is achieved through eNewsletters, an internal and external community calendar, and new capabilities in programs, grants, and donations. Overall reporting has improved, and executive reporting not only allows for accurate and real-time data, but it can be delivered with the click of a button.

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Founded in San Francisco, California in 2001, One Brick provides support to local nonprofit and community organizations by creating a unique, social, and flexible volunteer environment for those interested in making a concrete difference in the community. The founding team recognized that while many nonprofits have the need for volunteers and many people are interested in volunteering, there are very few organizations that make the volunteer experience convenient and can sustain continued volunteer commitment. One Brick built a new approach necessary to build a sustainable volunteer pool to support these organizations. One Brick enables people to get involved, have an impact, and have fun, without the requirements of individual long-term commitments.

Challenge

• One Brick used spreadsheets and a self-developed method for tracking data, which had to be shared with offices in various locations across the country.
• Staff members and volunteers didn't have the ability to gather and track data outside of names, email addresses, and address information.
• The organization had about 150 donors it wished to reach out to on a regular basis, but the absence of a CRM system inhibited these efforts.

Solution

• One Brick selected eTapestry's fundraising software, which is a software-as-a-service (SaaS) solution.
• This affordable, web-based system connects staff and volunteers located throughout the country, allowing them to work from one consolidated database.
• The organization also selected specific modules for email, online giving, and eCommerce.

Results

• After selecting eTapestry in 2008, One Brick was able to increase its annual giving goal by $10,000. The goal was attained and then passed by $6,000.
• The eTapestry solution has enabled staff to send emails from the CRM solution and increase the organization's reach.
• eTapestry's easy-to-use system means that staff members and volunteers do not need training to get up and running quickly, saving time and money.

"Since using eTapestry in 2008, we have more than doubled our gifts during our annual campaign (compared to 2007), and we have also increased the average gift as well as the total number of donors. The software helps us raise and save more money, which is invaluable to charities in these challenging times. Thanks, eTapestry!"

- Jennifer Willis
Director of Fundraising
One Brick

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Riley Children's Foundation recently decided to switch from a paper contribution-tracking system to an eTapestry online form for its Riley Radiothons – a decision that has yielded significant results.

Riley Children's Foundation relies on radiothons to generate funds that help support Riley Hospital for Children. Radiothons also offer a chance to highlight stories of hope and healing found at Riley Hospital. Local radio stations commit 2-3 days of their broadcast for radiothons, and DJs engage the community in the effort by asking them to share stories and make donations.

According to Cassie Yowell, Radiothon and Special Events Officer at Riley Children's Foundation, the Foundation used the same paper system to record radiothon donations since the mid 1990's. A donor would call in, and a volunteer would fill out a triplicate pledge form by hand. Completed forms were transported to another location to be sorted by credit card then by gift type. Once sorted, Foundation employees would search the donor database to see if the individual had an existing account. If not, a new account was created. After all gifts were processed, pledge forms were destroyed. This process was lengthy and time-consuming.

"We considered industry standards for processing this type of donation and found room for improvement," said Pam Melady, Gift Processing Analyst at Riley Children's Foundation. "The old method had potential for human error through incorrect donor names, transposed credit card numbers or incomplete contact information. These errors could occur, and we wouldn't know until hours later, making it difficult to correct."

In 2007 Riley Children's Foundation decided to investigate other options for entering and storing radiothon information. This included examining the capabilities of eTapestry eCommerce pages. Impressed, the Foundation decided to move forward with eTapestry early this year.

eTapestry's Manager of Website Services, Aaron Bacon, worked closely with Riley Children's Foundation staff to create a customized online form for radiothons. Besides including scripts and prompts, it allowed volunteers to enter donor information. Aaron also attended a radiothon to verify the system ran smoothly.

"Working with Riley Children's Foundation last year was a wonderful experience," said Aaron. "I saw everything come together the morning of the radiothon. Through eTapestry, volunteers were able to process gifts instantly as supporters called in. It was incredible to see firsthand the difference the eCommerce form made to the flow and overall success of the event. I look forward to being a part of it again this year."

"eTapestry's online form addressed several best practices that we wanted to improve," said Pam. "We can now notify donors instantly through e-mail when gifts are processed. We also have the capability to send acknowledgement letters more quickly, provide better customer service to donors as well as ensure fewer errors and better security. Additionally, it's proved to be a huge time-saver, decreasing our data entry three to four times."

Jeanette Bogren, Development Services Manager at Riley Children's Foundation, added, "If there is an issue processing a credit card, we can handle it on the spot while we have the donor on the phone. Troubleshooting credit card issues properly and immediately is invaluable."

