Corina Car, from the Christian Aid Center, shares how BDI came alongside them as an extension of their team.
Development teams at nonprofit organizations often wear many hats. Responsible for fundraising efforts… budgeting… community outreach and more, it’s not uncommon for staff to feel stretched thin. Choosing the right agency can help ease this burden.
In our latest article from our series on BDI’s client partners, Development Director Corina Car from the Christian Aid Center (CAC) in Walla Walla, WA, shares how BDI supports small development teams and came alongside their organization to expand their staff’s capabilities.
As a small organization – with plans to make a big impact in their community – the Christian Aid Center felt limited by the resources available to them, prior to partnering with BDI.
“Because we’re a small mission with a small budget, we don’t have a lot of staff members who can take a specific role,” says Development Director Corina Car. “We appreciate our relationship with BDI, because they’ve ended up being like another staff member.”
Having access to the BDI Academy Library has also increased their team’s capacity. With valuable development resources like press releases, thank you letters, phone scripts and more at their fingertips – plus hundreds of photos custom to their organization – the Library has been a valuable benefit of their partnership with BDI.
“The Library saves us an enormous amount of time… and we have quality content that maybe we couldn’t afford in a small town,” Corina says.
Yet, for the CAC, Corina says one of the best parts of working with BDI has been the relationships built together. In recent years, more face-to-face meetings over Zoom helped strengthen these bonds with their strategy team at BDI.
“We think of them as our staff members, far away, who are working on our behalf,” Corina says. “We appreciate this relationship as much as the good, quality work that they do.”
The depth of this partnership became clear when CAC staff, upon hearing of their specialist’s love of onions, sent her a pound of Walla Walla’s famous salad onions! It’s a memory our BDI colleagues love retelling – and that brings a big smile to Corina’s face.
“All of the staff at BDI are so kind to us, sending us gifts and encouragement all the time… so we were looking for a way to return that,” Corina says.
BDI is grateful for the trust that our client partners like the Christian Aid Center have placed in us. It’s an honor to be called a member of their team!
Want to learn more about how BDI can support your nonprofit’s development and become an extension of your team? Please reach out to Kevin Bryant, our Director of Client Partnership, today!
