Bank of America skilled volunteers facilitate a successful assessment of current business processes and assist with an application selection at Right Moves For Youth
Sponsored by Bank of America
Right Moves for Youth (RMFY) operates with the mission of helping students in grades 6-12 make the most of their education, connections, and opportunities to set themselves up for future success. RMFY collaborates with Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools (CMS), the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department (CMPD), and the Mecklenburg County Sheriff’s Office (MCSO) to provide a holistic, school-based, youth development and student support program focused on helping teens develop the transferable skills to maximize opportunities, build their networks, and propel them into a successful future.
Right Moves For Youth reached out to Apparo for assistance in their search for a donor management system that met their needs, as their previous tool was causing delays and frustrations. Executive Director Sabrina Gilchrist shares, “Quite frankly, our development efforts were limited. We were spending time cross-referencing data and duplicating work, which there isn’t space for in the nonprofit sector. We needed something more efficient that wouldn’t cause us to spend days resolving an issue or pulling a report”.
Apparo paired the organization with a team of dedicated skilled volunteers from Bank of America. The skilled volunteer team assessed the organization’s current business processes in relation to donor management. Through this assessment, a business process and requirements document was created that prioritized capabilities needed in the new system. Once this step was complete, the team conducted research and provided demonstrations to evaluate application options that met RMFY’s requirements and budget. Finally, volunteers recommended an application selection that best fit the needs determined in the initial business process review.
Implementing technology recommendations for a newfound peace of mind
Right Moves For Youth feels confident about implementing the recommended donor management platform to better coordinate donors, donor metrics, and reporting practices. With the implementation of a new donor management system, RMFY anticipates increased efficiencies and opportunities for donor cultivation. Through increasing data integrity, having new donor research and automation capabilities, and important software integrations, RMFY will have the time and peace of mind to work toward their goal of increasing individual donors by 5-10% this fiscal year.
The team anticipates this project creating valuable time savings for both full and part-time staff. As they implement the recommended software, they have a goal of decreasing the 20-25 hours per week spent on reporting and checking for data integrity. They hope to reallocate this time to the important task of cultivating donor relationships, which Sabrina emphasizes is the key to mission growth:
“The peace of mind this project has brought us is huge. One of the core values of our organization is integrity. So having consistent peace of mind about the integrity of our data when we‘re talking to Board members, community members, and donors is really important. We have a strong donor retention rate but it‘s not just about the funding, it‘s the relationships. Through this work with Apparo and the Bank of America team, we‘ll have more time to focus on cultivating those relationships with donors. We have a strategic vision around scaling our mission and our services, but we need people with a passion for the mission to help us execute our goals for expansion. With this new tool we can connect with these individuals faster and clearer, and it will help us tell our story to wider audiences swiftly and effectively“.
A new ability to customize, curate, and send automated acknowledgment letters will also save the organization time. With the new system, the team now has a donor research capability, saving additional time spent on donor research. Sabrina describes the impact of this tool, “I didn‘t go into this thinking we would have a tool that gave us research capabilities, but that‘s really going to be a game-changer for us“.
Right Moves For Youth anticipates more efficient workplace operations through software integrations and a program that allows multiple teams to collaborate in one place. They have already experienced the new system as a user-friendly connecting point for accounting and development departments and have seen an increase in the sophistication of their fund development efforts.
Volunteers reflect on their experiences:
- “I’m grateful to Carl Parziale and Tom Ellis for encouraging volunteering here at Bank of America. I feel lucky to work for a company that supports giving back. This project was especially fun working with the Apparo and Right Moves for Youth teams. Apparo made the whole experience seamless and enjoyable. It was an incredibly positive experience to work on this project and towards the organization’s mission. Working with this nonprofit to learn how their mission is changing kids’ lives and seeing the difference this makes was incredibly rewarding. “- John Altwine, Bank of America
- “I’m delighted to have had the opportunity to collaborate with such incredible teams such as Apparo, Right Moves for Youth, and my peers from Bank of America that aren’t located in Charlotte. Working together, we accomplished a great deal and made a positive impact. I’ve learned so much throughout this experience with donor management systems, and I’m grateful for what I’ve learned and the people I’ve met. I had an incredible amount of fun throughout our time together. Everyone came to each meeting with positive energy and shared enthusiasm. Apparo came very organized to each meeting and took great notes. It was truly a pleasure to work with such a fantastic group of individuals.” -Lena Nguyen, Bank of America
- “I love Apparo’s mission that connects our everyday lives to nonprofit missions like the one of Right Moves for Youth. The idea of contributing everyday skills to make a difference in the community and having the ability to work with such a great team is incredibly fulfilling and I’m eager to hear how this implementation is impacting the organization going forward.” – Carl Parziale, Bank of America
