Estabilishing the Proper Infrastructure Creates Fundraising Results
Benevon and eTapestry provide the right chemistry

When Volunteers of America Greater Baton Rouge decided to mount a $1 million capital campaign for the first time in 40 years, it was clear the social services nonprofit had more than the average fundraising challenge.

And that was on Sept. 9, 2001, when it first met with its campaign chairman.

Two days later, the 9/11 tragedy stunned the nation and spurred a subsequent shift in fundraising to aid victims and their families. In spite of the tough fundraising climate, Bud Snowden, the nonprofit's vice president, didn't give up hope that his organization's $1 million goal could be met to purchase and renovate a property to house services for abused and neglected children.

He had reason to be optimistic. Snowden and key staff members are graduates of the Benevon 101 Workshop that lays out clear plans to accomplish nonprofits' fundraising goals. And, on the advice of his fundraising consultant, Virtual Development Group, Snowden had found the "killer app" in the form of eTapestry, Web-based donor management software that allows the organization to record pledges, follow up with its 5,000 donors, and dissect fundraising data as its staff follows the Benevon road map.

Twelve months later, Volunteers of America Greater Baton Rouge tallied $1.2 million in its fundraising efforts—$1 million for the building and an additional $200,000 to begin an endowment for the building's upkeep.

"We declared victory and we were ecstatic," Snowden said.

The success of Volunteers of America Greater Baton Rouge had a lot to do with the infrastructure the nonprofit had put in place—from the Benevon Model to using eTapestry to record and follow up on its leads—before it began to solicit funds for the campaign.

Volunteers of America Greater Baton Rouge carefully followed the Benevon Model, from establishing "Points of Entry," "cultivating" people leading up to the "Ask," and inviting donors to "Free Feel-Good Cultivation Events."

"If you give me a recipe, I can make a cake," Snowden said about the Benevon fundraising process. "If you just give me all the ingredients and ask me to make a cake, I'm going to make a mess. [Benevon's] Terry Axelrod gave us the recipe."

Choosing eTapestry allowed the nonprofit to immediately begin processing pledges raised through the Benevon Model. It also put the responsibility of data management on eTapestry, which stores the data on its own secure servers.

"I don't have to worry about backing up files or database problems associated with computer crashes," Snowden said. "That stuff always happens to me."

Michael Guillot, founder and president of Louisiana-based fundraising consulting firm Virtual Development Group, said he recommended eTapestry to Snowden after evaluating about a dozen donor management options.

"What appealed to us about eTapestry was the ability to weave the management of volunteers through the [Benevon] Model and eTapestry's software," Guillot said.

Snowden said eTapestry has helped the nonprofit do a better job of retaining and responding quickly to volunteers. A trained volunteer uses eTapestry's Web-based capabilities to add to the volunteer database from her home.

In addition to regular tracking, Snowden and staff members, along with volunteers and board members, use eTapestry within the Benevon Model to generate prospect lists from those who had already attended a Point of Entry with the nonprofit.

As Volunteers of America Greater Baton Rouge staff and volunteers continue to work in eTapestry, Snowden said they can use the software's analytical abilities to answer questions such as: "If they have already established a Point of Entry with a prospective donor, is he or she more likely to attend the Ask Event and later make a pledge?" and "Which Table Captains are producing the best results?"

Snowden's use of eTapestry just became easier with the introduction of Next Step^®—Benevon's version of eTapestry that uses Benevon vocabulary to manage donors and ensure compliance with the standards of the Benevon Model.

"We're invested in the [Benevon] process," Snowden said. "We think this is the way we want to do fundraising for the foreseeable future and Next Step can structure that process for us. You know step-by-step what the next task is. It leads you in the right direction while still providing flexibility."

Terry Axelrod, CEO of Benevon, said this is what she was looking for when choosing a donor management system that would be successful with the Benevon Model.

"Next Step allows for a smooth marriage of process and implementation," said Axelrod. "It allows nonprofits to put their dollars and their focus back on fundraising."

NOTE: Please do NOT contact these organizations directly with your questions about the Benevon Model. They, just like all nonprofits, are busy fulfilling their missions, and have generously contributed their stories with the understanding that readers of our Web site will not contact them directly. Instead, please direct any questions about Benevon to info@benevon.com or (206) 709-9400. Thank you for your consideration.