Giveffect’s all-in-one nonprofit software provides nonprofit organizations the ability to maximize their day-to-day functions and achieve their mission in innovative ways. Kids’ Meals Inc., a hunger nonprofit, has improved its workflow and increased its donor engagement by converting to Giveffect and leveraging Giveffect’s 10-in-1 software.
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CONTENTS
1. Kids’ Meals Inc. Overview
2. Smart Automation At Work (reduced excess manual entry and gained 30 hours in the work month)
4, Online Donation Increase (increased overall online donations by 25%)
8. Engaging Volunteers (access to a 360 view of volunteers to keep track of progress)
1. Kids’ Meals Inc. Overview
Non Profit: Kids’ Meals Inc.
Years with Giveffect: 6 (2017-2022)
Tech Stack
Volunteers: Volunteer Matters
CRM: Donor Perfect
Email Marketing: Constant Contact
Auction: BidPal
Financial Reconciliation: QuickBooks
Point of Contact: Olivia McDaniel, Donor Database Manager
MISSION
Kids’ Meals mission is to end childhood hunger by delivering free healthy meals to the doorsteps of Houston’s hungriest preschool-aged children and through collaboration provide their families with resources to help end the cycle of poverty.
Kids’ Meals is a first responder to children ages five years old and under facing debilitating hunger due to extreme poverty. Every weekday, year-round, from 9 a.m. to noon, volunteers prepare thousands of healthy lunches consisting of a sandwich, nutritious snacks, and 100% juice or milk. Their six vans deliver the meals M-F to children enrolled in their program.
They currently serve six Houston-area routes that target zip codes all located within Beltway 8, where the need is critical.
2. Smart Automation At Work
Problem:
Prior to using the all-in-one nonprofit software, Kids’ Meals Inc. used at least 4 different software systems to manage their donors, donations, and email communications. All of the information Kids Meals’ gathered for their volunteers and donations had to be manually entered into their existing database systems, which
accumulated up to 30 hours of additional manual entry for the staff. With the help of Giveffect’s smart automation system, Kids’ Meals was able to increase the number of volunteers, and donations and schedule seamless communications with their constituents.
Solution: Smart Automation at work
Prior to using Giveffect, what were the hardships your organization faced?
“Combining volunteers and donors was a difficult and cumbersome process for us, we used pen and paper to gather information for our volunteers, added them into excel, and imported them into the software. For our donors it was all a manual input into our software. With Giveffect we were able to decrease the amount of manpower used to gather information, expand our reach into the community and create efficiency within our staff.”
With an all-in-one nonprofit software, communication and email marketing has increased greatly and contributed to the success of Kids’ Meals increase in online giving and campaign implementation. Kids Meals Inc. has successfully launched over 290 campaigns since 2017 and continues to engage members throughout the Houston community by participating in food drives and hosting their annual Harvest Luncheon event. The additional time Kids’ Meal staff members have gained through the use of Giveffect’s software allows them to expand their reach into the community, share the benefits of attending events and share their mission!
Nonprofit staff members are inundated with tasks that require manual entry and do not allow the staff to strategize, further engage members and increase opportunities to fundraise. Giveffect’s 10-in-1 software and smart automation changes non-profit’s functionality!
3. Annual Donation Increase
2017: $215,966.51 (39.40%)
2018: $332,145.95 (60.60%)
between 2017 and 2018:
2017: 725 Donations
2018: 1279 Donations
4, Online Donation Increase
Problem:
What vital need came to fruition by using Giveffect’s software? “We had a vital need for improvement in our online giving system and Giveffect delivered. We were not able to match donors and volunteers
with important information before to ensure accuracy, in which sometimes they were both (donor and volunteer). Tracking of members became much easier.”
Solution: Online Donation Increase by 25%
The transition from Kids’ Meals Inc. current donor management system to Giveffect has impacted their donor retention and overall online donation growth since 2017. Between 2017 and 2018, Kid’s Meals has seen an overall donation increase of 25%!
Giveffect’s all-in-one nonprofit software allowed Kids’ Meals Inc. to automate all of the information between their Donor Perfect, Constant Contact, and Volunteer Matters, thus adding more functionality. Finance teams were able to easily collect data on their donors and aid in the QuickBooks reconciliation process.
5. Focused Fundraising
Email Marketing: Acknowledging Your Members
Kids’ Meals Inc. applied a combination of Giveffect’s email marketing system and the events, auctions & fundraising system which replaced Constant Contact to increase online giving through membership acknowledgment and implementing creative email campaigns.
Third-Party Fundraising: Personal Fundraising
Kids’ Meals Inc. made it easy and fun to celebrate your birthday by inviting their constituents to join Kids’ Meals Birthday Club and change the lives of hungry Houston children. Every $2 donated makes and delivers a meal directly to the homes of hungry children in Houston.
