Fundraising Counsel Case Study
Nonprofits come to Fresh Eyes Digital for two big reasons: to acquire and inspire digital audiences and to convert those audiences into loyal and lifelong donors. Led by industry veterans Jenn Lejano and Rachel Allison, Fresh Eyes Digital delivers ongoing strategic guidance, creative campaign development, email marketing, fundraising and social media content development, reporting and analysis.
- Founded in 2016
- Employees in six states
- Clients nationwide and in Canada
Erin Riley Strong
Director of Operations, Fresh Eyes Digital
The Challenge
Before working with Labyrinth, Inc., Fresh Eyes Digital relied on a small accounting firm to handle their bookkeeping and regulatory filings. Managing fundraising counsel registrations and campaign filings was not their expertise, and the work they provided was incomplete. When Erin Riley Strong joined, the organization had started receiving fines from California for failing to register.
"We were hit hard by California for not filing correctly, and that was the moment we realized that we needed to professionalize our filings and make sure we were working with a trusted partner."
Recognizing the accounting firm wasn't the right fit, Erin ended the vendor relationship and moved the work in-house into Google Sheets. States, registration numbers, expiration dates, etc. were all kept in a "headache-inducing" sheet.
Erin knew that a comprehensive audit of their regulatory situation was necessary. From the registration filings, to the content of the contracts, down to having the correct signatures on applications, everything needed to be reviewed.
"[The requirements] had caused enough stress and taken enough time away from our clients that we were worried about [our client work suffering]. We needed the filings to be perfect because the states won't let you make mistakes."
The search for an alternative to the Google Sheet began almost immediately.
The Solution
Erin knew she wanted a partner who could right the ship and help them address their past issues. She was also looking for a knowledgeable staff who knew the requirements front to back.
"For us, it was about ease. We really wanted someone where we wouldn't have to do a lot of work on our end. As a small organization, there is a huge amount of stuff on my plate. [Managing] registrations and filing contracts is a huge, huge amount of work. It wasn't feasible for us to have to manage that."
Another fundraising firm highly recommended Labyrinth, Inc. Its purpose-built compliance software and managed services for corporate and fundraising registrations were far more specialized to Fresh Eyes Digitals' unique use-case than the accounting firm had offered.
The project kicked off quickly to address the notices being sent by the states. Fresh Eyes Digitals' dedicated Registration Specialist moved "shockingly quick." She was able to identify missing language that states would expect to see in contracts. And she provided status reports in a matter of minutes that would have taken hours to produce from the Google Sheet.
In a single, unified solution, Fresh Eyes Digital now centrally locates and tracks corporate registrations, fundraising counsel registrations, contract submittals, commencement notices, contract amendments, and contract extensions. The comprehensive solution includes Entity Manager software, Registered Agent, and Annual Report services.
In Entity Manager, a US map instantly clarifies corporate registrations and compliance status across all 50 states. Renewal reminders for filings and annual reports are automated, saving the team valuable time. Fresh Eyes Digital also selected the Registered Agent service to save time with pre-filled forms and gain efficiency using the software.
"Having all of that at my fingertips...having all of that aggregated in one space where it takes all the pressure off of me was great."
The Impact
Move Forward With Confidence
Keeping up with fundraising counsel registration requirements across 28 states can be difficult. Don’t waste time navigating state requirements. Labyrinth, Inc. has been the nonprofit sector’s go-to source of fundraising compliance services for over 30 years. Our experts will prepare and submit fundraising counsel registration applications and manage campaign filings for you, and our purpose-built client portal moves corporate and fundraising registrations into one easy-to-use software application.