Thank you for joining the Bonterra community - a group of thousands of nonprofit organizations from across the country, spanning countless locations and myriad mission areas, sharing one common goal: to increase their fundraising and the impact they are having to make the world a better place. We're happy that you're here!

As a forward-thinking organization, you have gone one step further and joined our Fundraising and Engagement Coaching Program, which will match you with a seasoned fundraising professional and provide you with a unique opportunity to dream bigger and to develop a personalized plan to reach your goals.

To help you make the most of your experience in the Coaching Program, we have put together this Welcome Guide to help you hit the ground running.

Your champion for developing new fundraising strategies, brainstorming ideas for new campaigns, and motivating you to achieve your goals.

Your helping hand to learn the technical aspects of your new software. You will have a welcome call with one of our colleagues to introduce you to your system and answer your logistical questions about working with the software.

Your guide to learning how to prepare your data (contacts, donation history, etc.) to be imported into the software.

Your software in-app support is typically the swiftest method to reach our Global Support team. Once you have logged into your new software, you can open a ticket by clicking "Contact the Support Team" under the top-right menu. or go to https://www.bonterratech.com/support.

You should be aware of the specific number of hours that you have available to work with your coach and the date by which to complete (use/lose) those hours. If you are unsure how many hours you have available, be sure to check with your coach by email or during your first session. We also recommend adding a reminder to your calendar so that you know when your use-by date is approaching, as well as spending some time thinking about how you want to utilize your time available, which can be done in the following ways:

Live sessions: Virtual meetings with your coach via our web conferencing software Zoom (or over the phone if you prefer).

Desk time: Time that your coach will use to work independently on a project that you have requested. Examples include reviewing an appeal letter or communications plan.

Administrative time: Time your coach will use to schedule sessions, check your hours, take and review discussion notes, or send follow-up resources.

Organizations should meet with their coaches regularly. Sessions are available in 30-minute or 60-minute increments and can be scheduled one at a time or be set up on a recurring basis. Individual sessions can be easily rescheduled or canceled as needed.

Scheduling sessions takes place right in your Fundraising Essentials software. Simply log in and click on "My Tools" in the top right-hand corner of your screen before choosing the item with your coach’s photo from the drop-down menu. There you will see your coach's photo, email address, and scheduling page. Remember to change the time zone in the space provided if necessary.

We encourage all organizations to schedule their sessions through their fundraising software rather than by emailing their coaches directly. Your coach's calendar should be up to date!

Once your session has been scheduled, you will receive an automatic confirmation email directly from the scheduling system with information needed to join your session at the appropriate date and time. We encourage all customers to join the session via Zoom. However, if you need to join by telephone, your coach will be happy to accommodate you. Your confirmation email will also include instructions to join by telephone.

No problem! You can include colleagues or board members in your session who are involved in your fundraising efforts. This can be a great way to get everyone on board with your efforts, or provide some basic training. To ensure they can easily join the zoom call, include their email address in the relevant field when scheduling the session. Be sure to let your coach know in advance about the additional people so they can prepare

You can do that via the confirmation email that you will receive from the system. You can either reschedule your session for a new time or cancel it completely. However, you will be unable to schedule a new session or make changes to your session if it is less than 24 hours away. If you are within this 24-hour window, please contact your coach directly to notify them of the change and they will be able to assist you.

Your first session is a great time to provide organizational background and talk about aspects of fundraising you would like to focus on during the coming year. Your coach will be happy to share their initial recommendations and answer any questions. Do you have a fundraising event coming up, or is there a particular campaign that you are planning? Are there issues with your board you would like to resolve? Let your coach know what your priorities are so that they can help meet your individual needs.

In addition to live sessions, you have the option to use some of your coaching time as Desk Time. This is when your coach will work on a project independently, such as reviewing/editing appeal letters or fundraising plans. They do not typically draft the content for you.

To request a Desk Time project, please email your coach directly or speak with them during your next coaching session. You can find their email by logging into your fundraising software, going to My Tools in the top right-hand corner, and selecting the item with your coach’s photo from the drop-down menu.

As you begin using your coaching time, your hours will be logged by your coach. As you move through your hours, work with your coach to monitor your time, and plan how to best use the hours before they expire! If you run out of hours and wish to purchase more, no problem! You can reach out to our sales team and purchase another set of hours.

Want more fundraising advice and insight? The Bonterra Coaching Library has practical, easy-to-use guides and templates that can help get you started.

If you have any technical issues with your fundraising software, go to the Bonterra help page. If you have questions about scheduling a session, requesting Desk Time, or you need strategy tips, please contact your coach directly.

We look forward to working with you!