Refugee Soccer found its nonprofit operating system with Givebutter Plus

Managing disjointed software platforms was stressing Adam Miles out. 

As the Founder and Executive Director of Refugee Soccer, an organization that empowers refugee youth and builds cross-cultural community around the world, Adam needed one central engine to power all of his fundraising operations. When a friend introduced him to Givebutter, he knew he had finally found the solution. 

Watch to learn how Refugee Soccer:

• Streamlined multiple systems with an all-in-one fundraising and CRM platform ⚙️
• Manages donors more efficiently with Givebutter Plus’ donor insights and advanced email tools 📊
• Raised over $165K and counting for its international youth programs 🌍

Meet Refugee Soccer

Based in Utah, Refugee Soccer connects refugee and non-refugee communities through the “Beautiful Game,” focusing on youth development, mentorship, and leadership. 

In the past few years, Adam explains, “I realized that we just weren't doing enough for girls and young women, especially those in marginalized, overlooked communities such as immigrant refugee neighborhoods.” 

So, he built a new initiative called #SheBelongs, which works “to create a world where every girl everywhere can have a fair shot at hitting their goals and achieving their dreams.” 

Life before Givebutter: “Why don’t these systems talk to each other?” 

Adam was juggling a different tool for almost everything—fundraising campaigns, event management, donor data, and communications. Nothing talked to each other. Every task meant logging into another platform, exporting another spreadsheet, and piecing together an incomplete picture.

He found himself venting to a colleague in the refugee services space:

“I’m just trying to make the world a better place. Why is it so hard? Why don’t these systems talk to each other? Why is fundraising so difficult—and, like, not fun?” 

His colleague had been there. She knew Adam needed something simple but powerful enough to run a growing nonprofit. So she asked if he'd ever heard of Givebutter. For Adam, that word-of-mouth moment turned out to be a turning point.

Why Refugee Soccer switched to Givebutter: “Whoa, this is different.” 

Adam wasn't new to fundraising software. With a professional background in finance and over 20 years in the fundraising sector, he'd seen his fair share of platforms.

But when he explored Givebutter, something felt different.

“For the very first time, Givebutter gets me as close as I've ever been to finding a comprehensive solution to help navigate all the ups and downs, all the strategies, all the things we're trying to do.”

How Refugee Soccer uses Givebutter Plus: “The data is so rich.”

Refugee Soccer runs on Givebutter Plus, which provides a suite of advanced tools on top of Givebutter's free fundraising, donor management, and engagement features.

CRM & donor insights 📊

With Givebutter Plus, Adam and his team have a robust, centralized donor database with actionable insights in an easy-to-navigate dashboard. “The data is so rich—you get so many looks at how your organization is doing,” he says.

Especially useful are the contact insights (now in beta), which offer instant, AI-generated summaries of each contact’s donor history, engagement, and activity—plus recommended next steps for individual stewardship. 

Better visibility into supporters means more strategic donor outreach, hours saved, and more dollars raised.  

‍⭐️ Learn how to automate your nonprofit with Givebutter Plus →

Event fundraising 🎟️

Refugee Soccer frequently organizes special screenings to showcase a documentary about their work, bringing supporters together while raising funds to advance their mission. 

Adam appreciates the ability to customize all kinds of ticket options and include a video right on these fundraising events pages, which also “looks just fantastic” embedded on the organization’s website. 

Easy sharing features help drive attendance, and the option to add a donation in addition to (or instead of) purchasing a ticket has helped his team raise nearly $30K through these gatherings! 

Email templates & automations 🤖

“I wear a lot of hats here,” says Adam, who loves time-saving features like Givebutter Plus’ advanced email editor, which provides hundreds of pre-designed templates built just for nonprofits. 

Automated email receipts are another major operational improvement, saving Adam and his small team the administrative time otherwise spent on sorting through paperwork while also improving donor communication. 

Personalized fundraising pages 💛 

As a global nonprofit, travel is an important part of the organization’s programming. To raise funds for the #SheBelongs Global Hope Cup trip to Spain in 2025, players and teams created their own fundraising pages to share their individual stories and raise funds through their networks. 

“It was so much easier for the players, the coaches, the staff, the parents of everyone who's supporting these young ladies,” Adam explains, “It’s just been seamless.” 

Givebutter provided an appealing, engaging platform to showcase players’ individual stories and build trust with potential donors:

“It legitimizes who we are. And more than just asking people for money, it’s about telling their story. When you equip young people with a tool like Givebutter to share it with their network, great things happen.”

The campaigns were a huge success, raising close to $125K for the program. 

Organizational impact: “It’s increased my confidence.” 

By saving time and simplifying administrative workloads, using Givebutter as a financial engine has made fundraising more structured and scalable for Refugee Soccer, with over $165K raised on the platform alone—and counting! 

Givebutter has also increased Adam’s confidence as a leader by creating a professional donor experience that increases credibility and reinforces donor trust, from custom branding on donation forms to the verified nonprofit status displayed on each campaign. 

“I’m proud to send people the link [for our campaigns and events]. Even just embedding the form as a donate button on our website—it looks so dang good. Of course people are going to donate.” 

For other organizations considering Givebutter, Adam puts it simply: “a gift for what you're trying to do with the world.”

Start your Givebutter Plus success story today

Refugee Soccer is one of thousands of nonprofits that have transformed their fundraising with Givebutter Plus. From donor insights and automated workflows to custom reports and a modern, drag-and-drop email editor, organizations of any size can breathe easy, knowing that all their transactions, donor data, and communications are working together seamlessly. 

Create your free Givebutter account in minutes and get started with a 30-day trial of Givebutter Plus to see the difference an all-in-one nonprofit operating system can have for your mission.