Formed in 1961, the Catholic Diocese of Allentown is home to 40 Catholic schools, 83 parishes, and over 252,000 registered Catholics, representing more than 20% of the general population.

Michele Mullikin, director of stewardship and annual giving, and Paul Acampora, secretary of the diocesan secretariat for stewardship and development, are always asking how they can do things better and looking for more efficient ways to streamline tasks that allow them to focus on larger goals. Blackbaud Raiser’s Edge NXT® gives them the freedom to focus on their mission.

Given Mullikin and Acampora’s backgrounds, they are very in-tune to how a paper check that is delivered in an envelope moves into the database, to the bank, and then to a secure file. “We know the problems that need to be solved and it’s clear that those who are building the product at Blackbaud really understand that process,” said Acampora. “It makes all the difference, and it’s a great tool.”

Gift Processing Made Easy

“One of the best things about Raiser’s Edge NXT is processing all the credit cards, especially all of the recurring gifts,” said Mullikin. “If we didn’t have Raiser’s Edge NXT, we would still be doing things manually, so it has really saved us a lot of time and manpower.”

The Office of Stewardship and Development used to only be able to process gifts twice a month because their process was cumbersome. They now process daily with Blackbaud Merchant Services’”. “It has saved us days of time, not just hours,” said Acampora. “It’s also allowed for more cross training to happen among our staff.”

Before utilizing Blackbaud Merchant Services, the Diocese of Allentown was paying for staff overtime to get all the credit cards processed in a timely matter. “These tools offer more flexibility, are easier to use, and additional functions while also saving time and money,” said Mullikin, “We have easily saved a few thousand dollars.”

A Reliable Partner in Raiser’s Edge NXT

Databases are complex systems, and the Diocese of Allentown is confident in the Blackbaud team to be there to offer assistance and support when needed.

“Raiser’s Edge NXT is a fantastic tool, and our preferred solution, but everyone has a database issue at one time or another because databases are intricate and complicated,” Acampora said. “You have to look for a partner that can help you solve problems and help with those hard questions and new challenges. That’s definitely a strength that Blackbaud brings to the table.”

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