Case Study: Cornerstone University achieves cost savings, faster gift processing, and enhanced communications with Blackbaud eTapestry

Cornerstone University Cuts Costs, Increases Communication, and Streamlines Processes with eTapestry

Cornerstone University, an interdenominational Christian university in Grand Rapids, MI, relies heavily on 2,000–3,000 monthly recurring donors—especially to support its three radio stations. As a small advancement shop, the university was manually entering thousands of gifts each month, struggled to meet a 48-hour gift-processing standard, took a full day to generate mailing lists from its old database, and needed a system that integrated with its website.

Cornerstone implemented Blackbaud’s eTapestry and its eCommerce module to enable online recurring gifts, quick reporting, and web-based access. The switch eliminated manual entry of recurring gifts, reduced mailing-list pulls to 15 minutes, saved $5,000–$15,000 annually in direct mail costs, enabled sending about 40,000 emails monthly, avoided hiring additional gift processors, and gave staff secure, easy-to-use reporting and better constituent data.

Cornerstone University

Allison Bradshaw

Director of Advancement Database Services