Human Services
Founded in 1982, NAMI Greater Mississippi Valley is one of about 600 NAMI chapters nationwide. As a team of four, they serve eight counties across Iowa and Illinois by providing education, support, and advocacy for individuals with mental health conditions and their caregivers. Here’s the big question: How does such a small team support over 6,000 people across a bi-state region? For Executive Director Mark Mathews, the answer is technology that works as hard as they do. When Mark started, he quickly realized that Neon CRM was designed for busy nonprofit professionals, not tech nerds.
“The Neon system is very user-friendly…I was quickly able to grasp the program and work in it really easily.”
– Mark Mathews, Executive Director, NAMI Greater Mississippi Valley
Doing More With Less for Mental Health Support
Small teams like NAMI Greater Mississippi Valley juggle a lot, including fundraising, volunteer coordination, membership tracking, and complex reporting requirements. Operating across two states adds even more complexity, with different regulations and funding sources to track.
They needed a solution that could handle everything from donation processing and membership management to program registration and reporting, all in one place, without requiring technical expertise.
Less Admin, More Advocacy
For Mark and his small team, every minute saved on administrative work means more time for mental health advocacy. With Neon CRM, they are able to automate many of the manual tasks that once took them hours to complete.
Raising Funds Without Raising Stress
When a donation is made on their website, it flows directly into Neon CRM where acknowledgements are then automatically sent to donors. Mark says this process “helps streamline operations tremendously.”
Their biggest fundraiser, NAMIWalks, brings in about $150,000—one-third of their annual budget. After the event, National sends donor and participant spreadsheets to Mark, which he easily imports using Neon CRM’s Import Manager and templates.
“[Neon CRM’s] workflows are really handy to automate all kinds of communications, like quick follow-ups and even last-minute reminders.”
– Mark Mathews, Executive Director, NAMI Greater Mississippi Valley
Keeping Programs and Volunteers Connected
In addition to events and fundraising, NAMI Greater Mississippi Valley also runs numerous classes and seminars throughout the year. Automated workflows handle event reminders, confirmations, and follow-ups, ensuring participants get consistent communication while freeing up staff time.
With nearly 40 volunteers running support groups, staffing events, and leading classes, keeping track of engagement and staying in touch is crucial to Mark and his team’s success. With Neon CRM’s unified supporter view, Mark has full visibility into each volunteer’s activities, training, and engagement. This complete record for every volunteer makes communication and management effortless.
Managing Memberships Across Chapters
As Mark and his team manage memberships across local, state, and national levels, it has the potential to get complicated fast. But luckily, Neon CRM’s membership tracking tools help to simplify the process. Every month, Mark cross-references new member data with NAMI National’s list. Pulling that report takes minutes, not hours.
Accurate Insights Across State Lines
Because the chapter serves both Iowa and Illinois, accurate reporting by geography is extremely important. With Neon CRM Mark can easily segment data for each state’s funders and regulations. It also helps with targeted communications, such as sending campaigns to specific counties or zip codes.
“It’s very easy to pull membership reports in Neon, and it’s big benefit to have all that data right at your fingertips.”
– Mark Mathews, Executive Director, NAMI Greater Mississippi Valley
Smarter Reporting and Stronger Relationships
Because the chapter serves both Iowa and Illinois, accurate data by geography is key. Neon CRM makes it easy to segment reports by state, funder, or zip code, helping the team stay compliant and communicate strategically. Beyond data, Neon CRM helps Mark deepen donor relationships. He uses notes to capture personal details like family milestones or passions so every interaction feels genuine. Mark also relies on the customizable dashboards in Neon CRM to keep him informed and on top of his day-to-day tasks.
“Neon CRM notifies us when a donor’s credit card information is outdated and automatically sends reminders. This type of automation significantly streamlines operations.”
– Mark Mathews, Executive Director, NAMI Greater Mississippi Valley
Advice for Other NAMI Chapters
For chapters wondering if they have the capacity to take on new software, Mark’s advice is clear: you can. But Mark is quick to admit they’re still learning. “I would say that we’re more like a 16-year-old behind an F1 racing car. We know NEON (the racing car) is the true star, and we’re lucky to be riding along.”
His biggest takeaway is simple: don’t just set it up, use it.
By actively engaging with Neon CRM, NAMI Greater Mississippi Valley tracks their entire community and easily communicates with them. These connections provide insights that strengthen programs and fundraising. For the team, Neon CRM is more than a database, it’s a partner in their work— saving time, working smarter, and helping them make a bigger impact every day.
“Neon CRM is a great tool to help unite different chapters, share functionality, and streamline operations, it’s really robust, and the support and training make it accessible even for the smallest teams. We love it, and we’d recommend it.“
– Mark Mathews, Executive Director, NAMI Greater Mississippi Valley
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