How Bloomerang Fundraising increased donations by 47% in one year
Key Nonprofit Highlights
Founded in 1979, the Merit School of Music in Chicago, IL provides high-quality music education to a diverse community of over 2,500 students annually. With nationally accredited programs and passionate teaching artists, the school helps young musicians achieve their potential, with 100% of graduates continuing to college. Merit School of Music transitioned from Network for Good to Bloomerang Fundraising to improve their online fundraising efforts. Network for Good’s platform caused donor confusion and lacked customization, prompting the school to seek a better solution. Bloomerang provided streamlined, branded donation forms, event registration, and a user-friendly experience for both donors and staff. Within a year of switching, the school saw a 47% increase in donations and a 16% rise in general gifts, with 35% of their total budget coming from online giving.
Challenge
Network for Good wasn’t an effective fundraising software
Digital giving was not a new idea for the Merit School of Music. For a few years they had worked with Network for Good, an online donation platform, to assist in the fundraising process. However, over time, the School realized this giving platform was not meeting the needs of their community and donors. “Network for Good was not effective in boosting our overall fundraising,” shared Jennifer Ridder, Individual Gift Manager.
“When donors made online donations, their credit card statements would have unrecognizable transactions, causing confusion and wariness. Additionally, they required a one week turnaround time to update and customize the donation page, which was unacceptable when updates needed to be made quickly surrounding our events and announcements.” Merit School of Music decided to redesign their website and used the opportunity to research new fundraising software that offered streamlined service, ease of use, and transparency for donors. They sought a provider with customization services, support for event ticket sales, and private, branded pages for donations.
Solution
Bloomerang Fundraising: Streamlined donation forms and event registration
Merit School of Music found Bloomerang Fundraising was the only platform capable of meeting every item on their wish list. “After conducting our own research and consulting with other nonprofits for feedback on donation platforms, we found that Bloomerang fulfilled all of our donation and event registration needs,” shared Ridder. They implemented Bloomerang’s donation forms and fundraising software to provide a simplified, trustworthy, and branded fundraising portal on their website, along with customized event registration to streamline event setup and management. “Bloomerang offers simplicity for our donors, who can now use our branded page for donations and registrations, as well as for our internal team, which can easily make adjustments and customize the site.”
Donors who once mailed checks for $20,000 are now logging in through their smartphones, finding the platform easy and secure to use. With half of the school’s budget coming from community contributions and nearly all major donors embracing online giving, Bloomerang’s simple and effective platform has become critical to the organization’s ongoing success. “Our implementation of Bloomerang’s platform was seamless, and we began seeing results immediately,” said Ridder. “It gave our entire donation system a cleaner, more professional look, and our regular donors have told us how much they love it.”
Results
47% increase in donations with Bloomerang Fundraising tools
Less than a year after implementing Bloomerang Fundraising, Merit School of Music experienced remarkable growth in online fundraising. The organization saw a 47% increase in donations and a 16% increase in general gifts since making the switch from Network for Good. They have calculated that with Bloomerang, 35% of their total budget comes from online giving—an impressive milestone.
As part of their fundraising efforts, the school hosted their Annual Anniversary Gala, during which they launched an alumni community aimed at connecting with 500 former students. To engage this younger audience, the staff introduced mobile-friendly donation options, catering to the preferences of a tech-savvy generation. With consistent giving strategies and expanded tools from Bloomerang Fundraising, they are well-positioned for continued growth and success.
