Loudoun Citizens for Social Justice/Loudoun Abused Women's Shelter (LAWS)
Since 1985, the Loudon Citizens for Social Justice/Loudon Abused Women’s Shelter (LCSJ/LAWS) has provided temporary emergency shelter, food, and emotional support to women and their children escaping from domestic violence and abuse in Loudoun County, Virginia. This organization also currently provides a wide range of direct services to more than 1,500 people in their community annually. LCSJ/LAWS also presents prevention and education programs throughout the county to reduce the incidence of domestic violence, sexual assault and child abuse. Through its complimentary programs, LCSJ/LAWS seeks to empower survivors of personal violence, so that they may live productive lives — free from fear, anxiety, and danger.
Highlights
- Greater Giving Event Software has helped auction staff to build a timeline to follow year-round, and manage Board and volunteer involvement.
- Registration and check-out was a 100% improvement from the previous year using the Express Pay process.
- Using Greater Giving solutions, the LAWS Gala 2008 had the “best event execution ever,” according to attendees.
Challenge
This situation led to their biggest event challenge, which was the sheer chaos surrounding registration and check-out. All the guests wanted to register and check-out quickly, yet there was no one in charge of each station, and without a centralized database, key information was not in place at the station. This led to confusion, backed-up lines, and a disorganized image to their guests — a significant drawback given LCSJ/LAWS’ mission.LCSJ/LAWS has been hosting an annual Gala since 2002, and, while the organization managed to raise funds, it also experienced high stress levels from running the Gala. All administration of the tremendous amount of registration details fell onto already taxed personnel who are simultaneously taking calls from people in crisis situations. For the Gala’s first three years, event management lay on the shoulders of the Board of Directors, who all had full time jobs, with little extra time for event details. There were too many “cooks in the kitchen,” and it showed on event night. “Somebody absolutely has to be in charge,” stated Sue Curtis, Executive Director of LCSJ/LAWS. “We needed a system to provide one central source from which to drive the event.”
Solution
The Board knew they could not continue in the direction they were going, and began looking for an event management solution. Their search led to Greater Giving, and after careful consideration LCSJ/LAWS chose Greater Giving as their event software provider beginning in 2008. Curtis says that their main reason for choosing Greater Giving Event Software was to streamline the registration and check-out process — and the results far exceeded their expectations.
Curtis and her team love the way the data flows easily into the software and into their donor management system. “One of the best things about the software is that it gives the staff a tool to manage the event, the registration, procurement etc., and it helps them build a timeline and manage the activities to the timeline efficiently,” she said.
Bid sheets, reports, and the attendee information had been done manually in the past. With Event Software, they had an easy fix. “Holy Moley! Printing the bid sheets was so easy – it even set the bid increments,” Curtis enthused.” And now they can quickly send thank-you letters to donors after the event, including information on how their money is being utilized by the organization. By showing donors how their dollars contribute to the cause, they create a sense of partnership with donors and strengthen donor empathy with their mission.
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