Case Study: School on Wheels quintuples its donor database and boosts fundraising with Blackbaud eTapestry

School on Wheels Uses eTapestry to Quintuple Its Database in Just Five Years

School on Wheels, an Indianapolis nonprofit that provides free tutoring and educational advocacy to school-aged homeless children, needed a better way to manage donor and program data. The organization relied on disconnected Excel spreadsheets that prevented targeted mailings, obscured data accuracy, and limited visibility into fundraising and board engagement.

A board-recommended switch to eTapestry—starting with the free under-500 edition—helped quintuple the database to 2,500 records in five years and expand use to eCommerce, Web 2.0, and Executive Reports. The new system powered a $30,000 online campaign and a $40,000 gala auction, strengthened donor relationships and board involvement, enabled quicker identification of lapsed donors, and set the stage for ongoing performance tracking with Benchmark reporting for grant applications.

School on Wheels

Janet Hiatt

Vice President of Development