eTapestry seamlessly transfers 12,000 donor records

When Florida Christian College converted to eTapestry, a Web-based fundraising software, college administrators had some apprehension during the transfer of donor records to the new system.

"It was so simple, it was scary," said Susan Sydor, administrative assistant to the president. "We kept thinking we were forgetting something or we were missing something."

eTapestry flawlessly transferred the small college's 12,000 donor records from its old software.

"With other systems we have used, we had encountered such nightmares," Sydor said. "And when that didn't happen, we were pleasantly surprised."

During an hour training session on the conversion of records, development office employees did not have enough questions to fill the time.

"Here we are a year down the road, and we haven't needed that hour," Sydor said.

In the past, Florida Christian College used different modules of one software brand that did everything from tracking grades of students to tracking gifts of donors. Because it was so broad, it didn't give the development office the functionality it needed, she said.

The college's upcoming capital campaign will mark the first time that the development office doesn't have to download database information from its main software into another program before generating basic reports and spreadsheets on the campaign.

"The best thing about eTapestry is that I can put information in and get information out," Sydor said with a laugh. "It's such a wonderful thing."

This means the development office saves valuable time in retrieving information. eTapestry also has saved the office training time because it is so easy to use.

"We brought on a new person this summer and she was working in eTapestry in a couple of days," Sydor said. "It doesn't require much training to use the software, generate reports and update information."

Sydor and others at the college have already taken advantage of eTapestry's Web accessibility. If Sydor can't finish her work during the day, she takes her laptop home and logs on to eTapestry via the Internet after dinner. This was especially helpful recently when she worked from home while caring for a sick member of her family.

Florida Christian College's president is setting up his laptop to access eTapestry when he's out of the office so that he can easily retrieve the latest thumbnail sketch on some of the college's larger church donors moments before talking to them.

"This way he can say 'We've noticed you've increased your giving during the year and we want to thank you,'" Sydor said. "When the churches know they are being recognized on a regular basis, it only encourages them to give more."

About eTapestry
eTapestry is the leading provider of web-based fundraising and donor management software for nonprofit organizations of all types and sizes. As a web-based application, eTapestry provides access from any Internet connection and handles all maintenance, backup and security. For more information, contact eTapestry at www.etapestry.com, 888-739-3827, or info@eTapestry.com.