The mission of Armed Services YMCA Camp Pendleton (ASYMCA) is to enhance the lives of military members and their families in spirit, mind, and body through programs that address the unique challenges of military life. For decades, the organization has served as a lifeline for military families by addressing critical needs such as food insecurity, early childhood education, diaper distribution, and family readiness.
As demand for these services grew, traditional in-kind donation models began to strain internal operations. Staff were required to manage static wish lists, manually track donations, and coordinate fulfillment across multiple programs. These processes created administrative overhead that limited scalability and made it difficult to track outreach and donor engagement effectively.
ASYMCA needed a more efficient, transparent way to manage in-kind donations—one that could support multiple programs while reducing staff workload and improving the donor experience.
To meet these needs, ASYMCA Camp Pendleton adopted Mindful Giving,
an in-kind donation platform powered by Amazon Business. Mindful Giving enabled the organization to replace static wish lists with dynamic, campaign-based giving supported by curated product catalogs aligned directly to real-time program needs.
The platform streamlined internal operations while delivering a significantly improved donor experience. Donors consistently shared that Mindful Giving made giving “super easy,” with one donor noting that “donating through this program allows us to provide the help precisely where it is needed.”
As an early adopter, the Camp Pendleton branch integrated Mindful Giving across key initiatives, including food pantry restocks, diaper distribution, childcare support, and classroom resources—embedding the platform into everyday program delivery.
By leveraging Mindful Giving, ASYMCA Camp Pendleton processed nearly $30,000 in in-kind donations in the last year, placing the branch among the top three most successful Mindful Giving customers by total dollar value.
“We're not sure who appreciates Mindful Giving more - our staff or our donors. It makes generosity easy and intentional by letter supporters purchase exactly what our military families need and send them to our office with just a few clicks. It also gives us clear tracking which improves transparency and helps us reconcile in-kind gifts efficiently. It allows us to focus less on logistics and more on serving families,” said LaRonda Schenck Scott, Senior Director of Development at Armed Services YMCA Camp Pendleton.
Camp Pendleton achieved the #1 nationwide ranking for Mindful Giving donation impact, demonstrating the effectiveness of the model across the broader ASYMCA network. The team also developed social media assets, newsletter content, and one-pager templates to promote campaigns—creating best practices that other ASYMCA branches can easily replicate.
Mindful Giving’s integration with the Camp Pendleton website provided a customized, branded donor experience that made repeat giving simple and intuitive. As a result, 80% of donations now come from 20% of donors, underscoring the platform’s ability to foster ongoing donor relationships and recurring support.
ASYMCA Camp Pendleton views Mindful Giving as a long-term engine for meeting the evolving needs of military families. By aligning campaigns with grant cycles and leveraging Amazon Business’s Socially Responsible Purchasing program, the organization aims to drive continued growth, deepen donor engagement, and ensure more consistent funding for essential programs.
“Mindful Giving has become an integral part of our mission—filling the shelves of our pantry and providing essential supplies for programs that have become a lifeline for military families,” said LaRonda Schenck Scott, Senior Director of Development at Armed Services YMCA Camp Pendleton. “With Mindful Giving integrating with Amazon Business, we are building a model that other ASYMCAs can adopt to expand donor engagement, diversify giving, and serve more families.”
Camp Pendleton’s success illustrates how Mindful Giving can transform nonprofit in-kind fundraising. The platform empowers organizations to scale impact, reduce operational complexity, and deliver greater transparency—while providing donors with a meaningful, efficient way to give back.
Book a demo of Mindful Giving today and see how your nonprofit can respond faster, raise more, and deliver real-time impact where it’s needed most.
Your community is counting on you.