RECORD STORM KNOCKS OUT WESTERN NEW YORK WITH EXCEPTION OF SOFTREK
During an unprecedented mid-October storm that dumped nearly two feet of snow in 24 hours on Western New York, SofTrek Corporation?s business continuity plan was put to the test. The weight of the rapidly falling snow snapped tree limbs and brought down power lines across the region. Suburban Amherst, where SofTrek is located, was among the hardest hit areas. Approximately
390,000 homes and businesses lost electric power, as well as telephone, cable, and Internet services. Despite widespread power outages, SofTrek provided uninterrupted service to its clients during the record-setting snowstorm that crippled much of the region.
SofTrek lost power to its facility around 9:45 p.m. on Thursday, October 12. The company?s natural gas generator kicked in so the servers could continue to operate in an uninterrupted fashion. At 3:30 p.m. on Friday, October 13, one of SofTrek?s two main Internet connections went down due to a storm-related outage at Level 3 Communications. SofTrek?s auto failover strategy with Verizon, which also provides the company Internet service, guaranteed that clients received uninterrupted connection to SofTrek?s facility. While many residents and businesses waited days to have services restored, SofTrek was able to provide continuous service to every client.
Susan Osborn of The Salvation Army?s Heartland Division praised, “the uninterrupted and unimpeded database service in spite of the disaster. Now I am better able to appreciate SofTrek?s foresight and
dedication to quality.”
“SofTrek has made certain investments so that in the event of an emergency, our clients will continue to receive uninterrupted service. In this case, our backup worked flawlessly. I?m pleased that these investments have paid off for our clients,” said SofTrek CEO Dave Spacone.
While Western New York was largely overwhelmed by the unseasonably harsh storm, SofTrek was well prepared. SofTrek?s mission is to ensure that its infrastructure provides business continuity to every client. To that end, SofTrek is confident that it is currently equipped to provide superior, continuous service to its clients no matter the circumstance.
OCTOBER STORM FACTS
• Sixth most amount of snowfall in a 24-hour period
• 90 percent of trees in Buffalo damaged
• 1,600 work crews from neighboring cities
and states and hundreds of National Guard Troops
assisted with aftermath
• Teams of federal emergency officials inspected
damage in Erie County
• President Bush expected to declare disaster
aid for storm victims
SOFTREK RELEASES PLEDGEMAKER 4.4
SofTrek has released PledgeMaker version 4.4, which includes several enhancements and added capabilities to Batch, Event Management, Gifts, Lockbox, Mailings, Prospect, Table Maintenance, and Utilities.
For more information about PledgeMaker 4.4 enhancements, contact Client Services at 800.442.9211 or at
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.
PLEDGEMAKER USER QUESTION & ANSWER
Long-time PledgeMaker user John Schuurman recently announced that after 24 years with The Bible League of Canada, currently serving as Director of Finance, he will be retiring early next year. We asked John about his experiences in fundraising and with PledgeMaker.
Q: How has the fundraising industry changed from when you started? A: The computer has made the biggest impact. We have all changed the way we communicate and receive information. There are more techniques and methods that can be used to get your message out.
Q: How has PledgeMaker helped you adapt to these changes?
A: Although our mailing practices were fairly up-to-date, PledgeMaker allowed us to analyze our data and gave us a quicker picture as to how we were doing. It gave us the ability to collect more details to categorize and better target our donors.
Q Has The Bible League of Canada used PledgeMaker in any innovative ways?
A: We developed an alpha-numeric code structure so that we can easily see major gifts and detailed results of our coded data. This allows us to design our own data structures with PledgeMaker.
Q: What is the most important piece of advice you could share with other fundraisers?
A: With all the gadgets and communication machinery, personal contact and respect for the wishes and needs of your donors is still the key to being successful. Constantly make sure that you are true to your original purpose.
WANTED: YOUR INSIGHTS
SofTrek Corporation publishes Insights to provide clients timely, useful, and purposeful information about the company and its products and services, the nonprofit industry, technology news, and constructive resources. To help you make the most of Insights, we want your insights! If there?s something, practically anything, you want to read or learn more about, tell us.
