Partnering with iATS Payments by Deluxe helps Auction Frogs securely process over $4.5 million from more than 150 fundraising events
A web-based event and fundraising online platform company, Auction Frogs, was looking for a payment solution that understood the challenges faced by nonprofits. They wanted a payment processor that could simplify the application process for resource-strapped nonprofits, understood the language of fundraising and could provide a high level of customer support throughout the process. Having helped their more than 700 clients raise millions from fundraising and auction events, Auction Frogs knew how difficult it was for organizations to process credit card donations.
Usually a credit card processor will require a lot of paperwork for nonprofits. It may be easy to set up an account, but when it’s time to settle and withdraw money there are a lot of hoops for nonprofits to jump through. Documents are needed to prove the organization is legitimate, tax information, bank statements - the list goes on. Filling out the paperwork correctly isn’t always straightforward. A payment processor that serves retail customers has entirely different language, referring to POS systems and other traditional equipment, making it overly complicated for nonprofits who have seasonal fundraising events. When there’s a lack of customer service, it makes the payments process a tedious undertaking. All this paperwork delays the nonprofit from getting their money and distracts them from the good they are trying to do.
There had to be an easier way.
Kristi Saucerman, CEO with Auction Frogs, learned about iATS Payments and saw it as an opportunity to try a payment processor that understood the challenges nonprofits face as well as the language specific to fundraising events. Kristi was looking for a high level of nonprofit expertise and wanted a solution that would make it easy for her, her clients and their donors - a payment processor that was responsive to issues when they came up. Kristi decided to partner with iATS to develop an integrated payments solution for clients hosting fundraising and auction events.
From the beginning, Kristi was impressed with how iATS Payments made Auction Frogs a priority, no matter the size of their company. “All my questions were answered and the iATS team got to know me and my team personally - that meant a lot,” said Kristi. She always felt cared for and valued as a partner.
Getting an account started with iATS was a simple one-page application. Kristi was amazed no additional documentation was needed.
Building a relationship with iATS Payments was extremely important to Kristi because she knew that their client’s payment experiences would reflect on her company. If anything went wrong with the payments, Auction Frog’s clients would come back to them to fix it, even if it wasn’t something Auction Frogs could solve.
That relationship paid off. Whenever Kristi and her team had questions, the iATS support went above and beyond her expectations. Kristi could speak to a person on the other end of the phone without getting caught in a 1-800 loop of options. Non-urgent questions were even answered on the weekend. “iATS has done such a fantastic job of addressing all of our questions and for our clients, it makes us look good,” said Kristi. “Having support that is focused on nonprofit knowledge and truly understanding our needs has been invaluable.”
The beautiful part is that Kristi’s clients know their donors stay within the Auction Frogs platform from beginning to end. Auction Frogs worked with iATS to develop an integrated solution so all their clients would have a seamless experience handling payments. Working with iATS, Auction Frogs learned about different offers to give to their clients, such as annualizing accounts for year-round donations. Having these types of options had a positive impact on the bottom line for the nonprofits resulting in more donations with quality service for the convenience of the donor. Auction Frogs has been so pleased with iATS, their clients no longer use their previous payments processor.
“iATS has helped us with over 150 fundraising and auction events, processing more than $4.5 million in donations in just over a year. We couldn’t be happier about our partnership with iATS, it’s beyond what I imagined. Their level of knowledge about nonprofits, their first-class service and responsiveness has given me peace of mind and the ability to focus on my business. I know that iATS is a partner I can scale and grow my business with,” said Kristi Saucerman, Auction Frogs CEO.
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