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case study

NonprofitOperation Smile Canada

It was a big challenge, and our aggressive direct mail growth and the ability to adequately handle it was causing concern.” Operation Smile Canada needed solutions that could expand as the organization grew. They gained confidence in CDS Global’s scalable solutions and solid foundation: “CDS Global knows how to process mail, and they know about security.

Since 1982, Operation Smile has provided more than 2 million patient evaluations and over 220,000 free surgeries for children born with cleft lips, cleft palates and other facial deformities. These surgeries are performed by a worldwide network of more than 5,400 medical volunteers. Begun in the United States, the organization is active in more than 60 countries, including the addition of Operation Smile Canada in 2011.

CHALLENGEOperation Smile Canada has seen great success from their DRTV appeals and direct mail strategies. In fact, Canadians have responded so generously that gifts overwhelmed their initial donations processing provider, resulting in service delays.

“It was a big challenge and our aggressive direct mail growth and the ability to adequately handle it was causing concern,” says Patricia Vidov, director of operations at Operation Smile Canada.

The initial vendor was a call centre that also managed donations processing, reporting, donor stewardship activities and recordkeeping. But Operation Smile Canada’s needs grew too quickly for the vendor to keep up. With another large mailing scheduled, Vidov needed to make a change quickly to ensure accurate, prompt donor communications and data capture.

SOLUTIONS Vidov met with several potential vendors, but when she visited the CDS Global facility, the difference was obvious, she says. In addition to the donation processing expertise she needed immediately, CDS Global demonstrated the capacity to increase services during peak donation periods and to scale with Operation Smile Canada as their operational needs grew.

CDS Global was quickly able to provide a comprehensive solution that directly addressed the immediate and long-term needs of Operation Smile Canada. It leveraged a broad portfolio of services to centralize donations processing, call centre services and direct mail services.

OPERATION SMILE CANADA

7030 Woodbine Ave, Suite 500

Markham, ON L3R 6G2www.operationsmile.ca

�� CUSTOMER SERVICE�� DONATIONS PROCESSING�� DATA CAPTURE �� FULFILLMENT

Operation Smile Canada

Patricia VidovDirector of Operations Operation Smile Canada

�� DONOR ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS AND MAILING SERVICES �� ADVANCED IMAGING SOLUTIONS

case study

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Of special value was CDS Global’s development of a custom Raiser’s EdgeTM plug-in, which allows constituent data captured by call centre specialists and from direct mail responses to be regularly uploaded into Operation Smile’s Raiser’s Edge database. This prevents duplicate data and reporting errors and gives Operation Smile Canada a more holistic view of their donors using all data available, whether it’s obtained from inbound mail or telephone calls.

Operation Smile Canada’s package of CDS Global solutions also includes:

• Rapid donations processing, daily gift deposits, timely donor thank-you’s and annual tax receipts.

• An inbound call centre with customer service agents knowledgeable about Operation Smile Canada.

• Precise, immediate reports on details of donations and any other revenue.

• A team of specialists delivering regular data transfers into Operation Smile Canada’s database.

RESULTSVidov credits CDS Global for two areas of significant improvement. First, Operation Smile Canada’s relationship with donors is enhanced. Instead of waiting weeks, donors are thanked within days.

Communication with donors has also been improved, thanks to more accurate data capture from direct mail and calls and elimination of duplicates via regular Raiser’s Edge data transfers. Additionally, thanks to these regular data transfers, Operation Smile Canada now has a consolidated view of online and offline donor data to enhance donor communications. Professional customer service specialists in CDS Global’s call centre use these detailed data records to ensure that any and all subsequent interaction with donors is expertly managed.

REVISED: 09.26.14

SOLUTIONS CONTINUED

The other significant area of improvement, Vidov says, is in the efficiency of centralized services. By taking advantage of CDS Global’s bundled solutions, Operation Smile Canada now has donations processing, direct mail services and call-centre services in one nearby site, CDS Global’s facility in Markham, Ontario. Centralizing is not only more convenient than dealing with multiple vendors, it is more efficient, allows quicker access to resources and has lowered overhead expenses. Combining operational services also gives Operation Smile Canada the ability to respond more quickly to business challenges.

CDS Global’s capabilities and expertise give Operation Smile Canada confidence in having sufficient scalable resources to manage back-end operations as the organization grows. Another confidence builder is the detailed reporting Vidov uses daily. To demonstrate, she clicks a few keys and finds that the previous day produced 340 donations totaling $21,000. That’s more than helpful; it’s empowering – and a reason to smile in the offices of Operation Smile Canada.

NonprofitOperation Smile Canada