CLIENT STORIES

Shevet Galim – Israel Scouts

Youth Event Registration Software Spotlight: Shevet Galim

Shevet Galim is the San Diego chapter of the Tzofim movement, or the Israeli Scouts, in the U.S. The Israeli Scouts is the largest youth movement in Israel and has opened chapters outside of Israel as a way to connect with all Israeli youth regardless of their location. They define their mission as:

“Educating youth about democracy, tolerance and social responsibility, love for the land of Israel, and the formation of both a strong Israeli and Jewish identity are the main purposes which continually underline activities.”

Galim is just one example of how Regpack’s event registration software can be used in many different ways so that it can serve as a solution for many different activities our clients do. Whether you’re a membership organization wanting a membership management software or a camp looking for a camp management software or just looking for an easy and intuitive way to register your members for events, Regpack can adapt to your specific needs.

When Galim came to us with the need of registering people for specific events, like their Purim Party Fundraiser this month, Regpack fit the bill without a problem. The flexibility of the system enabled them to use the same system for different challenges they where facing. By using the existing software we were able to allow members of the Tzofim, and also new people, to register for various events Galim was organizing.

The great thing is that Regpack has a “one login” solution for organizations so that people that have already registered for more extensive activities with Galim can also use the same credentials for upcoming events and new projects. It’s the perfect event management software.

With our “one login” solution, everything seamlessly transfers between the systems. This enabled Galim to have different needs for different programs. Members use their same credentials to login and register for events and manage their member accounts. Members of the public looking to attend Galim events can login and register and pay for the events they will attend. Seamless! Now Galim has a great centralized way to monitor and keep track of how many people will be attending their events. They have the ability to generate great reports on how much money they are generating from their events as well, from both their members and the greater community.

We sat down recently with Yael Cohen-Arazi of Shevet Galim to learn more about the organization and how Galim is using Regpack in exciting new ways.

“The Regpack system was customized to our needs based on the forms we already developed but Regpack also added the aspect of the payments.”

Tell us about your organization and how you are using Regpack in a unique way.

We are the Tzofim, which is the Israeli Scouts here in San Diego. It’s a non-profit organization. And we’re using this system to have our members enroll for the Tzofim, for the Scouts and complete all their information, like their contact information, emergency information, health insurance and consent of all the behavioral conduct, cancellation policy, and all of our other policies. We added forms so members can accept the terms electronically instead of them signing paper copies, it’s really made it easy for us and our members.

Before this we just used Google Docs. We created a form and they were able to complete it online but it didn’t solve the issue of payments, of e-signing, or of moving them through the process. The Regpack system was customized to our needs based on the forms we already developed but Regpack also added the aspect of the payments.

People were able to pay online, instead of us receiving checks or cash all the time, payments are now done via credit cards and e-checks, and it could be from their home. It’s much less hassle for everyone, especially for me because I’m the treasurer. It’s really much nicer. They can also complete permission slips if we have specific field trips then they can just read it, click on the check box of “I agree”, that’s it they’re done. No need to collect permission slips. So it’s much less work.

Regpack is an event registration software  as well as an application enrollment software. Organizations use Regpack to enroll applicants, whether for a conference or for a program, like what you offer each year to 3rd-12th graders. But you had a need you were not sure the software could perform. You wanted to be able to register people for events as well and wanted to do that within the same system as your application. How did your need and Regpack’s team come up with a solution?

In one of our training sessions with Regpack, we just popped the question, because we had an event that we wanted to use Paypal for. The event is open to the community so anyone can join and we didn’t think that it was possible with Regpack. The Paypal option didn’t work out and we didn’t have a Plan B to help people buy their tickets to the party and not send us checks or cash in the mail.

We knew it would be much easier to see who’s coming from a list of all the guests and when they come to the door we can just see how many tickets they have and just let them in, give them their free drinks, tickets, whatever they need. Dana from Regpack was very helpful, she got back to us within a few days and was able to give us a solution. And it’s been working great. We had a few tickets sold already and it looks like we’ll use it for the next event. We were actually kind of reluctant to ask if its even possible in the beginning but we did, and we were actually surprised to hear it’s possible.

It’s a great way to use the system. You usually think of it as just an application but using it in a way that allows people to register for just one event or activity which is a great idea.

It’s instead of using Paypal definitely. It is also an alternative to Google Checkout, that we tried to use and it didn’t work out. Google Checkout was a big failure. We had an invitation sent out and the Google Checkout just didn’t work. People were paying, the credit card charged them but we didn’t get the money. So Regpack was really a big resolution for us.

Have you had good feedback from those in your community who are using the system to register for the Tzofim as well as pay for your events and donate money to your organization?

A lot of people said it’s great, it looks good too.

Having all the information online allows you to generate reports so you can see how much money you’re making and how much money you’re raising. Has this been helpful for you?

Of course, it’s definitely easier, no need to have millions of spreadsheets. You can just run a report, you can sort it right in the browser or export it to excel however you want so its definitely a great tool for us and we’re happy that we got the opportunity to use it.

Tell us more about your client base. How many events are you running each year?

For events we have 3 or 4 during the year. For members, except the annual fee, the annual membership that they need to pay we have probably 5 more additional products during the year whether it’s camps or just field trips or just the holiday parties or something like that.

What makes you unique?

Tzofim, there is no other, there is other youth movements here, but none of them offer the Hebrew speaking, so I think it is a big thing, that’s what makes us special. We offer a great way to connect to Israel.

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People were paying, the credit card charged them but we didn’t get the money. So Regpack was really a big resolution for us.

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We’ve included some important tasks all event planners need on their event checklist, including:

• Event Goals
• Event Budget: ticket costs, sponsorship, etc.
• Transportation / Parking
• Sub – Contractor Lists
• Staff / Volunteer Selection
• Creating an Event Marketing Plan
• Create an Event Website
• Develop an Event Schedule