Human Services
A Simple Start
Via International is a nonprofit organization with more than 50 years of experience advancing community-driven development along the U.S.–Mexico border and throughout the Americas. From microcredit programs and youth arts to nutrition and travel-based immersion experiences, their mission is rooted in dignity, empowerment, and sustainable change.
To support that mission, they initially turned to Bloomerang for one main reason: donor management. The team wasn’t especially tech-savvy, so a donor-only system felt like the right fit at the time. Gabriel Reed, Via International’s Director of Innovation, described his first impression of Bloomerang as, “straightforward and simple and almost reductive.”
For a while, this simplicity served their needs. But as their programs and relationships expanded, so did their CRM challenges.
Growing Beyond Donors
As Via’s work evolved, they began engaging a broader community. They began working with:
- Students joining immersive travel experiences
- Community partners across Latin America
- Participants in long-term development programs
Bloomerang, designed only for donor tracking, quickly hit its limits. Via’s contacts were spread across Mailchimp, GiveButter, and other tools. They lacked a pipeline to track engagement outside of donations. And, with Bloomerang’s contact-based pricing, adding non-donors to their system would have been too costly.
Bloomerang just couldn’t support the full scope of their work anymore.
Searching for the Right Fit
When it came time to find a new system, Via had one goal: get all of their contacts in one place.
But it wasn’t just about features. Gabriel emphasized how much the support behind the product mattered:
“I wanted to be very clear that where we were going made sense for us, not just because there’s a price… The amount of work it takes to move from one CRM to another is a huge amount of work.”
They needed more than a vendor, they needed a partner who could guide them through a big transition.
Building a New Foundation with Neon One
That’s where Neon One made the difference. The sales and implementation teams showed deep expertise and a supportive approach, giving Viathe confidence to make the switch.
Using Neon One, they can now:
- Centralize their ‘total world of contacts’, including students, program participants, and donors, to create a single, unified source of truth for their entire community.
- Track diverse forms of engagement beyond donations, including student involvement in travel programs, participation in community development initiatives, and interactions with sales contacts.
- Rebuild their core operations on a new foundation, developing the staff ‘muscle memory’ and consistent workflows needed to scale their impact for the long term.
For Via, the transition was more than a system swap.. This change laid a stronger foundation for their future—backed by a partner they could trust.
Go Beyond Donor Management
Like Gabriel Reed and Via International, your nonprofit can also expand its impact by managing more than just donors. If you’re feeling stuck with your current CRM or are exploring where to get started Neon One can help. With our powerful tools to manage programs, centralize data, and cultivate relationships, you can connect with every part of your community now and build lasting growth far into the future.
