Before implementing GOdonate, the Lapeer County Community Foundation managed their Giving Campaign donations through a PayPal link embedded on their website. While functional, the process behind the scenes was highly manual and time-consuming for a small office of just three staff members.
Each donation triggered a PayPal notification that had to be printed, reviewed, and manually entered into their system. Staff created donor records, entered gift and payment details, and double-checked fields one by one. During their busiest giving week of the year, this process significantly strained staff capacity and increased the risk of errors.
Visibility into real-time progress was limited, and preparing for an Annual Giving Campaign often came with uncertainty around whether systems would hold up under peak volume.
With GOdonate, Lapeer County Community Foundation’s Giving Campaign process became centralized, streamlined, and far more reliable.
Donors now give through a seamless GOdonate experience that automatically feeds gifts into donor records, eliminating the need for manual data entry. Automatic receipts are generated instantly, removing the need for follow-up letters and saving valuable staff time.
One of the biggest improvements came from GOdonate’s shopping cart functionality, which allows donors to give to multiple funds in a single transaction. Previously, a donor making five gifts meant five separate payments and five separate acknowledgment workflows. Now, everything is bundled cleanly into one experience for both the donor and staff.
“GOdonate was incredible because it automatically goes into the donor record… what it used to be was a PayPal notification, physically printing papers, and manually entering everything.”
The team also benefited from visually appealing fund pages with images and descriptions, making it easier for donors to understand impact and feel confident in their giving.
“It did reduce administrative burden and resonated well with donors; fundholders love the picture and description and how simple it is to build that out.”
The GivingTuesday Campaign is Lapeer County Community Foundation’s largest giving period of the year, and GOdonate played a key role in supporting that scale.
During the most recent Giving Campaign, the foundation processed 485 gifts totaling approximately $262,000 (not all through GOdonate), with an estimated 90–95% of annual donor gifts occurring in that two-week period. GOdonate handled the volume seamlessly, with very few donor support requests during the campaign.
The statistics for our Giving Event:
Staff were able to track Giving Campaign activity directly through the campaign feature, providing clearer insight into performance and progress without added effort.
Fundholders also participated using individual GOdonate URLs, helping drive engagement and growth. Incentives such as raffle tickets for donors and grant recommendations added excitement while remaining easy to manage administratively.
“This was the easiest product to roll out — and we’ve had the most success with it.”
Perhaps the most meaningful change was the confidence the team now feels heading into their annual Giving Campaign.
Instead of worrying about whether transactions would process correctly or whether staff could keep up, the foundation entered the campaign trusting that GOdonate would work — and it did.
“I feel much more confident going into GivingTuesday next year knowing how to process it on the back end and trusting that the product is actually going to work.”
With SOS support requests remaining low and the system performing as expected, GOdonate allowed the team to focus less on administration and more on mission and donor relationships.
For other community foundations preparing for Giving Campaign, Lapeer County Community Foundation’s experience highlights the importance of using tools that reduce administrative burden during peak giving moments.
Looking back, the Lapeer team has clear guidance for other foundations thinking about implementing GOdonate and incorporating into your Giving Day (or GivingTuesday) strategy.
Their advice to other foundations is to:
Executive Director
Program Assistant