Catchafire Doubles Contracting Capacity, Accelerating Nonprofit Partnerships with Docusign IAM for Sales

For every nonprofit looking to amplify its impact, there are thousands of professionals eager to volunteer their skills in marketing, design, project management, and more. Catchafire is the bridge, offering an easy-to-use platform that connects nonprofits with the support they need.

Volunteers have donated over 1.5 million hours of pro bono work, creating nearly $300 million in value to the nonprofit sector since 2010. 

“The quicker we can get these partnerships built, the sooner we can create real impact,” said J.D. Filippone, deputy director of revenue operations. 

When Filippone joined Catchafire, contracting was “very manual” and inefficient, relying on templates and spreadsheets. While this process worked OK for small volumes of agreements, it quickly became clear it wouldn't scale with the company’s long-term goals.

"We evaluated several providers and ultimately found that Docusign was the best for us now, and also the best for us as we continue to grow,” said Filippone.

Generating fully branded MSAs and SOWs with a single click

Before Docusign, Catchafire tried a third-party CLM solution, but it proved to be costly, complex, and overloaded with features it didn’t need. The final straw: Customers found it overly complicated.

“When you're trying to close a deal, the last thing you want is for anything to be a speed bump,” said Filippone. “The question wasn't ‘Are we going to leave this platform?’ It was, ‘What is the next platform we're going to go to?’”

Catchafire ultimately chose Docusign IAM for its ease of use, AI capabilities, and seamless connection with Salesforce. Using Docusign Gen, sales reps can launch requests for contract generation directly from their central sales hub.

First, customer details, contract terms, and any specific requirements are collected in a single form. Form completion kicks off the review process—and then, with the click of a button in Salesforce, a master service agreement or statement of work is automatically generated. If there are no customer-requested changes, the procurement team—who maintains total control—can send the final agreement for e-signature.

“What I love about Docusign is that contracts [come] from us,” said Filippone. “And it’s all tracked in the system, so my team or external teams can see how things are progressing as it relates to each contract request. It’s really cool and really powerful.”

Unlocking agreement data with Docusign AI

After streamlining document generation with Docusign, Catchafire was ready to unlock more value from its agreements. That’s where Navigator came in. Signed agreements are processed and stored in a central repository where teams can track, manage, and analyze them.

For Filippone, having AI capabilities makes it easy to check for specific terms or even answer questions on the fly, like how often a certain clause appears across contracts or whether a particular limit of liability has been consistently applied. “It’s saved a ton of time,” he said. “I can find the majority of the information I need right then and there, as simple as just doing a search or applying a filter.”

With Navigator integrated into the workflow, Catchafire is no longer in the dark about critical contract dates or obligations—for example, a timely renewal notification flagging an agreement set to renew in two weeks. 

By tapping into these insights, Catchafire can also ensure agreements are built on equal footing, reinforcing both performance and trust across partnerships. 

Faster closing, greater impact

“Contracting now is faster than ever, and we're going to continue to build on those efficiencies,” said Filippone.

What once took 20-25 minutes per agreement now takes just a few minutes, allowing the team to nearly double their weekly capacity.

The efficiency gains have trickled down throughout the organization in the form of higher revenue, reduced risks, and greater productivity—ultimately strengthening Catchafire’s ability to empower nonprofits and the communities they serve.

"Docusign has made my life a little easier so I can help make things easier for others in the business,” said Filippone. “For anyone looking to move to a structured contract management system, implement a smart, AI-driven repository, or build workflows through their procurement process, I would absolutely recommend Docusign.”