United Way Central Indiana

United Way of Central Indiana

%
YoY increase in People's Choice Voting Fundraising
$+
raised during their auction
platform

"A guiding principle, both of the marketing team at our organization, but especially our finance team who does all of our pledge processing…When we can use a tool or a vendor who we have a trusted relationship with [using additional products within one suite] to us, seemed like a no brainer.”

– Peter Hanscom, Vice President of Marketing and Digital Engagement

Challenge

Solution

United Way of Central Indiana (UWCI) was excitedly planning to be back in person for the first time in years for ELEVATE, their annual celebration recognizing young professionals.  

Unfortunately, their previous auction software didn’t deliver. It was one-time use, needlessly expensive, and limiting. An added piece of the event was point of purchase sales, and UWCI didn’t have an integrated solution for that, either. They also felt they were already juggling too many tools, support teams, and deposit processes. Peter Hanscom, Vice President of Marketing and Digital Engagement, and Jody Pope, Director of Special Events, evaluated the tools they had to determine if they could find a single, compatible solution to best support their event’s goals.  

auction

ELEVATE is a growing event run with passionate volunteer support. UWCI needed digital-first, guest-friendly, staff-friendly software.  

As UWCI was highly satisfied with GiveSmart Fundraise’s* voting, live appeal, and reporting, could they do more with it? They had used GiveSmart Fundraise for ELEVATE for about four years. They wanted to eliminate having so many single-use-case tools. GiveSmart Fundraise has sister tools on the platform, one being GiveSmart Events. It seemed like a logical first place to try.  

At first glance, the UWCI staff liked the GiveSmart Events mobile interface, rather than an app. Hanscom shared, “I felt comfortable that people were getting the information that they needed in real-time ... I didn't feel like it was super intrusive that we were asking for more information from people than we really needed.” 

UWCI had found a promising solution in GiveSmart. The separate Events and Fundraise modules streamlined their campaign page, text-to-donate, live appeal, voting, auction, point of purchase, and reporting. 

Impact

 

Although the UWCI staff and volunteers felt apprehensive about having to manage the check-in and checkout processes themselves, it went great for staff and guests alike. GiveSmart offers Personalized Training and a Remote Technician to teach and empower event teams and volunteers.  

With help from the GiveSmart platform, ELEVATE not only grew year-over-year, but UWCI saw significant growth in high-impact revenue streams from the event. The clear text-to-donate cadence, intuitive auction setup, and easy-to-use in-the-moment online giving all supported donors in elevating UWCI’s mission.   

 

And, UWCI is looking to expand its use of GiveSmart, too, by offering more opportunities to give. While plans were not yet final at the time Jody and Peter shared their ELEVATE successes, UWCI is looking to use their existing GiveSmart tools throughout the year on future virtual auctions or wish list campaigns. Not only is their staff satisfied, but since they’ve already made the technology investment, they’re not limited by a narrow contract, timing, and features. 

Smiling African American woman using digital tablet.

United Way of Central Indiana partners to design, support, and grow systems that accelerate financial stability and upward mobility for individuals and families living in or near poverty and striving for a brighter future. Their vision is that Central Indiana will be a community where children, individuals, and families thrive; neighbors care for each other, and everyone can be proud of all residents’ quality of life. 

GiveSmart is a fundraising and donor management system that enables organizations to accelerate fundraising through configurable, mobile-friendly campaigns, peer-to-peer giving, auction and event management, simple tracking, and secure payment processing. 

Our mission is to help nonprofits and organizations reach their fundraising goals while creating an engaging, exciting, and easy giving experience for their donors. All. Year. Round. Click here to get started with GiveSmart. 

Sydney,Australia - August 24,2014: Competitors in the 'Color Run' fun run in Centennial Park. Runners are doused in coloured powder, bubbles and water as they run the 5K course.

Disclaimer: This case study originally featured a nonprofit that used MobileCause. MobileCause is now fully integrated into the GiveSmart platform. All mentions have been edited to reflect the new naming conventions.  

 The legacy feature set, staff assistance, and training continue to support thousands of nonprofits in raising billions of dollars. We invite you to check out GiveSmart Fundraise, Events, and Donor CRM today.