Another advantage of the simplified online form is being able to report on the progress of the radiothon in real time. "Before, it was difficult to keep an accurate tally of the amount generated during a given time," added Jeanette. "Now we can access totals throughout the event by running instant reports."

"eTapestry has proven to be a wise investment," said John Baldwin, Director of Information Technology at Riley Children's Foundation. "All of the gift and data entry are done, and the integrity of the information is very reassuring."

About Riley Children's Foundation

Riley Children's Foundation supports Riley Hospital for Children, Camp Riley for Youth with Physical Disabilities and the James Whitcomb Riley Museum Home. As Indiana's only comprehensive hospital dedicated exclusively to the care of children, Riley Hospital has provided compassionate care, support and comfort to children and their families since 1924. Each year, families turn to Riley for care more than 191,000 times. Children come from all 92 Indiana counties, across the nation and throughout the world. Riley Hospital's partnership with Clarian Health and its strong affiliation with the Indiana University School of Medicine make Riley Hospital for Children the leader in pediatric care in the state and the region. Visit RileyKids.org for more information.

About eTapestry

Since its release as the first web-based fundraising software for nonprofits in 1999, eTapestry has grown to a leadership position with over 5000 nonprofit customers worldwide. eTapestry provides On-Demand fundraising solutions, including a donor database, website development, ecommerce, and advanced email. To learn more, visit us at www.etapestry.com, or call us at 888-739-3827. eTapestry is a Blackbaud Company.

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Susan G Komen for the Cure Indianapolis has a simple and direct mission statement: "To eradicate breast cancer through research, education, screening and treatment". While it only takes one sentence to describe their goal, it takes a lot of people, organization, and effort to accomplish it.

In an effort to become more efficient with their resources, Komen Indianapolis recently conducted an audit of their fundraising software and what they needed it to do. They considered Best Practices, as well as what would streamline their processes and utilize their time and resources most effectively. After speaking with other organizations that used various software products, they found that eTapestry was still the best software for their needs. They realized that there were changes that they could make in the way they utilized their eTapestry database that would minimize the time and resource issues they were experiencing.

One of those changes was purchasing Advanced Import.

The Indianapolis affiliate used eTapestry to import selected Race for the Cure registration information into their database. They would obtain an excel spreadsheet from their Race Software and send that to eTapestry, who would perform a data service that would import the information. There were so many Race for the Cure donations to enter each year that Komen Indianapolis had to restrict the donations they imported to only those who gave gifts of $100 or more in order to reduce the amount of information eTapestry imported.

"We researched Advanced Import and found it to be a very user friendly tool" states Letha Keslar, Director of Development for the Indianapolis of Affiliate of Susan G. Komen for the Cure. "We love Advanced Import! We were able to import every donor from the Race this year, regardless of their donation amount. It has made our gift processing at Race time so much easier and timely!"

Susan G. Komen for the Cure is the world's largest grassroots network of breast cancer survivors. There are affiliates in 125 cities and communities worldwide. Komen relies heavily on volunteers in order to accomplish their goals in so many areas.

"Due to the fact that we have so many volunteers, who generally aren't in the office making notes on their outreach efforts, we ask them to use an excel spreadsheet," states Letha. Before getting Advanced Import, a volunteer would have to spend a great deal of time manually entering each contact from each volunteer spreadsheet. This was very time consuming due to the extensive notes they try to keep, so making sure that the donor's contacts and notes were up to date proved to be difficult at times.

"With the Advanced Import tool I can just upload all of the notes and contacts directly from the volunteer spreadsheets, keeping the database updated with all communication between Komen Indianapolis and donors. Now when we contact donors I feel more confident that we are working with the most up-to-date information," states Letha.

eTapestry module options like Advanced Import help keep Komen Indianapolis budget down by not using different applications or third party companies in order to have all of the functions they need. Due to eTapestry's versatility, they have started using eTap as a dashboard-type user interface that can be the launching point for many of the functions they need to utilize on a daily basis. The purchase of Advanced Import made it possible to store and manage the contacts, notes, and follow-ups for their constituents. They also started using the Correspondence section of eTapestry instead of Word due to the huge time-saver that the data merge values have proven to be.

Another change that has allowed this dashboard-type approach of eTapestry to work for Komen Indianapolis is the link between their database and their online giving page. They used to use a different online giving page provider, but recently switched to an eTapestry eCommerce page, which pushes the data from the page directly into their database in real time, as opposed to the manual entry they did previously. "Between the capabilities of Advanced Import and the communication between the eCommerce Online Giving page and the database, so much data entry time has been saved, which is wonderful when you have such limited personnel resources!" Letha said.

