Customer Stories
How Franciscans of Mary Immaculate Simplified JMI Summer Camp Enrollment with Jumbula
2 youth camps
offered each summer
No required registration fee
families may give a free-will donation
Flexible donations
accepted online or in person
About Franciscans of Mary Immaculate
The Franciscans of Mary Immaculate (FMI) are located in the Diocese of Fargo, North Dakota. Their mission is to evangelize and bring others to Christ through Mary Immaculate in the spirit of Saint Francis, beginning with their own conversion and expressed through loyalty to the Church, devotion to the Holy Eucharist, teaching, preaching, prayer, penance, and joy.
Inspired by the writings and Mariology of St. Maximilian Kolbe, FMI serves families and communities through spiritual guidance for mothers and children at the Saint Gianna & Pietro Molla Maternity Home, parish missions, retreats, spiritual direction, and JMI Youth Summer Camps.
Each summer, FMI offers a JMI camp for boys and a JMI camp for girls. Because the Franciscans rely on Divine Providence and the generosity of donors, families are invited to make a free-will donation to help offset camp expenses. A donation is encouraged but is not required for a child to attend.
“We strive to promote devotion to our Lord Jesus through devotion and total consecration to Mary Immaculate.”
The Challenges That Led FMI to Jumbula
FMI needed a registration platform that could support a small, seasonal camp program without the cost or complexity of a larger system. Their previous platform was too expensive for an organization offering only two summer camps per year.
Just as important, FMI needed a way to clearly communicate that families were not required to make a set payment during registration. Parents could choose to make a donation of any amount, but the previous system did not make that clear enough.
“We were paying too much with the previous platform for putting on only two summer camps per year.”
The lack of clarity around payments created confusion for parents. FMI wanted a registration process that reflected the spirit of its camps: welcoming families, keeping enrollment accessible, and allowing donations to remain voluntary.
“It was crucial to make it clear to parents that a set payment was not required, but that they had the option to make a donation of any size.”
FMI needed a registration platform that would:
- Keep costs manageable for a seasonal program
- Make donations clearly optional
- Allow families to donate online or in person
- Provide editable registration forms
- Support waitlist management
- Collect participant information and reports in one place
The Switch to Jumbula and What Changed
Jumbula’s Pay-As-You-Go option was a strong fit for FMI. Instead of paying for a large platform designed for high-volume or year-round programming, FMI could use a solution that better matched its actual enrollment needs.
“The Pay-As-You-Go option was perfect for us.”
With Jumbula, FMI was able to create a registration process that made the donation model clear. Families could complete camp registration without being asked to pay a required fee, while still having the option to make a donation of any size.
“We liked the option to purchase enrollments, as we have less than 100 registrants per calendar year.”
Jumbula also gave FMI the flexibility to accept donations in different ways. Parents could choose to give online during registration or make an in-person donation at camp drop-off.
“Jumbula made the process of making the payment optional, while making it clear that parents have the option to make a camp donation of any size, whether online or in person.”
Features That Made the Biggest Impact
Several Jumbula features have helped FMI simplify camp administration and improve the registration experience for families.
The ability to accept both online and in-person donations has been especially important because it allows FMI to preserve its free-will donation model while still offering families a convenient digital option.
“The features that make the biggest impact are the options for accepting online donations or in-person donations, editable forms, waitlist management, and data collection and reports.”
Editable forms also give FMI the flexibility to collect the information it needs for camp planning. Waitlist management helps with limited camp capacity, and reporting tools make it easier to keep participant data organized.
Together, these tools help FMI manage registration more efficiently while keeping the process simple and mission-aligned.
Improving Communication with Parents
Jumbula has also improved FMI’s communication with parents and participants. Because the registration process is straightforward and user-friendly, families have had fewer questions and less confusion when enrolling their children.
“The registration process is very straightforward and user-friendly, so we have had little confusion expressed by parents when registering their children.”
Confirmation emails have also been useful. FMI can include important camp details, such as the packing list, directly in the confirmation message. This helps parents receive the information they need right after registration.
“The confirmation email is helpful for parents, as we could include our packing list in it.”
For families who choose to make an in-person donation, FMI can also include reminder information about bringing the donation to camp drop-off.
“We could include reminder information for parents who chose the option to pay in person at camp drop-off.”
Support When Questions Come Up
Jumbula’s customer support team has helped FMI resolve questions and manage its registration portal more confidently. Support has included assistance with enrollment questions, removing test participants and family records, and addressing form field issues.
“They have assisted with enrollment questions, deleting test participants, families, and parents in our portal, and glitches with form fields, to name a few.”
For a small organization managing a seasonal program, responsive support has helped make the system easier to use and maintain.
A Flexible Registration System That Fits FMI’s Mission
By switching to Jumbula, FMI found a registration platform that supports the way its camps actually operate: seasonal, mission-driven, and sustained by voluntary generosity.
Jumbula’s Pay-As-You-Go model, flexible donation options, editable forms, waitlist tools, parent communications, and reporting features have helped FMI create a clearer and more efficient registration process.
Most importantly, Jumbula allows FMI to keep camp registration accessible for families while still giving them the opportunity to support the ministry through free-will donations.
“So far, we are happy with Jumbula and will continue to use the system.”
