Case Study: The Vista School achieves 70% donor growth and 100% increase in giving with Blackbaud fundraising solutions

The Vista School - Customer Case Study

The Vista School is a Central Pennsylvania nonprofit that grew from a two-room schoolhouse in 2002 to a multi-building campus serving 100 students and operating on a $20 million budget, providing services from early intervention through adult programs. After 13 years without formal fundraising, Vista needed to expand its donor base and shift from capital-focused appeals to cultivating major gifts and long-term supporters—while running development with a two-person team.

Partnering with Blackbaud and adopting cloud fundraising and donor-management tools (including Raiser’s Edge NXT and Financial Edge) gave Vista remote access, simplified analytics, and donor-engagement workflows that let two staff run a full development operation. Since implementing the solution, Vista’s donor base has grown by more than 70%, total giving has increased by over 100%, it raised $850,000 in 2017–18, and it is launching an endowment while expanding early-intervention capacity.

The Vista School

Linda Whipple

Development Director