"For a small non-profit with a very small staff, such as Komen Indianapolis, eTapestry is a very helpful, effective tool!" states Letha. "Such a powerful database with limitless customer service at such an affordable price is hard to believe."

About Susan G. Komen for the Cure® and the Komen Indianapolis Affiliate

Nancy G. Brinker promised her dying sister, Susan G. Komen, she would do everything in her power to end breast cancer forever. In 1982, that promise became Susan G. Komen for the Cure and launched the global breast cancer movement. The Indianapolis Affiliate of Komen for the Cure is working to better the lives of those facing breast cancer in the local community. They join more than 100,000 breast cancer survivors and activists around the globe as part of the world's largest and most progressive grassroots network fighting breast cancer. In 2008, Komen Indianapolis awarded $1,616,000 to 25 different Indiana not for profit agencies that are providing education services to 31,000 men and women, clinical breast exams for 3,831 women, and mammograms for 3,913 men and women. Additionally $800,000 was contributed to the Komen's National Research Program that utilizes a blind peer review process to screen and select national scientific and clinical research projects involved in finding a cure for breast cancer. Locally, there are six research projects currently being funded with Komen dollars. For more information, call 317-638-2873 or visit www.komenindy.org.

About eTapestry

Since its release as the first web-based fundraising software for nonprofits in 1999, eTapestry has grown to a leadership position with over 5000 nonprofit customers worldwide. eTapestry provides On-Demand fundraising solutions, including a donor database, website development, ecommerce, and advanced email. To learn more, visit us at www.etapestry.com, or call us at 888-739-3827. eTapestry is a Blackbaud Company.

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When Marla Cautilli took her position as Development Director at Summit Academy in Louisville, Kentucky, she was thrilled about the mission of the school and about working to benefit children with learning disabilities. She was not so excited about the donor database that the school was using. She was not familiar with the software. In fact, no one was. Both of the employees that utilized that database were no longer with the organization. When they looked into the cost of training the staff on this software, they decided the best short-term solution would be to create their own database. They used that for about a year, during which time they searched for a donor tracking system that had the flexibility of a self-designed database, user-friendly features, compatibility with their fundraising process, and a competitive price. Those needs are what drew them to eTapestry.

Summit Academy adopted the Benevon model of fundraising in 2004. Benevon provides training and coaching for nonprofits around a specific fundraising strategy. At their first workshop they heard about eTapestry and their Next Step component that is designed specifically for organizations using Benevon. Summit experienced success with the Benevon fundraising process and saw eTapestry as a perfect way to take their fundraising to a new level. While the price and capabilities of the eTapestry database were the reason they chose eTapestry, the purchase came with an unexpected positive feature - the ears of the eTapestry staff.

The mission of Summit Academy is to teach children the way they learn rather than expecting them to learn the way we teach. This is accomplished by listening to the individual needs of each child. When Marla discovered that a data tracking system could adjust to her organizations needs, just like Summit Academy adjusts to the needs of its students, she was impressed. "eTapestry really listens!" states Marla. "They understand what I need or want, and they make changes to accommodate me. It's amazing!"

Marla began using the eTapestry database 4 years ago, and over the years their needs changed. They had to be able to store and track information differently within the database to reflect these changes. "Between the Support Staff and the Suggestions Team, eTap always seems to find the answer, whether they find the ability within the database or create a change in the software in order to accommodate the need," said Marla. "When we encounter something that we can't figure out how to best track within the database, the Support Staff listens to our issue and works to find an option that will produce the desired results. They are very knowledgeable and patient."

Of course, there are times when it is not a matter of navigating the database, sometimes the database is simply not designed to perform a desired function. And that is where the eTapestry Suggestions Team comes in.

"A couple of years ago we wanted to be able to create letters that contained certain combinations of information. We submitted suggestions to the eTap Suggestion Team and they gave the Correspondence section an overhaul that better met our expectations," said Marla. "A year later we wanted to share complete pledge schedules and all related pledge information in our pledge reminder letters, and eTapestry responded with the new Pledge Schedule template. This has saved me hours, if not days, of work. It's easier for me, and my donors like it too."

Most recently Summit Academy contacted eTapestry Suggestions to request a better option for entering upgraded pledges. "eTapestry made it happen and it is wonderful!" exclaimed Marla. "It seems like eTapestry is always getting more and more user friendly. They continue to grow and evolve along with nonprofit organizations needs."

