How BAM gets more out of Peer-to-Peer campaigns with Donorbox

Introduction

In Tijuana, Mexico, nearly 22% of the city’s 2 million inhabitants live in moderate poverty. Often, families crowd into a single room dwelling with a dirt floor. What does it take to break the cycle of poverty and bring hope? Chris and Julianne North founded their nonprofit, Build a Miracle, in 2001 to tackle just that.

Based just over the border in San Diego, California, Build A Miracle (BAM) constructs houses and provides educational opportunities for impoverished families in Tijuana. 100% of the donations go into the community – directly funding everything from building materials to scholarships to social wellness programs.

Each family earns a home by fulfilling requirements that foster relationships and get them involved in the community. Participants help build neighboring houses alongside volunteers, who are often groups of students from Southern California. In addition to single family homes, BAM built a thriving community center in 2017 that offers resources, activities, and classes.

Gap in communication with donors

Build A Miracle relies on part-time volunteers to fulfill its mission. Crowdfunding and peer-to-peer fundraising campaigns bring in a big portion of home building donations. Typically, individuals raise money to sponsor a home, send a student to high school or college, or provide funding for other needs.

Initially, many supporters were setting up GoFundMe or Facebook campaigns to raise money from their friends and family. However, visibility was lacking. “I never really knew who our supporters were because donor information didn’t come back to us. We were losing a lot of people who would have been interested in continuing to support BAM,” said Erin Rowland, Donor Relations Volunteer at BAM. Post-donation communications were also suffering. “When we used PayPal, supporters weren’t getting a tax receipt right after they donated.”

Automating receipts and collecting more donor data

Looking for a solution, Erin researched fundraising platforms in 2021. She and the team needed software that was quick and easy to use given their limited resources. After watching a few product videos, they decided on Donorbox. The platform enabled instant receipts and collected the donor data they needed.

Getting the full picture from peer-to-peer fundraising

Within Donorbox, BAM invites their supporters to build their own peer-to-peer campaigns. Through this feature alone, they’ve brought in nearly $33,000. BAM is now able to capture all donors’ contact information, and each one receives a tax receipt automatically. “I love that donors get an immediate letter back from Build A Miracle. It’s been a lot easier this way,” said Erin. On top of that, supporters now get subscribed to BAM’s newsletter to keep them in the loop and engaged with the cause.

To date, they’ve raised over a quarter of a million dollars on Donorbox with an average donation of $330, which goes a long way. One successful fundraising campaign brought in almost $10,000 via Donorbox for the Bloom Beauty Academy, a trade school program hosted at the local Build A Miracle community center.

One Donorbox feature that BAM and its donors particularly like is the ability to give in memory of a loved one. Erin explained: “People will donate a 3-bedroom house in honor of someone special. It’s been nice that they can fill this out on the donation form and the recipient gets an email saying there’s been a donation in memory of that person.”

At first the organization had a simple mission: construct 1 home a year. But word has quickly spread about how fulfilling it is to partner with the community, and Build A Miracle has multiplied its impact. Even the San Diego Padres have become regular volunteers, sending groups down to build homes for multiple days each year.

As of 2024, BAM has built over 500 homes, awarded 540 scholarships, and provided financial assistance to 150 small businesses. The community center regularly hosts up to 3,000 children and adults weekly, offering over 75 classes and programs.

The Future

Going forward, BAM plans to continue combining home building, education, and promoting volunteerism to transform entire communities. The nonprofit is excited about its new Shark Tank program, where aspiring entrepreneurs pitch their ideas to earn a microloan.

Word-of-mouth remains an important way to spread awareness about the work BAM is doing. “This year I suspect we’ll get more donations because I’ve added so many contacts to our database through Donorbox campaigns,” shared Erin. Donorbox is honored to help BAM transform the lives of impoverished families in Tijuana.

Donorbox features used

• Donation Form
• Donation Designations
• Recurring Donations
• In Memory Of Designation
• Peer-to-Peer