Vermont Public
Gina VanderLoop
Founder & CEO
ROI Solutions
Accelerated Transition:
Vermont Public Merges Duplicate Programs and Systems with ROI Solutions
Vermont Public Radio and Vermont PBS came together in 2021, becoming Vermont Public to better serve the greater Vermont community. They are the state’s unified source for NPR and PBS programming and local, award-winning news, education, events, music, arts, and entertainment to foster dialogue and connection between people.
The merger brought the need to combine multiple technology solutions and business processes to support unified membership and development operations and provide a seamless experience to its members and community. That’s where ROI Solutions came into the picture with Revolution CRM.
About Vermont Public
Vermont Public is Vermont’s unified public media source for programs from NPR and PBS and for locally produced, award-winning news, video, and music content. They also host virtual and in-person community events throughout the broadcast region. Vermont Public seeks to create an expanding, open community for all Vermonters, broadening access and opportunity for all voices to participate from every corner of its unique state.
To learn more about Vermont Public, visit vermontpublic.org.
Opportunity
Two Organizations with Overlapping Systems
For years, Vermont Public Radio managed its members and constituents using Blackbaud’s Raiser’s Edge, while Vermont PBS used Salesforce separately. The two organizations also used a host of other overlapping point solutions and service providers. Each organization had its own membership program model, business processes, vendor relationships, and financial systems that required consolidation and change management to make their combination successful. By pulling it all together, Vermont Public could streamline operations, increase efficiency, save costs, and better serve its members and supporters.
Outcome
“We launched our discovery and selection process with a goal to choose tools that would allow us to take our fundraising efforts and donor stewardship plans to the next level and help us better understand and engage with our audience in an impactful way, “said Brynn Carris, Director of Membership and Development Operations. “ROI Solutions was our frontrunner from the very beginning.”
The Solution
Leveraging Best Practices to Redefine Programs and Processes
The merger was a unique opportunity for Vermont Public to completely redefine programs and processes from scratch to build stronger relationships with its constituents. One of Vermont Public’s key priorities was to find tools to help realize a complete picture of its audiences, members, donors, and prospects.
“Starting with ROI’s Revolution CRM as our base and utilizing the many integration opportunities it offers, we’re excited that we can now use data to be strategic and meaningful in our engagement (and grow our supporter base along the way),” said Carris.
Refinement
Single Source
One Revolution CRM Database.
Integration
One Engaging Networks eCRM.
Centralization
Centralized Member and Sustainer Management.
The Result
Accelerated Transition to a Unified Organization
Consolidating multiple databases into Revolution CRM accelerated the transition to a unified organization. “From a membership and development perspective, it definitely helped,” said Brendan Kinney, Senior Vice President of Development. “We were very fortunate that our internal teams meshed well but running our program out of two systems kept a line in the sand. Consolidating systems helped us take a huge step forward in managing relationships with our donors.”
In this implementation, the unique challenge was to set aside old models and processes to work together to define a new, optimized member experience. As Brynn Carris explained, “We had two teams, two CRMs, countless different procedures, and what seemed like a challenging road ahead. Our ROI implementation team made us feel comfortable and confident from day one. They thoughtfully guided us through the entire process offering guidance through suggested best practices while also allowing us to forge our own path. They were thorough and kept us on track, and we were able to launch even a few days ahead of our projected timeline!”
The implementation process was accomplished within nine months from discovery to go-live.
