How-To: Improve your donation call center

Sep 20, 2024
Ashley Montgomery
Content Marketing Manager

Improving your call center operations during fundraising events can help your team manage donations faster, improve donor experience and hit those campaign goals with ease. Following the blueprint of Sandra Schmirler Foundation's record-smashing annual telethon, let’s go through the Fundraise Up tips for success. Hint: the Virtual Terminal makes it all possible.

Sandra Schmirler Foundation grew from $400K in telethon donations to $1M+ using the Fundraise Up donation platform.

Implement real-time processing

Ensuring accurate payment processing is vital to maintaining donor trust and satisfaction. The Virtual Terminal’s real-time processing capabilities allow your team to catch payment errors immediately, reducing the need for follow-up.

“The Virtual Terminal is a game-changer. It takes away all the friction for our volunteers.” — Darren McEwen, Executive Director, the Sandra Schmirler Foundation
Not just telethons, all offline donations – optimizing with the Virtual Terminal Feature.

Take advantage of autofill features

Time is of the essence during high-volume fundraising events. Autofilling speeds up donation handling by automatically populating donor data for returning contributors. The result? An efficient and pleasant experience for supporters.

The Sandra Schmirler Foundation team shifted from 81% manual donation processing to 95% through automated tools, enhancing accuracy and efficiency.

Simplify the donation process

An intuitive platform means less training required for staff and volunteers. Save time for more donor relationship-building with the Virtual Terminal's easy-to-use interface. Plus! Staff and volunteers can add tributes, designations, and maintain accurate records as the donations process.

Secure and manage access

Security is paramount when handling sensitive donor information. Our platform allows you to grant specific access to internal specialists and external partners, ensuring that your data is secure and well-managed. With configurable settings, you can assign specific permissions to volunteers and staff for processing over-the-phone donations, while restricting access to sensitive account features.

“The Virtual Terminal makes the entire fundraising process easier and safer for all.” — Darren McEwen, Executive Director, the Sandra Schmirler Foundation

Centralize donation management

Forget data silos and juggling multiple tools. With our platform, you can view everything directly from your dashboard without requiring separate tools. It’s easy for anyone to manage donations in real-time, issue tax-compliant receipts and more. And with the Insights Dashboard, you can track campaign performance in one glance.

Go for scalable infrastructure

Fundraising events can experience peak donation times that strain your processing capabilities. Don’t miss donations due to system overload! The Virtual Terminal can handle up to 200 real-time transactions per second, ensuring smooth operations even at the most popular giving times.

The Sandra Schmirler Foundation processed nearly 8,000 donations seamlessly, thanks to the robust capabilities of Fundraise Up's Virtual Terminal.

By adopting these strategies and utilizing tools like Fundraise Up's Virtual Terminal, your nonprofit can improve call center operations, leading to more successful fundraising events and a better experience for both your team and your donors. Schedule a walk-through of the Virtual Terminal with our team. Let’s make telethoning easier, together.

Features
For telethons and more
Make it easy to process gifts from donors calling in with Fundraise Up
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