JMI Equity Portfolio Company Bloomerang Acquires InitLive

Bloomerang, the complete donor relationship management solution for thousands of small and medium-sized nonprofits, today announced that they acquired InitLive, a leading volunteer management platform for nonprofits. The addition of a robust volunteer management solution accelerates the company’s ability to deliver the nonprofit relationship management platform of the future.

This strategic acquisition supports Bloomerang’s vision to build a world inspired by giving. By adding InitLive’s volunteer management solution to the Bloomerang platform, nonprofits have access to a richer, more intuitive set of capabilities to help them build a thriving community of donors and volunteers.

“Many nonprofits rely on the generosity of people–through donations or time, and unfortunately they are stuck with managing these resources manually or with tools that are not integrated,” says Dennis Fois, Bloomerang’s Chief Executive Officer. “We’re thrilled to welcome InitLive into the Bloomerang platform so we can more effectively address two essential pillars nonprofits need to deliver their missions–donors and volunteers. By adding robust volunteer management to Bloomerang, we will help accelerate nonprofits’ ability to foster stronger volunteer and donor engagement, increase retention, grow fundraising faster, and maximize the impact of their missions.”

Nonprofits today deploy a variety of funding models in order to deliver their missions. While many organizations lead with a donor-centric fundraising model, others lead with a volunteer-centric approach; and in the current economic climate, volunteer programs are especially vital. Regardless of the nonprofit operating model, volunteers and donors are closely linked. Through a single, unified platform, Bloomerang will bring intuitive volunteer management and industry-leading donor management together to help customers make stronger connections with donors and volunteers. The combined solution provides numerous benefits for nonprofit organizations:

  • Maximize the potential of both their volunteer and donor communities while saving time and resources when those relationships are managed from one integrated platform.
  • Grow the fundraising potential from the volunteer base. Volunteers who believe in an organization’s mission are 80% more likely to donate and are more likely to donate 10x more money to charities than those who do not volunteer.
  • Increase donor retention and engagement through volunteer programs. Donors who participate in at least one volunteer activity increase their donor retention rate by 2.5x.
  • Save nonprofit administration time through intuitive applications built by fundraisers and volunteer experts that help them easily manage their entire constituent community.
  • Access a single partner committed to provide its top-rated support and professional services, as well as continued commitment to make available world-class resources, best practices, and research-based education for the broader nonprofit community.

“We depend on the generosity of thousands of volunteers and donors each year to help us feed our hungry neighbors in need, whether they are giving their time, financial donations, or food donations,” says Tina Postel, Loaves & Fishes/Friendship Trays’ Chief Executive Officer. “It’s exciting to envision the ability to send out simple, segmented appeals that we can track all from one place, creating even greater long-term engagement and support from our donors.”

“Our focus at InitLive has been on delivering great volunteer experiences, streamlining workforce interactions, and creating intuitive mission impact reporting–all while maximizing revenues through volunteer donations,” says InitLive Co-Founder, Melissa Pinard. “I believe this acquisition puts us in a great position to continue offering a world-class volunteer management solution, while also expanding our reach and the benefit we can provide to the nonprofit sector as a whole. The market needs an intuitive, efficient, and all-in-one software partner who supports the complete donor relationship lifecycle and we’re now in a unique position to provide that.”

Current customers will be invited to participate in a limited availability program through the first quarter of 2023 for the integrated volunteer and donor management platform, and will expand to general availability for all customers later this year.

This acquisition builds on an exciting phase of growth for the company. In 2021 the company helped nonprofits raise more than $8 billion. And in 2022, Bloomerang was named a “Best Place to Work in Indiana,” launched a new brand identity to better articulate the value and services offered to the nonprofit community, and supports more than 15,000 nonprofit organizations. Bloomerang’s suite of online fundraising tools also strengthens nonprofits’ ability to cultivate deeper relationships with their donors and increase the impact of their fundraising campaigns.

Learn more about career opportunities at Bloomerang.

About Bloomerang

Indianapolis-based Bloomerang is the complete donor relationship management solution that helps thousands of small and medium-sized nonprofits deliver a better giving experience and create stable, thriving organizations. Combining robust, simple-to-use technology with people-powered support and training, Bloomerang empowers nonprofits to work efficiently, improve their donor relationships and grow their donor bases. With Bloomerang, nonprofit professionals love their work and have another teammate in the cause.

Bloomerang is a trusted and acclaimed partner for growing nonprofits. For more information about Bloomerang and to see why real fundraisers recommend the solution to their peers, visit: https://bloomerang.com.

About InitLive

InitLive‘s world-class volunteer management software platform offers operational excellence to nonprofit organizations and live event producers and empowers staff and volunteers with the tools they need to thrive. Founded in 2013 by mother-daughter team Debbie and Melissa Pinard and a Certified B Corporation since 2021, InitLive helps recruit, organize, and connect staff and volunteers who are the foundation of every great event, initiative, and nonprofit program.