Canadian charity Trails Youth Initiatives has been empowering vulnerable youth from at-risk areas for over 30 years. With consistent, lifelong programming, Trails provides a safe and supportive environment where young people find belonging, purpose and self-worth. Through a range of inspiring outdoor adventures and educational initiatives, Trails equips youth in need with vital life skills, fostering resilience and personal growth.
The Trails program nurtures emotional intelligence and cultivates young leaders by offering mentorship, counselling and guidance. With Trails’ help, participants not only transform their own lives but also go on to drive positive change within their communities. This unique charity stands as a testament to compassion and dedication, illuminating a path toward a brighter future where youth can overcome obstacles, unlock their potential and thrive in a world filled with possibilities.
With more than 500 graduates, multiple levels of mentorship and programming—and an average of $1.5 million raised annually through private funding—day-to-day operations can get a little hectic at Trails’ main office in Stouffville, Ontario.
In today’s increasingly digital world, Trails was looking for digital payment solutions to meet their evolving accounting needs, streamline their money management operations, increase efficiency and reduce paperwork and administrative burden. This way, they could focus on what matters most—providing vulnerable Canadian youth with transformative adventures that boost their confidence and life skills, ultimately helping them grow into resilient and self-assured individuals.
Office manager Leslie McGill does her best to keep all the accounting plates spinning in the nonprofit’s busy headquarters, where she’s overseen most of Trails’ financial processes and donations for nearly a decade. She handles everything from expense tracking and management to invoicing and accounts receivable to payroll to vendor payments and bank statement reconciliation, all of which she and her colleagues felt were ripe for digital transformation while juggling several other important duties.
Seeking to save time and energy, Leslie and her colleagues were eager to modernize the nonprofit’s money management systems.
Making the switch to digital payments
Trails used Interac e-Transfer sporadically right before the pandemic, then soon transitioned to using the payments solution for most of its financial processes. “It was so easy that we fully embraced digital payment transformation,” she says, “and we haven’t looked back since.”
That’s because embracing Interac e-Transfer for your business opens up a range of benefits—for Trails—that were previously unavailable with traditional manual methods.
Among the top advantages of making the switch, according to Trails, are enhanced efficiency, improved financial accuracy and transparency, cost savings, simplified donation management and increased donor engagement.
A safe, streamlined digital banking solution
Since making the initial switch, Trails continues to reap the benefits of how efficient and cost-effective Interac e-Transfer is compared to traditional manual accounting methods. “Before we switched, the costs of stamps, cheques, envelopes and other supplies added up,” Leslie says. “But with this easy-to-use digital payment solution in place, we’re able to skip the paper trails and save time, and we never wait for a cheque to get mailed, cashed and cleared.”
Like many organizations that use Interac e-Transfer for Business, Trails also enjoys the convenience and confidence of sending and receiving real-time, higher-value payments with immediate confirmation. In addition, using Interac e-Transfer for Business also means quicker access to funds and better management of liquidity.
“It’s safe, seamless and takes a second,” says Leslie. “It’s just a very easy process—no big deal.”
Digitized and modernized donations
In addition to accepting donations online, Trails has largely shifted from cash and cheque donations to Interac e-Transfer, as another, more convenient and cost-effective donation solutions.
And they’re not alone. A growing number of nonprofit organizations are ready to try digital methods for accepting donations. When it comes to donors, they too are looking for more modern ways to donate to nonprofits. Recent research shows that a growing number of people, especially younger donors, prefer to donate to charities online versus donations via cash contributions.
“People want to make their donation go further,” says Leslie, “and they want to make sure their full donation is going to Trails. That’s why they prefer to send donations via Interac e-Transfer.”
Plus, keeping track of Interac e-Transfer donations is easier than giving cash because it provides a digital trail and documentation, allowing for seamless record-keeping for both the donor and the charity.
Fast, flexible vendor payments
As part of its mission to enrich the lives of vulnerable youth, Trails regularly enlists the talents of local vendors, including educators and entertainers, and a chef who cooks for the kids on weekends and at special events. Most Trails event expenses, including vendors, equipment purchases and rentals (such as stages and tents) are made quicker and easier using Interac e-Transfer for Business, which opened up the ability to send higher-value transactions.
Enabling organizations to send their own funds from their bank account, Interac e-Transfer for Business automatically notifies Trails when each vendor payment is complete. Plus, Leslie can see the transaction history at any time, which helps her quickly keep track of past payments and better plan and budget for the future.
“Making payments this way takes less time than writing a cheque,” she says. “And you can see your real-time bank balance adjusting accordingly, allowing you to budget better as you go, which can help you to make more informed financial decisions.”
Thanks to rich remittance data and ease of integrating Interac e-Transfer for Business into accounts receivable and payable, invoice numbers can be attached to the transfers, so Trails always knows who is getting paid for what.
Seamlessly securing empowering opportunities
Family members of participants in Trails’ inspiring programs are also embracing Interac e-Transfer. In fact, the majority are paying the fee needed to secure children’s individual spots in the program using it.
“Ninety-eight per cent of the 150 families with children enrolled used Interac e-Transfer to pay the fee,” says Leslie. “The payment no longer has to go through many hands before I receive it. Now it’s immediate, and I instantly know which family has paid.”
Speaking of saving time, Leslie estimates that she saves up to two hours a week on Trails’ accounting and financial operations since the organization incorporated Interac e-Transfer for business payments. “That’s a big part of why we use it for pretty all of our payments now—from vendor to bill payments, and at our events when accepting donations and selling our 30th anniversary T-shirts.”
Enhancing and extending impact for the greater good
Embracing innovation that makes a lasting difference with Interac e-Transfer for Business doesn’t just simplify Trails’ operations, it helps the organization further support the community and expands its impact even more.
By streamlining and modernizing its financial processes with Interac e-Transfer for Business, Leslie and her Trails colleagues have more time and energy to focus on what matters the most to them—helping Canadian youth thrive.
“Incorporating this payment solution has been a game-changer,” she says. “It allows us to send and receive money when needed—quickly and without complications or red tape. And, ultimately, that allows us to be more responsive and engaged across the board.”
Give your organization a leading payments solution today. Talk to your financial advisor about using Interac e-Transfer for your business.
