Pittsburgh, PA
Arts & Culture
The 100th Bomb Group Foundation was growing and evolving. Board member Chris Barrett was looking for a CRM and member management system that would grow and evolve with them.
He had some clear requirements.
The Foundation is run entirely by volunteers, so the tool needed to be easy to learn and use. They have a membership program, and being able to manage their constituents was important. Any system they chose also needed to be able to support their fundraising programs and, ideally, make it easy to manage their online storefront.
Neon One checked all of their boxes. And, because we’re always updating our tools and making improvements, Barrett and the 100th Bomb Group Foundation knew we’d grow right along with them.
Meet the 100th Bomb Group Foundation
The 100th Bomb Group Foundation began in 1985 as a veterans’ reunion association. Today, they’re on a mission to preserve the legacy of World War II’s 100th Bombardment Group. They’re dedicated to educating new generations about what the men in that group did, who they were, why they fought, the machines they used, and their experiences during WWII.
That emphasis on embracing new members and making them part of a community is an important part of the Foundation’s growth. “I think that’s one thing that has allowed the hundredth to survive, where, as time has passed, many of the World War II veteran organizations just cease to exist as their original membership died off,” said Barrett. “We preserve that sense of community.”
The Search for the Perfect Platform
As a membership organization, the 100th Bomb Group Foundation needed a platform that made it easy to collect dues and provide on-going communication, resources, and special events to their members. The organization sells memorabilia and also has an active fundraising arm, too, and wanted to be able to manage everything in one place.
Barrett’s research led him to Neon One. The platform included management tools for donors, members, and events; a CRM with built-in email and marketing and communications tools; and an online storefront. And, even better, the simple and intuitive interface made it easy for volunteers to learn and use the system.
“There were several things I really liked about Neon One. It was up-to-date technology and an all-in-one product—that was very important to us. We make use of Neon Pay, the online shopping features, donations management, membership, and the full CRM system.”
–Chris Barrett, Board Member, 100th Bomb Group Foundation
Barrett worked with Neon One’s Implementation Team to migrate all their historical data from their old proprietary system into Neon CRM. He immediately took advantage of some of the new form features in Neon CRM and set up their membership forms, emails, receipts, and letters.
Saving Time and Building Community with Neon One
Today, many of the 100th Bomb Group Foundation’s volunteers interact with Neon CRM. They have around five “power” users who are in Neon CRM on a daily basis, and others access the system on a weekly or monthly basis. Still more use the system periodically to manage events. Regardless of how they use Neon CRM, volunteers enjoy:
Streamlining Event Registration
Neon CRM’s event management tools are valuable for any event, but they’re especially useful for their reunions. The Foundation can offer online registration that is modern and easy for registrants to use. It’s easy for staff, too—they’re able to pull registration numbers on a daily basis and understand who’s signed up, if people are bringing guests, and who they should reach out to about registering.
They can also use custom fields and give people the ability to make a donation during the event registration process.
Simplifying Segmentation and Communication
“Having all constituent information in an easily accessible way is important,” said Barrett.
They have lots of different constituent audiences. There are long-term members—who are often veterans or veterans’ family members—newer members, donors and fundraising partners, reunion members, and event participants. After the 100th Bomb Group Foundation was featured in Apple TV+’s Masters of Air show, they also encountered fans who purchase items from the online store.
Neon CRM’s segmentation and reporting makes it easy to manage each group, understand where those groups overlap, and communicate with each audience in a way that’s relevant and engaging.
Saving Time and Understanding Growth
Since the organization is run by volunteers, the ability to save time with automated renewals, automatic receipts, and other workflows has been a life-saver—especially for the person who manages the organization’s finance person, who used to do each of those things manually.
Neon CRM’s reporting tools makes it easy to understand each of the Foundation’s different activities and how people support their work. The simple reporting system gives staff the full 360° perspective of their membership, fundraising efforts, event performance, and revenue from their online store.
Grow With Neon CRM’s All-In-One Platform
Having everything all in one place has been invaluable for the volunteers at the 100th Bomb Group Foundation. “This isn’t a rehearsed sales pitch!” said Barrett.
“[Neon CRM] was simply what I was looking for. I didn’t want to have to integrate things. I wanted a vendor who’d figured it out, and made it approachable for me to get up and running as quickly as possible, and that’s what I got with Neon.”
–Chris Barrett, Board Member, 100th Bomb Group Foundation
It can be just as easy for you, too! If you’re looking for a system that makes it easy for you, your staff, and your volunteers to run your organization and build your community, we’d love to talk to you. To get a feel for what the platform can do for you, please contact us for a one-on-one tour of Neon CRM, or sign up for one of our group demo’s below.
Find a time that works for you!
