Impact 2818

Impact 2818 Outdoor Ministries recoups lost payments and achieves 80% online registrations with Active Network Solution

Background

Established in 2002, Impact 2818 Outdoor Ministries is the camping ministry of the Indiana Conference of the United Methodist Church. With seven campsites throughout the state and around 3,500 participants, Impact 2818 offers summer, residential and Christian camping for youth in grades K-12, as well as retreats and meeting facilities. Deeply rooted in the Christian faith and named after Matthew 28:18-20, Impact 2818 “desires to leave a lasting impact on the world as it reveals the transforming power of Jesus Christ.”

In 2005, Ryan Gernand joined the Impact 2818 team. He explains that just two years prior, the camp underwent a camp registration software implementation to improve operations and better serve its camping community.

Challenge

Impact 2818 previously relied on an Access database to file camper registrations and information. Each summer, camp brochures were mailed out. Registrants would handwrite their information and either mail or fax in their completed registration forms with a check. Registrants were also given the option to make a deposit on their registration and pay the remaining balance at a later time. Once the paper forms were received, a handful of staff members would work for several days manually entering the registration data into the Access database.

“The deposit-based system left us with $30,000-$40,000 in losses each year in unpaid registrations, the majority of which we wrote off. We didn’t feel good about sending our camping community to collections. Furthermore, we experienced every limitation a huge Access file would have, particularly related to operating speed. The database was only available on-site at one location and, if we experienced any problems with it, we had only one person who wrote the database who could help us. As we transitioned to a Mac-based organization, a system not supported by Access, we were more than ready to upgrade our software system.”

Solution

While Gernand was not yet with the Impact 2818 team at the time of the software transition, he notes the criteria that was important to the organization for the new system, including:

• Online registration and payment processing. As Gernand notes, “We were fully aware of how much time we were wasting on manual registrations.”
• Expedited decision-making capability. “We did not want to wait for paper forms and confirmations anymore; we needed real-time access to data and reports.”
• Centralized access to data. “As we have seven different sites and continue expanding, we needed access to information at each campsite, instead of having to call one location to get information and taking time away from two staff members, all the while bottlenecking processes.”
• Better equipped volunteers. “We wanted to enable our volunteer directors to access reports and rosters in advance of the start of camp so they could better prepare for their sessions.”
• Off-site data storage. “We wanted our data managed by another company to eliminate server downtime and alleviate any maintenance responsibilities on our end.”
• 24/7 support. “We needed people to be there for us anytime help was required.”
• Comprehensive, automated system. “We wanted a software vendor that could handle all of our operations, from donations and registrations to volunteer management and job applications.”

After evaluating numerous software providers, Impact 2818 selected Active Network’s system. “Active’s system offered the most diverse set of tools and proved to be the best fit our needs. Each year, we evaluate all of the systems on the market and each year, we still find that Active Network has the best functionality, features and pricing. It’s still the system that best fits our needs.”

Results

Of the many improvements Impact 2818 has experienced since transitioning to Active Network, perhaps one of the most impacting is the ability to eliminate a $20,000-$30,000 loss each year in uncollected payments. “We love that Active Network has the functionality to require 100% payment upfront. We’re no longer writing off these losses at the end of the year.”

As for the adoption of the new system, Gernand is pleased to report that around 80% of its registrations are now processed online each year, alleviating the labor-intensive, manual data entry previously required. A registration process that once required multiple staff members across the span of several days, is now managed by just one person. “Not only is our staff able to reallocate its workload from manual data entry to more important responsibilities, but our camper families love being able to register online. It makes it so easy and convenient for them.”

To aid in the online registration adoption process, two years ago, Impact 2818 offered a $10 discount to everyone that registered online, a discount that was heavily promoted in its brochure and on its Website. Within one year, online registrations grew by 40%. “Online is just a better way of doing registrations. I believe people will make their choices either way to get involved with a specific camp, but the online registration option is just so much more convenient. We’re able to keep our costs more competitive because of Active Network.”

Gernand also notes that Impact 2818 is constantly training new team members to use Active Network's summer camp registration software, and praises its user-friendly features. “Ninety percent of everything in the system is exactly where I expect it to be; the other 10% ends up in an even more functional place. The system is very intuitive. From the videos to the online Webinars, Active’s training is very effective and requires minimal effort on our end.”

As for the support Gernand receives, he notes that it’s invaluable to have the Active Network team on-call anytime. In addition to being responsive and helpful, “Active has proven that it’s a company that listens. We are 100% pleased with every upgrade.”