6. Engaging Your Constituents
- 290 campaigns launched with GE’s email marketing software to over 3,800 participants
- Raised over $1.5 million dollars with an average donation of $535.57
- Exceeded annual online donation goals and increased Annual Harvest Luncheon event attendance through email correspondence and campaign production
- Increased online donations by 19% for the Annual Harvest Luncheon between 2017 and 2018
Harvest Luncheon between 2017 and 2018:
2017: 591 Donations
2018: 727 Donations
7. Increased Attendance Using Events System
Problem:
Engaging constituents and managing events can be a difficult task. The time it takes to execute the event takes time away from spreading awareness and increasing attendance and sponsorship. Managing information can take weeks to gather!
Solution: Increased participation and attendance with the use of the ticketing system
Kids’ Meals Inc. utilized Giveffect’s ticketed event system and mobile app, Event Buddy, to register guests for the event. The 10th annual Harvest Luncheon was a complete success as Kids’ Meals Inc. raised $502,419, exceeding their $400,000 goal by 29%. By using Giveffect’s event system, guests were able to easily purchase tickets, register to become sponsors, and come together to fight hunger throughout Houston.
The Main Event
Launched a donation page for the 2018 Kids’ Meals’ 10th Annual Harvest Luncheon raising over $500,000!
“Guests were able to easily purchase tickets, become sponsors for the event and learn more about what the Harvest Luncheon is really about!”
Kids’ Meals Annual Harvest Luncheon brings together corporations, foundations and Houstonians interested in delivering hope to the future of Houston by investing in the next generation. The luncheon offers a VIP experience, Mimosas & Market-a curated group of incredible vendors offering a collection of unique items to kick off your holiday shopping, and a spectacular silent auction crowned by an outstanding program with speakers.
8. Engaging Volunteers
Make an Impact
Prior to using Giveffect, collecting information was a difficult task for Kids’ Meals. The manual entry of incoming volunteers and tracking their shift was overwhelming and took time away from engaging with their volunteers. In 2016, Kids’ Meals recruited 7,000 volunteers to help prepare and distribute meals to children throughout the city of Houston.
Thanks to the help of their volunteers, 2,500 – 4,500 meals fare being packed every weekday for hungry children. Volunteers are able to sign up for different shifts within Kids’ Meals volunteer schedule powered by Giveffect’s all-in-one nonprofit software! Between 2017 and 2018 there was an increase of over 1,000 additional volunteers – growing Kids’ Meals’ reach even further.
The 360-Degree View
A 360 View of Volunteers, Shifts, and Opportunities Through the Volunteer System
“Input is much easier for our organization and our members and volunteers have
the ability to sign up for events and register for shifts. The user-friendly system
and campaigns create more autonomy for our staff, volunteers, and anyone who
visits our website!”
Giveffect’s Volunteer System allows nonprofits to get a 360-degree view of their
volunteer’s contact profile. From the user friendly administrative perspective,
Kids’Meals was able to see who signed up for shifts, and whether the shift was
completed, and gather additional details on new volunteers to acknowledge their
hard work for future volunteer opportunities!
9. Increased In-Kind Donation Opportunities
As Kids’ Meals fights to end hunger throughout the Houston area, receiving in-kind donations continues to be a driving force behind expanding their reach throughout the area to serve more children. Compared to last year, Kids’ Meals met their goal in raising over $14,000 for in-kind donations. As the organization grows, Kids’ Meals was able to include 2 new areas to deliver food to the doorsteps of hungry children.
In-kind donations are an important source of revenue to non-profits. With the help of outside organizations and community allies, organizations are able to continue programming while establishing a strong presence throughout their community.
Local companies, worship centers, and organizations establish food drives on behalf of Kids’ Meals throughout the year. Thousands of meals are provided for children throughout the year through drives such as Juice Box Heroes, Lunch Pack Drive, Food Drives, Sandwich Drives, and their Summer Juice Box Challenge. Not only does Kids’ Meals deliver healthy lunches daily to the community, but they also deliver hope. With the amount of time the organization has gained from converting to Giveffect software, Kids’ Meals is able to host and participate in even more drives!
10. Conclusion
Kids’ Meals inc. leveraged Giveffect’s campaign system to drive donor success through focused fundraising. This effort included creating third party campaigns, online giving, donor and volunteer engagement, and utilizing event tools for their annual luncheon. With the power of Giveffect’s Smart Automation system, Kids’ Meals Inc. was able to achieve donor success by increasing retention and decreasing manual entry.
With the help of Giveffect’s all-in-one nonprofit software, The Kids’ Meals staff has acquired even more time throughout their month to serve Houston’s hungriest one child at a time!