"Sometimes they even make changes before we ask for them, or even think of them. They seem to be in tune with the fundraising world and any new changes that might impact their users," explained Marla.

"An added benefit to eTapestry is their relationship with Benevon. The Next Step component of eTapestry allows us to easily produce reports that assist us in our Benevon workshops. It is marvelous!"

"I can't say enough about eTapestry's willingness to accommodate the needs of their users and the ability for them to do so quickly and effectively. It has definitely been an unexpected and wonderful surprise," said Marla. "I take great comfort in knowing that no matter what needs I may have in the future, eTapestry will be ready and willing to listen."

About eTapestry

Since its release as the first web-based fundraising software for nonprofits in 1999, eTapestry has grown to a leadership position with over 5000 nonprofit customers worldwide. eTapestry provides On-Demand fundraising solutions, including a donor database, website development, ecommerce, and advanced email. To learn more, visit us at www.etapestry.com, or call us at 888-739-3827. eTapestry is a Blackbaud Company.

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With 9 established fundraising and volunteer programs to coordinate, the staff at Senior Resources in Columbia, SC needed a software solution that would offer convenience as well as features to facilitate their potential growth. When Annie Eveleigh, Director of Development for Senior Resources, started 7 years ago she discovered that they were using several different databases to store and track their information. Annie knew that converting everything into one centralized database was the only way information could be streamlined for efficient tracking and reporting purposes.

While Annie was familiar with other database programs she had utilized at previous jobs, she wanted to see what was currently available for a non-profit of their size. As an AFP (Association of Fundraising Professionals) Chamberlain Scholar, Annie attended the AFP International Conference where she saw a presentation on eTapestry. She was immediately interested in the web-based program and met with Jay Love, Founder and CEO of eTapestry, to discuss some of the options eTapestry had to offer. The convenience of a web-based product and the affordable maintenance fees sold Annie and the rest of the Senior Resources staff. Five years later Annie says that they "couldn't be happier about their decision to go with eTapestry."

In addition to the convenience of the product, Annie has been very pleased with the Advanced Email feature and the Online Giving options.

"After we looked at the return on investment and how we could maximize our resources, we began to focus on the features of eTapestry we could better utilize" said Annie. "We send out quarterly newsletters to over 5,000 constituents, so when we looked at trimming the development office budget, one of the ways I suggested was sending e-newsletters 2 of the 4 times. We also stopped sending mailed announcements of special events - we send all those invites via email now to folks who participated in previous years and folks who expressed an interest in the event."

Annie states that the Online Giving page has been "just wonderful". For almost 38 years, donors gave to Senior Resources the old fashion way - by check in the mail - so she anticipated a tough sell to get them to move to online.

Senior Resources started with an online donation page for their "The Gift that Gives Again" holiday card campaign in late 2006. They were so pleased with the results that they added another online donation page for their "March for Meals" fundraiser in the spring of 2007. "We began promoting the online donation option in email blasts, e-newsletters, brochures and on our website," said Annie.

Needless to say, the results were amazing! "Since the incorporation of the online donation pages the registrations for our 'March for Meals 5K at Riverbanks' have tripled!", Annie added.

Senior Resources could not be happier with the impact that the online donation capability has had on their donations. They are also very pleased that the rise in volume of donations has not created a heavier workload because the online donations flow seamlessly into their fully integrated eTapestry database with no additional data entry needed.

"We've offered an online donation option with our holiday card campaign "The Gift that Gives Again" the past 2 years," stated Annie. "Since this is an established campaign and many people are accustomed to giving through mail donations, the biggest benefit from that option is that it makes our data entry time less stressful. The holiday card campaign can have as many as 1,000 entries in a short period of time, so you can imagine how much it helps if they are done online! We wish everyone would register or donate online...maybe, some day."

About Senior Resources
Senior Resources is a non-profit organization that provides coordinated services, resources and personal choices to promote healthy, independent living through the support of staff and volunteers. Since 1967 Senior Resources has provided a variety of choices to Columbia area seniors & families by offering established programs for home care, transportation, senior volunteers, meal delivery and much, much more. Senior Resources currently touches over 2,000 lives each day in the Midlands of SC through their 9 programs. For more information on Senior Resources please visit www.seniorresourcesinc.org.

About eTapestry
Since its release as the first web-based fundraising software for nonprofits in 1999, eTapestry has grown to a leadership position with over 5000 nonprofit customers worldwide. eTapestry provides On-Demand fundraising solutions, including a donor database, website development, ecommerce, and advanced email. To learn more, visit us at www.etapestry.com, or call us at 888-739-3827. eTapestry is a Blackbaud Company.