Wells Fargo volunteer team conducted a technology and data process assessment in search of the best software application for Big Brothers Big Sisters of the Central Carolinas.
Big Brothers Big Sisters of the Central Carolinas (BBBS) provides children facing adversity with strong and enduring, professionally supported, one-to-one relationships that change their lives for the better. Through their mission, they hope to make this impact last forever by helping children realize their potentials and build their futures.
Big Brothers Big Sisters of the Central Carolinas came to Apparo hoping for assistance in addressing technology challenges surrounding their donor data management process. BBBS wanted to streamline their process and procedures surrounding collecting and reporting donor data to better support their fundraising efforts.
Apparo matched BBBS to a team of skilled volunteers from Wells Fargo, an Apparo Corporate Partner. This volunteer team conducted a thorough process assessment of their current donor data management system and provided recommendations. Wells Fargo volunteers worked with BBBS to determine key business requirements for their donor management system. The team conducted marketplace research to identify options for tools that met the requirements set forth by BBBS, demonstrated the options, and assisted the organization in selecting a software to best meet their needs.
- Volunteer Team: Wells Fargo
- Rafael Cabal
- Geo Marques Neto
- LJ Foley
- Christina Haskins
- Ken Nelson
- Nonprofit Team: Big Brothers Big Sisters
- Toni Freeman, Grants Manager
- Kalishia Mitchell, VP of Advancement
- Tyler Hoffman, Data and Research Manager
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Process and Selection
At the time of the process assessment, BBBS of Central Carolinas was using DonorPerfect as their donor management system. The nationwide organization was moving toward Salesforce and recommending the local divisions to adapt it as well. Due to this, Wells Fargo volunteers assessed the pain points BBBS was having with DonorPerfect, and then compared it to three other systems, including Salesforce.
BBBS had the following pain points at the time of the assessment:
- They had excessive bounce backs on their marketing emails.
- They had duplicate accounts.
- They were manually entering information from Quickbooks.
- They were manually sending thank-you notes.
Wells Fargo volunteers used a system called RDMP which weighs criteria identified by BBBS to identify the system that will help them most. During this process assessment, they reviewed Salesforce, Kindful, Bloomerang, Virtuous, and BBBS’ existing system, DonorPerfect. First, they researched each system and saw demos. Then, they identified features in each system that could meet their needs. Finally, it was determined that with the added features BBBS needed, DonorPerfect scored a 3.6 on the RDMP system, making it the best system for them to use. Below, are the results from the analysis of the assessment.
BBBS of Central Carolinas were happy to hear that the system they currently had in place would work for them, and ultimately, they would not have to spend money to replace it. Tyler Hoffman, Data and Research Manager at BBBS, feels that adequate training and installation of the additional features will help them become more efficient. Through this added efficiency, they anticipate reducing bounce back emails from 30% to 10%. They also, thanks to Wells Fargo, now have a dedicated representative who they can reach out to at DonorPerfect with any problems or questions they may have.
Thoughts on the Process
As a result of their experience, Wells Fargo volunteers now feel empowered to support the work that BBBS does. “There is a book called ‘Excellence and Leadership.’ One of the key phrases is ‘I don’t care how much you know, until I know how much you care.’ I believe, with this team, it’s very apparent how much they care about the work they are doing. And it resonates. To me, it’s all about the end product. Why we volunteer and why we are all here helping out. So, to the BBBS team, thanks for caring,” Rafael Cabal of Wells Fargo said.
Kalishia Mitchell, VP of Advancement, of BBBS expressed her gratefulness for the volunteers. “The Wells Fargo volunteers were very attentive. They really wanted to make sure we had the best fit for our needs as an organization. It’s been really good for us to dig a little deeper into the platform (DonorPerfect) that we already have,” she shared.
In addition, Toni Freeman, the grants manager at BBBS shared, “The timing was perfect because it made us stop and step back and do a true analysis and assessment of DonorPerfect instead of jumping feet first into a new platform, which probably would have happened if we hadn’t done this process.”
