Wilton, NH - PEP Direct released a case study last week, detailing the improvements it has made in its donation processing division.  In a partnership with J&B Software, the department created new software and bought new equipment to greatly increase accuracy and efficiency.  Liz Gerardi, PEP Direct's donation processing manager, and J&B Software marketing department wrote the case study.

People active in the nonprofit fundraising arena understand the importance of having money raised available to use as quickly as possible.  The paper details PEP Direct's solution to its problem with achieving each client's goal:  improving the donation processing department's accuracy and efficiency.  Prior to the implementation of the new system in June, exception items were keyed into a separate database system that did not support image processing.  Through teaming up with J&B Software, a partner since 2000, the company created a custom system unique to PEP Direct.

"The new system will allow us to add image processing for all incoming donations... Partnering with J&B gives us state-of-the-art software that isn't typically found in organizations like ours.  J&B came through when others could not,"  said Gerardi.

While J&B created the software, OPEX Corporation supplied the new hardware.  The OPEX MPS 30 Multi-Purpose Sorter and the OPEX AS3690i were added to PEP Direct's processing arsenal.  The sorter eliminates the need for manual sorting, dividing mail into categories including P.O. Box, size and thickness.  Mail extraction and images of the reply documents are handled by the AS3690i, solving the manual data entry portion of the process.

"Through partnerships with J&B and OPEX we have been able to work with our in-house creative staff to design reply devices that support the automation we are implementing.  Although we may never get to the point that all incoming donations are 'scannable', we are working towards a mix that supports fundraising efforts, provides all the benefits of a sophisticated backend system to reduce our overall costs - allowing more of the clients' money to be used for their cause - while still supporting the special handling requirements that are required in the fundraising industry," Gerardi said.

So far, one of PEP Direct's largest clients has been converted over to the new system.  The donation processing department plans on having the rest of its clients converted by January 1, 2008.

For a copy of the case study, please contact Andrea Manseau at amanseau@pep-direct.com.