| February 2009 |
| Featured in this issue: Children's Chorus of San Antonio is Harnessing Volunteer Power Also In This Issue: Building Donor Relationships that Deliver New Data Import Options from GiftWorks Support Missouri Organization Offers Data Migration Grants Infrastructure Improvements: Free From Taproot The Children's Chorus of San Antonio is Harnessing Volunteer Power with GiftWorks
 Today resources are scarce and demand for services is high. What to do? Harnessing the power of volunteers, like the Children's Chorus of San Antonio is doing, is part of the answer. And with GiftWorks Volunteers, an optional addin to GiftWorks, you can mange volunteers more easily and efficiently than ever before.With an office staff of three and ten program staff, the Children's Chorus of San Antonio serves over 300 kids a year. They offer 5 children's choirs and three early childhood music classes. The chorus is open to all children in San Antonio and it offers tuition-based scholarships for families who need them. And funding all this has gotten tougher because both public and private dollars are tighter. So volunteers are critical.  When the Children's Chorus bought GiftWorks and GiftWorks Volunteers in 2007, they immediately began to track more detailed information about their volunteers in order to learn who had what skills. "We quickly found out who is fluent in German, who has technology experience, and who has bartender experience. (Not for the kids; for the gala!), plus who bought advertising in the past. We're putting this information to work in strengthening our volunteer workforce. GiftWorks gave us the tools--all right out of the box." "GiftWorks gave us the tools--all right out of the box." When volunteers do much of the work of your organization, then the ease of using GiftWorks is critical. And managing those volunteers well, with GiftWorks Volunteers module, just adds to the benefit. Asked how the arts are faring in this tight economic time, Anne notes: "Despite the gloom, I find that during bad times, many people look to the arts for solace." On a high note, Anne notes, San Antonio will be developing a state-of-the-art $100 million performing arts center. For more on the Children's Chorus of San Antonio, visit their website: musicopiaccsa.blogspot.com Are You Building Donor Relationships that Deliver? Learn how at a free webinar  Ruthellen S. Rubin, CFRE On February 23 at 2pm EST Mission Research will host a free one hour webinar called "Using Donor Management Software to Build Profitable Relationships." This webinar is presented by Ruthellen Rubin, CFRE. Mrs. Rubin is a successful nonprofit consultant and faculty member at New York University's Heyman Center of Philanthropy and Fundraising. Is this webinar right for you? It is designed for staff and management at nonprofit organizations that are involved in fundraising activities. This webinar will teach you: effective ways to manage donor relationships; what a new database will do for you (that you're not already doing); how to choose the right donor management software; how to become a database super-user (even if you're a non-techie). Why are we teaming up with Ruthellen to offer this? The reason is this: GiftWorks Fundraising Software works best when it is part of a sound fundraising strategy, and Ruthellen is an expert at fundraising strategy. So, if you're asking yourself how to improve your fundraising efforts, take an hour and join us. Learn more and sign up. New Data Import Options from GiftWorks Support
 So you've decided your organization needs GiftWorks. Now, how do you get your data into the GiftWorks database? Of course do-it-yourselfers can import data directly into GiftWorks using the built-in data importer. But what if you want more help? Now there are new paid import services available.Basic Import Service- New We provide you with an Excel spreadsheet data template. You populate it with your company's information, send it back to us, and we'll import your data into GiftWorks. Then we'll test your GiftWorks database and send it to you ready to use. Phone Consultation- New This service is available to GiftWorks users who require expert consulting services that go beyond the scope of our Annual Phone Support service. Consider this service if:
We'll send a professional to your site to help you with preparation, data importing, installation, and training. Scheduling is based on availability. Custom Import Service This service is for GiftWorks users who have special needs not covered by the other services. For more information on all these services please visit Import and Consulting Services at the Mission Research website. Grant Funding - A Source of Technology Funds:
Missouri Technology for Good Offers Data Migration Grants  Getting the right donor database is just the beginning of improving fundraising efforts. Next, data must be entered into the database- not always a small task. How to pay for it? How about grant funding? Missouri Technology for Good offers grants for this very purpose.Starting in 2009 Missouri Technology for Good is offering grants to three Missouri 501c3s for GiftWorks data migrations. Nicknamed "Show Me" grants, they are designed to help emerging nonprofits move to the next level of technology. "People in nonprofits have a different mindset. They're intensely focused on mission, and they struggle with 'process.' In adopting technology they need an application that matches their culture." says Missouri Technology for Good's John Licata. The grants are not monetary; they provide data migration services associated with GiftWorks implementation. The nonprofit organization purchases their own license(s) for GiftWorks and completes installation. Then Missouri Technology for Good consultants oversee the data migration. "The success of software implementations for nonprofits depends on the effectiveness of installation," says Missouri Tech's John Licata. "The success of software implementations for nonprofits depends on the effectiveness of installation." For more information on these grants, visit www.MoTech4Good.org. To qualify, a 501c3 must provide services to the people of Missouri. If you've had success getting grants for technology and want to share your story, drop us a line: info@missionresearch.com.
We all need Infrastructure Improvements, but Who can Afford Them? Check for pro-bono expertise!  Speaking of help with infrastructure, the Taproot Foundation provides service grants to nonprofits in their market cities (San Francisco, Seattle, Chicago, Los Angeles, Boston, Washington DC, and New York) for marketing, HR, IT, and strategy management consulting services- services many nonprofits really need.Following a typical grant-making application process, Taproot makes awards in technology, marketing, website development, human resources, and most recently strategy management. Awardee nonprofits then receive services of a lead consultant and team of 3-6 professionals who work with them through completion of the project. In addition to the direct benefits of the project, many awardees report significant increases in their management, infrastructure, and governance capabilities. Using over 3,000 active consultants, Taproot will provide more than 400 grants this year (up from 80 in 2005). Learn more about TapRoot at www.taprootfoundation.org. |
