Friends of the Governor Stone

Blackbaud eTapestry helps nonprofit raise and rebuild national historic landmark.

As it strives to rebuild a historic schooner, the nonprofit group Friends of the Governor Stone is weathering new challenges with help from cloud fundraising and other Blackbaud solutions that engage supporters.

On October 10, 2018, Hurricane Michael devastated the Florida Panhandle. The Category 5 storm capsized the Governor Stone, a Gulf Coast schooner built in 1877 and designated a National Historic Landmark for its role in enhancing cultural, historical, and ecological education and community events along the Northern Gulf Coast. The all-volunteer nonprofit group, Friends of the Governor Stone, Inc., which owns and maintains the vessel, quickly began raising the $150,000 needed to qualify for a Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) grant to rebuild and relaunch the Governor Stone.

However, the team soon realized that they needed a more efficient and organized way to communicate with their membership base, solicit donations, and accurately track the donations they receive. They found what they were looking for in Blackbaud eTapestry, which provides nonprofits with simple cloud fundraising and supporter management tools.

Friends of the Governor Stone also uses Blackbaud eTapestry’s eStore (Cart) functionality to directly manage the content of its Ship’s Store, which offers Governor Stone merchandise in exchange for premium donations that will go toward rebuilding the historic vessel. With this functionality, Friends of the Governor Stone is able to offer a modern eCommerce experience while seamlessly integrating donor payment information with their database.

Blackbaud eTapestry also helped Friends of the Governor Stone during the COVID-19 pandemic, when the group was unable to host its weekly vendors market. The solution’s easy-to-use fundraising tools and ability to send targeted emails enabled Friends of the Governor Stone to engage lapsed donors and raise funds to offset what would have been collected at the in-person markets.