Spokane, Washington
Environmental
When Caitlin Knight founded Path of Hope Rescue in Spokane, Washington, six years ago, she started with just $87, a big heart, and an even bigger goal: to save pregnant dogs and puppies from kill shelters and give them a second chance at life. What began as a small, grassroots effort has blossomed into a thriving organization supported by nearly 150 passionate volunteers and preparing to welcome its third salaried team member.
The Bark Before the Bite: Challenges They Faced
With growth came growing pains. Organizing volunteers, raising funds, and managing data were becoming major hurdles—until January 2024, when Path of Hope discovered Neon One.
A Dogpile of Data
Without a centralized database, Path of Hope struggled to track and understand their donor and volunteer base. Relying on scattered spreadsheets and inconsistent records led to inefficiencies and missed opportunities to build relationships with supporters.
Lack of Fundraising Focus
The organization depended heavily on one-off adoption donations, with no tools or strategies in place for broader fundraising campaigns.
Wrangling Volunteers
Managing up to 150 volunteers at any given time was a logistical challenge. Tracking roles, schedules, and activities was difficult, making it hard to fully utilize volunteer talents and foster engagement.
A New Leash on Life: The Neon One Solution
Neon One marked a pivotal shift for Path of Hope Rescue, addressing their operational pain points and giving them the tools they needed to better engage donors and volunteers.
Enhanced Volunteer Engagement
Customizable features in Neon CRM allowed Path of Hope to streamline all their volunteer tracking and management, providing a more effective and professional approach. Volunteers are now actively involved in tasks like donor outreach and data management through the platform, maximizing their talents and deepening their connection to the mission.
“Having a clear picture of who is doing what has been transformative,” Knight shared. “We can now assign roles effectively and ensure every volunteer’s efforts are valued.”
The Magic of Centralized Data
The benefits of Neon CRM began even before Path of Hope’s system went live. During onboarding, Knight worked with a Neon One Implementation & Data Consultant to organize and migrate their historical spreadsheet data.
For the first time, all donor and volunteer information was centralized in one system, providing a holistic view of supporter activity. With a clear picture of their community, Knight was able to identify patterns in donor and volunteer behavior, which inspired more targeted communication strategies and effective campaigns.
“I found donors that had been donating to us for years, and I had no idea because we never had all of our data in one place before!”
–Caitlin Knight, Founder & Executive Director, Path of Hope Rescue
Fundraising Transformed: Hope Heroes Recurring Giving Campaign
In June 2024, Path of Hope launched their game-changing Hope Heroes recurring giving campaign, inspired by insights from Neon One’s Recurring Giving Report: Data-Backed Insights for Sustainable Generosity. Using Neon CRM’s tools, Path of Hope made it easy for supporters to set up recurring donations. Within months, they went from having just a few recurring donors via PayPal to more than 55 recurring donors today through Neon CRM. The Hope Heroes campaign now generates $1,500 in steady monthly revenue that Knight and her team can rely on. Thanks to Neon CRM, fundraising isn’t just easier—it’s smarter, more efficient, and built to grow alongside their mission.
“After reading the report, it finally clicked–we needed to focus on recurring donors!”
–Caitlin Knight, Founder & Executive Director, Path of Hope Rescue
Looking Ahead: Manage Your Mission with Neon CRM
Path of Hope Rescue has transformed its operations, fundraising, and volunteer engagement, and in return, has given them more time to focus on saving even more precious doggos—to ensure every dog gets its chance at a happy ending!
Good data management is just one piece of the puzzle for nonprofits. Whether you’re managing supporter communications, volunteers, event planning, donor prospecting, or various other tasks, having a single platform to handle it all makes your work more efficient and impactful.
Discover how Neon CRM can help you manage your mission. Take a self-guided tour today and see what it can do for your organization!
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