Nonprofits rely on their communication strategies for survival, whether they’re charities, foundations, advocacy groups, or trade associations. Effective communication allows organizations to swell their donor, patron, and volunteer ranks and ensures that the cause they champion can receive much-needed funding and support. While such relationship building is usually part of a nonprofit’s communication strategy via email, direct mail, or other messaging campaigns, a successful phone strategy is just as crucial to their success.
All sizes of nonprofits can benefit from a reliable phone strategy with a minimal impact on their overhead costs. Whether you run a small all-volunteer group needing a professional voicemail service or a larger organization needing to distribute calls through a virtual receptionist, an affordable and easily implemented phone system is likely a more realistic option than you think. Read on to find out how we’ve helped other nonprofits (and how we can help you), or contact us today to speak with a knowledgeable representative to get started!
Case Study: Arts Nonprofit Grows Their Audience With Virtual Phone System
A nonprofit theater organization in Kansas dealt with two distinct but problematic issues with their phone system. The first was the cost. Every penny mattered as an all-volunteer organization with a limited budget and an older building to maintain. Despite only having a single local phone number that forwarded calls directly to voicemail, their phone bill had been subject to considerable increases in a short time. These price hikes cost the company the equivalent of 8 sold-out performances a year. The second issue was retrieving their messages. When season ticket holders or other callers would leave messages, the only retrieval method was to call in and listen to each voicemail one at a time, which was slow and inefficient. They needed a more affordable and fully featured solution, so they turned to AccessDirect for help.
After discussing their dilemma, AccessDirect quickly devised an affordable nonprofit phone system to save them money and enhance their callers’ experience. We built an auto attendant phone system capable of answering patron questions regarding upcoming shows, season tickets, and other matters through pre-recorded information boxes. This nonprofit phone system allowed callers to get information quickly without waiting for a volunteer to return their call. For those callers wanting to make a reservation or speak with the box office, we created a voicemail to email option. After a caller left a message, we delivered an email to their box office volunteer containing a sound file attachment of their voicemail and a transcript. This voicemail feature saved the theater and their callers a great deal of frustration, as messages could be quickly retrieved and returned, which was a difficult task with their old system. Once their new virtual answering service was ready to be used, we ported their existing phone number from their phone company to our cloud, and they were able to cancel their phone company account.
Thanks to AccessDirect, their phone system was more sophisticated and nearly one-third cheaper than their old service. Their patrons could quickly learn about their current production & performances and get answers to frequently asked questions without waiting for a callback from a volunteer. And if they needed to leave a message for the box office, they would get a call even more quickly than before, thanks to our efficient voicemail to email solution on the back-end delivering their messages to volunteers. Their new affordable, efficient, and patron-friendly phone system has enhanced their callers’ experience and made returning calls easier for their volunteers.
Nonprofit Phone System Features
Our nonprofit phone systems are not only more affordable than a typical phone line but also offer several features designed to impress your callers and make your organization more efficient. Here are just a few of the features available from AccessDirect:
- Auto Attendant: transfer your callers to one of several extensions, each of which can be independently programmed
- Voicemail to Email: send voicemails left by callers to your email as an MP3 sound file attachment
- Voicemail Transcription: all incoming messages are automatically transcribed by our software, allowing you to read and quickly determine what the caller needs
- Business Text Messaging*: send and receive text messages from your virtual business number
- Online Fax*: save costs on paper, toner, and repair! Upload and receive fax documents through a virtual fax number
- Professional Greetings: impress your callers with professionally recorded phone greetings based on your preferred script
- Information Boxes: answer frequently asked questions, provide your address and hours, or give your callers your website, all without ever having to answer the phone
*Additional charges apply, contact us for more information
Four Affordable Plans To Serve Your Callers – And Your Bottom Line
A single mailbox for either voicemail or fax. Receive your messages or your faxes via email so you can respond to your customers no matter where you are. Transcription of your voicemails helps you manage your business and respond to messages faster.
The perfect single businessperson solution. One mailbox that can transfer your callers to any phone of yours along with taking and transcribing voicemail. Answer calls at home or on the road, wherever and whenever you need to.
The ideal small business solution. Present callers with a list of extensions for individual people or departments quickly and easily. Connect your whole team under one number whether your employees are in the same office or working remotely.
The ideal big business solution. Utilize the same Direct Receptionist features and capabilities, scaled for the largest businesses. Work with AccessDirect to build a custom solution that fits your unique need, no matter how many offices and employees you have.
Why AccessDirect?
AccessDirect has provided virtual phone systems and industry-best service and support to nonprofits and other small organizations since 1997. We understand the financial pressures non-business entities face and the need to reduce overhead while impressing potential donors and patrons. Each of our nonprofit phone system plans is fully featured and customizable, and we will work with you to find the perfect solution for your specific needs. Unlike our competitors, we want to work with your nonprofit to ensure your success because when you succeed, we succeed.
If you’re still unsure whether a virtual phone service is right for your nonprofit organization, contact us and speak with a knowledgeable team member to find out how we can help. We would love to set up a one-week free trial of our service – built to your specifications – so you can ensure it’s the solution your organization needs. Call, chat, or email us today!
