Increasing online giving by 170% with Bloomerang Fundraising
Key Nonprofit Highlights
Catholic Charities of Central Colorado is a health and human services nonprofit serving those in the Colorado Springs area facing poverty, homelessness, and other instability. Since becoming a Bloomerang Fundraising customer in 2010, Catholic Charities transformed a once-manual online giving approach into a scalable, donor-friendly operation with dozens of custom donation forms, streamlined event and auction tools, and dependable reporting. That shift produced a 170% increase in online giving over three years, and their online giving has kept growing since, from a mere 22 online gifts in 2006 to 2,869 a decade later.
Challenge
Modernizing an aging, insecure donation platform
Catholic Charities of Central Colorado serves individuals and families through programs spanning nutrition services, case management, legal immigration counsel, emergency assistance, medical and behavioral health services, and education from early childhood through adult financial literacy. Before switching to Bloomerang Fundraising in 2010, the organization relied on a donation platform that struggled to keep pace with a growing base of online donors.
Their old platform failed to provide a simple, reliable way for supporters to set up recurring gifts and lacked the flexibility needed at a time when online giving was becoming an increasingly important channel for the organization. The system wasn’t user-friendly for donors and staff alike, and it also raised security concerns flagged by the organization's IT team, further highlighting the urgent need for an improved solution. Chief Advancement Officer Brea Reimer-Baum explained, “As the world becomes more and more digital, having a responsive and reliable platform for online giving is critical for nonprofits.”
Solution
Powering flexible, scalable online giving with Bloomerang Fundraising
More than a decade and a half later, Bloomerang Fundraising remains vital to how Catholic Charities of Central Colorado raises money online. The organization has built out dozens of custom donation forms, letting donors give exactly where they want to or letting them respond to a specific appeal, while seeing consistent branding that make giving feel familiar and trustworthy. As Reimer-Baum shared, “Brand recognition from our logo and colors to the specifics of a special campaign mean the donor feels comfortable making their gift!” The platform's reporting also became a workhorse for the advancement team, delivering pre-formatted, ready-to-download data whenever they needed it.
"Easy-to-create—and update—forms are always a plus for fundraising teams, big or small,” said Reimer-Baum. “The reporting function is also very responsive, giving us the data we need in a pre-formatted, ready-to-download way." The platform also simplified fundraising events like auctions, making it easy for staff to add new events and auction items and manage donor ticketing, with day-of volunteers picking up the tools quickly enough to ensure “a seamless experience for our donor guests.”
Results
Growing online giving from two dozen gifts to thousands
Catholic Charities’ online giving story shows just how far a nonprofit can scale with the right tools. In 2006, the organization logged just 22 online gifts for the entire year—a decade later, that number had grown to 2,869! “We only anticipate this number to grow,” said Reimer-Baum, “and Bloomerang has made that possible!” That growth builds on results CCCC saw in their first three years using Bloomerang Fundraising: a 170% increase in online giving.
For Reimer-Baum, the value goes beyond the numbers. “Bloomerang is easy to use, fundraiser-friendly, and has reliable staff to guide along the way and help troubleshoot issues as they arise.” She recommends the platform to other nonprofits whenever the opportunity arises: “We are so grateful for our partnership with Bloomerang!” With online giving continuing to grow year over year, Catholic Charities of Central Colorado is positioned to keep expanding their reach, help more families move toward stability, and spend less time managing technology and more time on their mission.
