Raise More. Work Less: How American Hose Company raised $100K in half the hours

For years, the American Hose Company, a volunteer fire department in Tamaqua, Pennsylvania, leaned on traditional, time-consuming in-person fundraising events to keep their operations running. As one of four fire companies serving a tight-knit community of 6,000 people, their mission was clear—but their fundraising methods were wearing thin.

Then came the pandemic, and everything changed. In-person events vanished, revenue disappeared, and the American Hose Company was forced to adapt or fall behind. That’s when they discovered BetterWorld—a move that would completely transform their fundraising efforts.

What followed was nothing short of a game-changer:

• Over $100,000 raised in two years
• Hundreds of hours saved on event planning
• Happier donors and simplified management

“We’re putting in a fraction of the man-hours we used to, and we’re making more money than we ever did before.”

But this success didn’t happen overnight.

Before switching to BetterWorld, American Hose struggled with a clunky, unreliable online platform. Frequent outages, unresponsive support, and high transaction fees were costing them money—and credibility with their community.

“We were losing donations because the platform would go down, and we wouldn’t even know about it,” said Dave Pucklavage, a volunteer firefighter and tech lead at the department. “It was frustrating for both our team and our supporters.”

Worse yet, the high fees and slow customer service made it harder to stay afloat. With 70% of their revenue relying on fundraising, something had to give.

That’s when Dave saw other fire companies having success with BetterWorld, and decided to give it a try.

In his words, setup was almost instant:

“I had a five-minute conversation with BetterWorld, and within another five minutes, I was up and running.”

From there, the impact was immediate. With BetterWorld’s intuitive Giveaways tool, American Hose launched fundraising campaigns that were easy to manage and incredibly effective. Donors loved the smooth experience. Volunteers loved how little effort was required. And the financial results spoke for themselves.

More money. Less stress. Fewer hours.

Thanks to BetterWorld’s optional fee coverage, most donors now opt to cover transaction costs themselves—letting 100% of the donation go to the fire company. Add in real-time reporting, reliable uptime, and a friendly support team, and American Hose found the partner they’d been missing all along.

“Partnering with BetterWorld was the best decision for American Hose Company.”

Want to know how they did it—and how your organization can do the same?

Download the full article now to learn the strategies, tools, and time-saving secrets that helped American Hose Company raise six figures—without burning out their team.

Whether you’re part of a fire department, school, nonprofit, or community group, this case study is packed with actionable insights that can help you raise more and work less.