Feeling unheard: Why this nonprofit switched from Bonterra

Family Programs Hawaii is a social service agency dedicated to supporting children and families who are at risk or involved in the child welfare system. Founded in 2004, they focus on prevention, support, and transition services.

Alana shares how:

• Family Programs Hawaii received dedicated support
• by switching from Bonterra Guided Fundraising (formerly Network for Good)
• ActionBoard® revolutionized her donor outreach
• Family Programs Hawaii saves more than $3,500 a year by switching to DonorDock
• They were able to eliminate the need for a separate email service and connect all their platforms with Zapier

“As Director of Development, not only am I entrusted with raising the funds, but I also do public relations, marketing, and advertising. You wear so many different hats in your organization. With DonorDock, I get not only the customer support, the tech support, but things like keeping track of activities. Sending out emails, sending out letters, the marketing lists, doing the email blast, everything was all-in-one.”

A small nonprofit’s struggle to implement a Nonprofit CRM built for large organizations

As a small nonprofit, finding a donor management software that isn’t designed for the major players is a struggle. For Family Programs Hawaii, they wanted something that included the best-in-practice nonprofit CRM features, was affordable, and offered top-tier customer service.

Unfortunately, Bonterra Guided Fundraising (formerly Network for Good) did not fit the bill. Not only is Bonterra Guided Fundraising too expensive. It also didn’t integrate well with other tools. Plus, as a smaller nonprofit, Bonterra Guided Fundraising didn’t value Family Programs Hawaii’s voice. They were constantly being overlooked because they weren’t raising as much as other nonprofits.

“We were using Network for Good, but there were a lot of limitations. And because we were such a small nonprofit organization, they didn't really do much for us. And getting ahold of customer support wasn't the easiest thing to do.”

Cost

Bonterra Guided Fundraising has many fees (some hidden) associated with its services, including transaction fees and monthly subscription costs.

Challenging user interface + integration challenges

Instead of a user-friendly interface, Many people find Bonterra Guided Fundraising to be clunky and almost require the ability to code. This can impact the overall user experience for both organizations and donors.

Additionally, organizations looking to integrate with other systems or databases may encounter difficulties connecting Bonterra Guided Fundraising with their current tools. Integration issues can result in inefficiencies and additional work for the nonprofit.

Customer Support:

Bonterra Guided Fundraising prioritizes the major players over smaller organizations. While their customer support may work okay for those larger organizations, many smaller nonprofits find themselves having a less-than-ideal experience with customer support, citing delays or challenges in getting assistance when needed.

How Family Programs Hawaii simplified their donor management with DonorDock

Easy donor data migration

Switching to a new donor management doesn’t have to be stressful! For Family Programs Hawaii, DonorDock’s customer and tech support made switching to a new nonprofit CRM a breeze. With free onboarding (that includes initial onboarding, weekly trainings, weekly Q+As, migration assistance, online giving setup assistance, and more) plus free customer support, Alana was confident that she could quickly and easily implement DonorDock.

“The transition was just so easy. Once everything was migrated over. Literally, the next day, we had no reason to use Network for Good.”

Eliminating data siloes

Before making the switch, Alana spent much of her time switching between different software and trying to get her data to line up. Wasted time slowed down her donor and volunteer outreach.

“We would have to use Constant Contact, and SurveyMonkey. We would have to use so many different platforms. Uploading different lists and getting them all out.

With DonorDock she streamlined her data and could easily access any information or list she needed. Instead of jumping from platform to platform, donor management, online giving, and donor outreach were all housed in one system. For the additional third-party software she uses, it integrates seamlessly with DonorDock. That means all of the nonprofit’s data automatically syncs within DonorDock and these other tools. With everything stored in one place and simple donor segmentation, Alana could now easily reach out to different donor lists with compelling messaging tailored to them.

But with DonorDock, not only is it already incorporated, but you have Zapier, which allows you to connect with so many different third-party organizations and platforms.”

Effective outreach with the ActionBoard®

Additionally, DonorDock’s ActionBoard® reminds Alana when it is time to reach out to donors and volunteers. Because all of the data Family Programs Hawaii has collected is in one place, the ActionBoard® sends Nudges to remind them to reach out to volunteers and donors. If a volunteer hasn’t given their time recently, Family Programs gets a Nudge reminding them to send a note or make a call to that volunteer.

“For the ActionBoard, I'll look through people we haven't reached out to. So it just gives me an idea of who we haven't touched base with, who we should touch base with, and some kind of guideline going forward.”

Knowing their nonprofit matters

Unlike with larger companies where small nonprofits are easily overlooked, with DonorDock, Alana knows that her small nonprofit matters.

“With larger companies, they don't have time for you. ‘Well, you only make three million dollars in revenue, so you're not really worth our time. Come back to us when you make three hundred million.’ And you never get that feeling with DonorDock. Everyone matters whether it's $300,000 revenue, $3 million dollar revenue, $30 million dollar revenue.”

The DonorDock support team prioritizes helping nonprofits with issues that may arise at no additional cost! In the nonprofit sector challenges often arise unexpectedly, and falling behind due to delayed support is detrimental.

At DonorDock. the support team prioritizes helping nonprofits with support issues in a timely manner, no matter how much they bring in. From the new nonprofit to the established nonprofit, supporting your nonprofit with empathy is a priority at DonorDock.

On top of that, DonorDock encourages customer feedback to implement new features. With a voting system for new features, small nonprofits guarantee that new features align with the needs of their organization.

And they incorporate your ideas about how you can make DonorDock better for your own organization.

DonorDock enables the team at Family Programs Hawaii to quickly create giving pages, manage their donor data, and build meaningful connections with their constituents. At DonorDock, they know their voice matters and they receive top-tier customer support.

Want to see if DonorDock is the right fit to help you save time and money? Try DonorDock for Free