The Lionheart Life Center provides individuals with autism and other neurodevelopmental challenges a comprehensive range of educational, therapeutic and vocational services to maximize the potential for their highest level of independence.

It’s a worthy and complex mission with multiple programs including The Lionheart School serving students with autism and other neurodiverse profiles ages 5-21, and Lionheart WORKS, an adult vocational program serving individuals 18 and up.

Tracy Burke is Director of Operations of Lionheart, and also the parent of a Lionheart WORKS participant and former school student. She’s wearing many hats to ensure Lionheart has the resources needed to thrive.

In this case study, learn how Infinite Giving has helped Lionheart to:

• Grow its funding with a better cash management program
• Enable the organization to accept stock gifts as donations
• Tailored its investment policies and strategies to increase cash reserves

“I was sold on Infinite Giving from the beginning. My team was pleasantly surprised how easy it was to connect the donation page… and they were happy with the outcome.”

Tracy is the embodiment of the entrepreneurial spirit. She and her husband, Mike, have launched multiple successful businesses. But after their third daughter was diagnosed with autism, Tracy took a step back from working to take on the responsibilities for managing her therapies. “I became a therapeutic manager,” Tracy explained. “I took courses on how to provide for a child with autism and it led me to becoming an assistant teacher.”

Lionheart was founded in 2000 and is now celebrating its 25th anniversary. Tracy and her family have been part of the Lionheart community for years, first joining as a board member, serving as a “super volunteer”, and when the position came open as Director of Operations in 2018. “I followed my path to where I need to be,” Tracy explained, “Now my daughter is 22 with a part-time job thanks to Lionheart WORKS.”

Thinking strategically about fundraising for the future

Multiple strategic funding sources are needed to serve their students, young adults, and community. Tracy explained how her role includes writing and managing all the grants for Lionheart, plus assisting with fundraising, and managing budget needs. Lionheart is poised for success with multiple events throughout the year and partnerships with institutions such as the City of Alpharetta.

Today, Lionheart is leveraging Infinite Giving’s platform for donations and cash management to raise its annual fund. “We have a great board that decided we needed to utilize the platform for taking in stock and changing our fiscal policies,” Tracy said. “Getting everyone on the board to decide what to do with our stocks and investment strategies, then updating our investment policies took some time.”

“When we officially launched Infinite Giving, it went seamlessly.”

One of the biggest feature benefits with Infinite Giving is the ability to accept stock donations. Asset-based gifts are one of the easiest and most tax-efficient ways to increase high-capacity donations, especially since the average stock gift is $8,000.

Tracy explained that it’s still an educational process to make donors aware of the option to gift stocks. In addition to the multiple donation options, Tracy said: “I love the dashboard and being able to see how our funds are growing.”

"Lionheart is celebrating its 25th anniversary, and our original founders are still here. Some board members have been with us for 25 years. We’re thinking collectively about the future, and what this means for our growth.” 

Want to better manage your nonprofit’s cash and grow your cash reserves?

Contact our team at Infinite Giving today to learn more about how your nonprofit can grow with thoughtful stewardship and better cash management. Get started here.

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