Cincinnati led the way with an estimated $18 million in electronic funds raised (a number which, notably, tops all United Way offices listed in a recent survey by the Chronicle of Philanthropy about online fundraising trends). Meanwhile, United Ways located in Philadelphia, San Jose, Wilmington (Delaware) and Toledo posted strong numbers as well. Helix back-office software processed in excess of $1.8 billion last year for the United Way, representing over 45% of the total annual campaign nationwide.

Both United Way and Helix executives are delighted with the e-Pledge outcome, which more than doubled the amount of money raised through the electronic channel last year. The Internet-based solution, part of the comprehensive ANDAR Fundraising Software package, helped five United Way offices generate nearly $13 million during its inaugural year.

Wayne Meadows, a technology executive with United Way in Wilmington said, “This fundraising tool produced a benefit beyond simply raising money. It allowed us to concentrate on what we do best, which is building communities.” Winston Faircloth, CEO of the United Way Processing and Information Center (UwPIC), said, “We selected ANDAR not only for its use as e-pledge tool, but as a individual platform for year-round donor involvement,” said Faircloth. “With the upcoming introduction of the e-Community and e-Volunteer modules, participants in the United Way campaign will soon be able to learn more about human service needs and volunteer opportunities in their own community. This ability to bring information, tailored to the needs and interests of individual donors, sets the ANDAR e-pledge tool apart from other applications.”

Several factors contributed to the campaign’s success. First, employees are growing increasingly comfortable with electronic, workplace-based giving – in part because of their familiarity and regular interface with technology. Second, ANDAR’s real time tracking feature solves a major problem for time-pressed managers. It enables executives at the charity as well as employee campaign coordinators to instantly access data. Because the ANDAR e-Pledge database is fully integrated with the larger back-office campaign database, data transfer – an often thorny issue with outside companies who offer online giving services – was immediate and free of compatibility problems that can occur.

Many United Way supporters at the corporate level also embraced the customization capabilities available with the Helix product. The interface of ANDAR e-Pledge can be designed to meet corporate communication standards at both United Way as well as participating companies. Additionally, managers can customize the software to provide any number of different views for various donor classifications.

Philadelphia’s United Way became the first location to use ANDAR’s latest e-Pledge enhancement, a national processing module designed exclusively for corporations with multiple offices scattered across the country. With the new feature, campaign managers and executives can not only track their own performance, but also see how the data relates to campaigns underway at other corporate offices. The increased functionality and success in Philadelphia has prompted several United Ways to install the enhanced version of e-Pledge in preparation for the fall 2003 campaign.

“Whether it’s developing a national processing capability or new reporting formats, we’re continually challenging ourselves to develop innovative solutions to stimulate and manage online giving,” said Real Bedard, Helix Vice President. “The strong results we’ve generated with United Way has sparked interest from several other large nonprofit organizations, as well as corporations wanting to more effectively manage their charitable giving activities. We will pursue these opportunities as part of our larger goal of converting the promise of online fundraising into reality.”

Read More About Andar...

• System Overview
• Technology
• Hardware / Software Requirement
• e-Community
• e-Pledge/CRM