Synod makes a collective difference with right solutions for grantmaking, CRM.

The Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod represents nearly 6,000 U.S.
congregations that choose to join the Synod’s efforts to make Christ known
throughout the world in words and actions. “Synod” derives from Greek
words that mean “walking together,” and as the COVID-19 crisis unfolded, the
Synod showed collective strength through acts of mercy to global missions
and struggling church workers, including those impacted by governmentmandated shutdowns of Lutheran schools.

The generosity of congregations and their members beyond their usual
giving made these works possible, but having the right technology in
place to raise, award, and track hundreds of thousands of dollars in funding
also played a critical role in allowing the Synod’s headquarters staff to
meet the moment.

“There was great need happening, and we wanted to get this money out
to the people,” said Deaconess Maryann Hayter, who serves as grants
administration manager. “The beauty of it was we had Blackbaud in place and
were able to very quickly respond.”

Moving Light Years Ahead with Grantmaking

A Blackbaud customer since 2008, the Synod adopted Blackbaud
Grantmaking in the fall of 2019, about six months ahead of the pandemic.
Before the transition, Hayter worked with an inherited, paper-driven grant
process organized in four huge filing cabinets. “We actually mailed people
agreements to Africa,” she laughs. “There was no ability to run reports. It
was a completely manual system. We’ve gone light years ahead now.”
Blackbaud Grantmaking is designed for efficiency, collaboration, insight,
and speed, and because the software solution is cloud-based and can be
completely paperless, Hayter has seamlessly worked from home during
the COVID-19 crisis. “There’s absolutely no need for me to be in the
headquarters building, and that’s revolutionary.”

The numbers show what Hayter can accomplish. By the end of June 2020, the
Synod had awarded nearly 600 grants for FY20—more than three times the
annual count from each of the two previous fiscal years. Most were awarded
in the fiscal year’s last quarter through the Synod’s COVID-19 response, which
included international grants for food assistance and promoting safe hygiene
practices, and support for U.S. church employees suffering economic impacts
related to the pandemic.

Current and retired church employees who applied could receive up to
$2,000 for emergency assistance with groceries and bills. Employees with
affiliated service organizations, colleges, seminaries, and more than 2,200
schools and early learning centers run by the Synod’s congregations
were all eligible.

With Blackbaud Grantmaking, Hayter could collaborate with colleagues in
the Synod’s 35 district offices across the U.S. to offer, administer, and report
back on the grants weekly. “I think that’s a real win on this,” she said. “We’re
all moving forward together.”

She was also ready to provide up-to-date overview reports to leaders at the
Synod’s headquarters. “Our leadership has commented to me and thanked
God that we had the foresight to put in place a system that would serve us
and serve our church workers so well,” Hayter said.

Building Relationships in a Lutheran Framework

Without the giving of the Synod’s congregations and their members,
awarding grants on this scale would not be possible. Blackbaud CRM played
a critical role as the Synod’s advancement team quickly reached out to
supporters to shape and share the opportunities to make a difference.

“For the Lutheran church, when we work with donors in a Lutheran
theological framework, they respond,” said Mark Hofman, Mission
Advancement’s executive director. “We’re putting control in their hands, and
what they decide to do is between them and God.”

Blackbaud CRM provides faith-based groups and other social good
organizations with fundraising and relationship management software
that integrates analytics, multi-channel marketing, and data tools and
services. Hofman became a Blackbaud CRM “fan” when he joined the Synod
headquarters staff nearly a decade earlier and has seen it get even better
through the years. “For us, it goes way beyond being able to attract revenue,”
Hofman explained. “It goes into truly knowing our constituents at a very
deep level and being able to store that in a way that you can call that up at a
moment’s notice.”

Blackbaud Data Warehouse, a tool included with Blackbaud CRM, is
“phenomenal,” Hofman said. “I’m using it all the time.” With the help of
Microsoft Teams and tools, he easily shares what he gleans from the data in
reports that he can also share with the Synod’s leadership, including those
who don’t have direct access to the CRM system.

Overall, the Synod’s initial electronic fundraising appeal for COVID-19 brought
in nearly $35,000 in one day, and $164,000 within two weeks—before the
Synod reached supporters with a direct mail appeal. Within six months,
contributions surpassed $1.5 million, boosting the Synod’s potential pool of
COVID response funds to more than $3 million, even as many contributors
continued to give to the Synod’s other ministries as they had before.

“People are showing generosity in atypical ways,” Hofman explained. “When
you have a good CRM system, you can see that—and you can appreciate what
they’re actually doing.”