Get in touch if:
• You have a case study that Insights can profile
• You?re using PledgeMaker in innovative and/or creative ways
• You?ve discovered tricks, which you?d like to share with other PledgeMaker users
• There?s anything else you?d like to contribute to upcoming issues
of Insights
Insights is your newsletter; we welcome your feedback and encourage your suggestions.
E-mail:
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Call: 800.442.9211 or 716. 691.2800 x 141
Write: Insights, SofTrek Corporation, 30 Bryant Woods North, Amherst, NY 14228
AQUBANC SIMPLIFIES TRANSACTION PROCESSING FOR PLEDGEMAKER USERS WITH CHECK 21 PASS™ SYSTEM
Donor, donation, acquisition, campaign, pledge, order, check, and form processing. Is there an easy way to get this information into PledgeMaker? The traditional method of opening, sorting, bundling, adding, and depositing is a time consuming and labor intensive process. And then each transaction must be manually entered into PledgeMaker. This process is complicated and has been all too common for nonprofits throughout the country. Until the Check 21 Pass™ System.
Check 21 Pass™ System allows PledgeMaker users to radically change and improve how they process donations. Orlando Rescue Mission and Union Rescuse Mission in Los Angeles are two PledgeMaker users that are already benefiting from Check 21 Pass™ System. The Check 21 Pass™ process makes it easy for an organization to electronically deposit personal checks using Accounts Receivable Check (ARC) or Check 21 rules, which converts a check into an electronic debit.
The Check 21 Pass™ System operator visually measures mail to determine if a reply device is compatible with the Digital Check image scanner. Eliminating the need for fine sorting means that mail can be opened faster and processing can begin sooner. Each Check 21 Pass™ uses affordable check image scanners from Digital Check and Opex to take front and rear images of a check and read bank account and check numbers on the bottom of each check, eliminating the need to copy a check or write check information on a reply device. Similarly, white mail is imaged on Canon, Kodak, and Opex scanners depending on transaction volumes.
Character, field, and form processing let Check 21 Pass™ System identify multiple reply devices, reducing the time needed to verify and validate transactions. Check 21 Pass™ System stores full images of scans, which eliminates the potential to misplace checks and the
need to keep copies of checks or reply devices. Check 21 Pass™ System then creates certified data files that are uploaded into PledgeMaker, a process that SofTrek Corporation has certified through Lockbox.
Since 2003, Aqubanc has collaborated with SofTrek to help financially constrained PledgeMaker users benefit from its
technologies. Aqubanc set out to build a system that would help nonprofits better steward their resources. After extensive testing with Jacobson Consulting, Masterworks, RussReid, SofTrek, and PledgeMaker users, Aqubanc successfully integrated Check 21 Pass™ System for all PledgeMaker users. The Aqubanc Lease Option combines all Check 21 Pass™ System components, including setup, installation, and annual maintenance for the entire lease term. For more information about Check 21 Pass™ System or process, call 800.350.4720 or visit www.aqubanc.com.
PLEDGEMAKER EARNS TOP MARKS FOR FLEXIBILITY AND EASE OF USE
“PledgeMaker can be modified to conform to an organization's
specific structure and needs. Users of PledgeMaker have a lot
of flexibility in the way they interact with the system.”
SofTrek Corporation?s PledgeMaker fundraising software was featured in the reviews section of the Nonprofit Technology News, a technology Web site for nonprofit executives. Nonprofit Technology News praised PledgeMaker for its responsiveness, ease of use, and flexibility. PledgeMaker was also lauded for its extensive customization options and robust security features. To read the full review, visit www.nptechnews.com.
PARTNER SPOTLIGHT
SofTrek Corporation is proud to partner with TransFirst® ePayment Services. For 16 years, TransFirst has been a provider of transaction processing services and payment technologies.
TransFirst is a one-stop solution for nonprofit organizations that offers multiple payment options including credit cards, e-checks, EFT services, and more, plus real-time online processing with customizable reports and the ability to process large batch file transactions. Visit TransFirst® ePayment Services at epay.transfirst.com.
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