Case Study
McLaren
Port Huron Foundation
100 Staff Hours Reclaimed in a One-person Development Office
How AutomateGenius helped McLaren Port Huron Foundation automate donor outreach and scale communication inside Raiser’s Edge.
When the McLaren Port Huron Foundation needed a better way to communicate with and track its donors, it turned to AutomateGenius.
What started as a way to streamline correspondence became something more powerful. It became infrastructure for a one-person development office.
The Results
Stronger relationships.
More consistency. Faster donor outreach.
And nearly 100 staff hours reclaimed per year.
McLaren Port Huron Foundation at a Glance
100 Staff
hours
saved annually
200 Lapsed
donor emails
sent per month
30 Milestone
donors
acknowledged monthly
1
Minute
to send a personalized email
The Challenge
Too Much Manual Work for One Person
Karynn Carrell, Director of Philanthropy, manages fundraising as an office of one. She is responsible for events, gift acknowledgments, stewardship, cultivation, and donor outreach.
To identify lapsed donors, she had to:
- Run queries
- Pull reports
- Sort through data manually
- Determine which donors met criteria
- Draft and send emails
Finding the time to complete this process was difficult. Learning a sophisticated database while leading fundraising efforts was even harder.
The Shift
Automation Inside Raiser’s Edge NXT
AutomateGenius stepped in with a two-part solution.
First, the team reviewed McLaren Port Huron’s Raiser’s Edge NXT database. They evaluated how data was entered and how it was being used. This ensured the automations would work correctly and gave Carrell guidance on improving data structure moving forward.
Then, the Daily Digest emails went live. These automated emails arrive directly in Carrell’s inbox and highlight donors who need attention.
She uses the Daily Digest for two groups:
She uses the Daily Digest for two groups:
Lapsed Donors
Each day, Carrell receives a list of up to 10 donors who have lapsed. The email include direct links to donor records and a personalized email ready to send.
Today, she sends approximately 200 lapsed donor emails per month, with an estimated 5% response rate.
Milestone Donors
Daily notifications also alert her to donors who reach giving milestones, including first-time gifts. She can acknowledge these donors in about one minute with a personalized message.
From Reports to Relationships
Before AutomateGenius, this process could take up to an hour. Now it takes minutes.
On average, 30 donors per month are acknowledged for milestones. What once risked being delayed or missed is now consistent.
Carrell can now send up to 50 personalized donor emails in a single morning. Checking her Daily Digest while drinking coffee has become part of her daily rhythm.
Instead of pulling reports, she is building relationships.
The Fundraising Result: More Time for Donors, No New Positions Needed
AutomateGenius helped McLaren Port Huron:
- Consistently reach out to lapsed donors
- Recognize first-time and milestone gifts quickly
- Strengthen donor communication
- Free up time for strategic fundraising work
AutomateGenius allowed McLaren Port Huron to expand impact without expanding staff.
What began as a reporting shortcut grew into a powerful support system for a one-person development operation.
The Impact: Technology as Leverage
AutomateGenius gave Carrell more than time savings. It gave her leverage.
As someone new to the organization, she lacked historical context about donors. Automation helped fill that gap by identifying opportunities she might not otherwise see.
Nearly 100 staff hours per year have been reclaimed. That is significant for a one-person office.
The software does not replace strategy. It supports it.
Looking Ahead
Sending personalized donor emails is now part of the daily workflow at McLaren Port Huron.
Automation runs quietly in the background. Relationships stay at the center.
For teams using Raiser’s Edge NXT who feel buried in reports and spreadsheets, automation can create the space needed to focus on donors instead of data.
“It’s been something that has given me hours back within the day. It has streamlined processes that were really clunky for me. The emails I’ve sent have made a difference and allowed me to connect with donors.”
Karynn Carrell, Director of Philanthropy, McLaren Port Huron Foundation
