Our History
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DonorDirect was formed in the spring of 1999. However, our roots developing software go back over 25 years. That was when Frank Smith first began working with ministries to help them take advantage of emerging computer technology. Today in an era of laptops and smart phones DonorDirect continues to provide advanced technology for ministries.
David Smith (no relation) joined Frank in 1985, fresh out of college. Sharon Joyce joined the Smiths in 1992 to round out the team that would found DonorDirect in 1999. Each member of this dynamic team filled a vital role. Frank applied his extensive experience in system design during the design phase, David brought his experience in data bases having performed in excess of 300 data conversions, and Sharon brought a wealth of programming experience from the commercial sector. In November of 2000 DonorDirect began to roll out the donor management system. It was the first fully integrated donor management system designed exclusively for ministries. In 2001 the missionary and project management module was introduced. It gave mission sending agencies a broad set of tools for fund accounting and missionary management. In 2003 DonorDirect introduced SelfServe. This extensive set of API's allowed organizations to give constituents unmatched access to their data via a web site. 2004 brought the introduction of eCommerce a fully integrated eCommerce add-on to an organizations public website with real-time connectivity to the DirectToDonor suite of applications. In 2006 we introduced DirectToFulfillment an advanced fulfillment and product tracking system for product intensive ministries. In 2007, DonorDirect teamed up with Microsoft as a Certified Microsoft Partner to utilize their cutting edge technology to build powerful and user-friendly software solutions. Shortly after, DonorDirect released DirectToCRM, an advanced contact management solution that is built on Microsoft Dynamics CRM. DirectToCRM is a departmental solution that will enhance relationship management for Donor Development, Volunteer Management, Missionary Recruitment, Local Office Support, Church Relations, and others. DonorStudio was introduced in 2009 as the only organization-wide system that can handle all aspects of the modern ministry utilizing the most cutting edge technology to provide tools that are powerful and user-friendly. DonorStudio has unique functionality created specifically for the ways that ministries work, to streamline and automate ministry processes and enable organizations to fulfill their mission. 2009 also brought DonorStudio's eCommerce extension, StudioOnline. StudioOnline is an online application with complete two-way real-time synchronization with DonorStudio to allow ministries to process donations, product orders, event registration, and other transactions using state of the art shopping cart technology. The easy-to-use MyAccount features allow donors to be able to access and update their information, and even have customized landing pages for more strategic marketing and outreach. DonorStudio also extended to be able to fully integrate with Microsoft Dynamics GP accounting system for a complete donor management and accounting package. Today with 33 employees and 40 partners we are pleased to be a part of the vital work that our ministry partners are accomplishing around the world. While the technology continually changes the initial desire of helping ministries do more with technology remains the same. |
