Chicago, Illinois
Human Services
Alianza Americas is a network of over 50 immigrant-led, community-based organizations across the United States, working in three key program areas: systemic inequity, climate justice, and immigrant justice. With a staff of around 15 people, Alianza Americas focuses on empowering immigrant communities through advocacy, capacity building, and strategic partnerships.
Jonathan Castro, who initially joined as the Data and Support Resources Manager, played a pivotal role in managing data for a federally funded project to understand vaccine hesitancy among Latin American and Caribbean migrant communities during the COVID-19 pandemic. That experience with data management led him to spearhead Alianza Americas’ transition from Action Network to Neon One.
“One of the reasons why we decided to switch to Neon One in particular was because of some of the member capabilities and functionalities that the platform offers, in particular the member portal… We wanted to have a platform that not only allowed us to do everything that Action Network allowed us to do, but that was also easier to manage and easier to use for us.”
–Jonathan Castro, Data and Support Resources Manager
Transitioning to Neon One
Alianza Americas decided to switch to Neon One primarily because of the platform’s member capabilities, particularly the member portal. As a network of immigrant-led organizations, Alianza Americas needed a platform that not only allowed them to manage their data and communications but could also facilitate greater interaction and provide an easy, modern experience for their members.
Jonathan highlighted that, while there were initial challenges due to the digital gap among some members, Neon One’s tools, such as email campaigns, forms, and custom fields, have been instrumental in engaging their network. The ability to create customized forms for event registrations, surveys, and donations has streamlined their operations and improved member engagement.
Neon One in Action: Annual Leadership Assembly
One key event in which Neon One played a crucial role was Alianza Americas’ Annual Leadership Assembly in November 2024. This event brought together over 100 leaders from immigrant communities across 14 states to strategize for the upcoming year, review programmatic work, and elect board members.
Neon One’s Tools were Essential in Managing the Event:
Forms and Custom Fields: Alianza Americas used Neon One’s forms to collect detailed information from attendees, including dietary preferences, accessibility needs, and names of representatives for board elections. This allowed the team to plan ahead to ensure the event was inclusive and well-organized.
Email Campaigns: The Email Campaign and Email Audience functions helped Alianza Americas invite and engage members. They could send targeted reminders to those who hadn’t opened their emails, ensuring greater visibility and a higher attendance rate.
Events: The Events management tools helped streamline the planning and execution of their 20th Anniversary reception, where they reconnected with founders, allies, and donors. The event strengthened personal connections and helped raise significant funds, bringing them closer to their fundraising goals.
Fundraising Impact
Neon One has been instrumental in Alianza Americas’ fundraising efforts. During their 20th Anniversary reception, they used Neon One to create event pages with two ticket types: a free option and a suggested donation option. With these two options available, they were able to raise over $1,000 in unrestricted funds!
After implementing Neon One, Alianza Americas started to think more strategically about their fundraising campaigns—specifically Giving Tuesday and their end-of-year campaign. They used Neon One’s reporting tools to segment donors based on past contributions, which gave them the flexibility to personalize their asks and maximize donor engagement. While they currently use Stripe for donations, they are considering transitioning to Neon Pay to centralize all donation data within Neon One.
“For us, the best part about using Neon One is that pretty much everything we could ask for is there in the CRM, and it’s all centralized in one location. So every sort of action is already kind of stored, and we don’t have to transfer it over from another platform.”
–Jonathan Castro, Data and Support Resources Manager
Getting the Most Out of Neon One
From managing event registrations and fundraising campaigns to engaging members and streamlining data management, Neon One has become an integral part of operations at Alianza Americas.
Jonathan’s Guide to Leveraging Neon One’s Full Potential for Organizational Success:
Experimenting with the platform: Try sending test emails, creating forms, and exploring custom fields to understand the full range of possibilities.
Using Neon Academy: Jonathan found the Neon Academy courses helpful for onboarding and understanding the platform’s capabilities. He encourages other organizations to utilize these resources, especially for staff who will be using Neon One extensively.
Using Custom Fields for Data Collection & Communication Strategies: Custom fields have been particularly valuable for Alianza Americas, allowing them to ask specific questions and segment their audience effectively.
As Alianza Americas looks ahead to 2025, they are excited to explore more of Neon One’s functionality for their fundraising and membership goals and look forward to the new features and enhancements launched every month.
Neon One has proven to be more than just a CRM for Alianza Americas—it’s a partner in their mission to create a more just and equitable world for immigrant communities.
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