Key Nonprofit Highlights
CROS Ministries, which stands for Christians Reaching Out to Society, serves Florida’s Palm Beach and Martin Counties through community collaborations. They use a talented volunteer force to help prevent families and individuals from falling into the spiral of poverty, food insecurity, and homelessness. CROS Ministries sought an affordable and user-friendly solution to improve their online fundraising. With Bloomerang’s fundraising tools, they enhanced their website, donation forms, and donor engagement, leading to a seamless giving experience. As a result, online donations grew 6x, from $23,000 to over $152,000 in just nine months, with 589 donors contributing. Bloomerang’s simplicity and effectiveness transformed their fundraising efforts, reducing stress and strengthening donor relationships.
Challenge
Finding the right fundraising platform to partner with their mission
For over 43 years, CROS Ministries has successfully addressed hunger in their community. Their programs include a food pantry program, a produce reclamation operation from local farms, a hot meal program serving the hungry in Delray Beach, and CROS Camp, a summer day camp for children from families with low incomes. They had tried several approaches with their online fundraising, including PayPal, Classy, and the EmpowerGiving platform.
Gibbie Nauman, Director of Development and Community Relations, remembers how expensive Classy was. On top of the expense, the organization was stuck in an annual contract and had to stay with Classy an additional year when they forgot to provide a month’s notice during a busy time for the organization. They wanted to minimize stress to both themselves and their donor base by improving their website, donation forms, and processing. They needed a functional website and a way for people to go online, as well as an easy, affordable way for them to make donations.
Solution
Increasing donor engagement with Bloomerang Fundraising notifications
The team at CROS Ministries consulted nonprofit peers and Achieve, a digital marketing agency for nonprofits, about Bloomerang Fundraising. The feedback was unanimous—everyone praised the platform for its simplicity, affordability, and ease of use. With Bloomerang, they focused on their goal of continued engagement with their donors. They implemented notifications to strengthen donor relationships, ensuring they were promptly informed whenever a donation was made. “The other day, I saw a dedication made in honor of a long-time supporter of CROS. I knew we would send him a letter about the donation but thought it was nice to also send him an email saying happy birthday,” said Nauman.
Results
Raising 6x donations in less than 9 months with Bloomerang
CROS Ministries revamped their technology approach and partnered with Bloomerang Fundraising to enhance their online giving. By incorporating Bloomerang Fundraising’s robust tools, they created a seamless donor experience that led to dramatic increases in online donations. In less than nine months, online giving skyrocketed from just over $23,000 with their previous platform to over $152,000 from 589 donors. “Why couldn’t I have found Bloomerang five years ago when I was trying to figure out our next step? I was just blown away with everything,” said Nauman. “It’s a breath of fresh air to make a donation this way!”
