Fireworks
CRM

Fireworks CRM® is the first recruitment CRM to bring a consumer-like user experience (think Apple® and Google®) to the education market, making the complex recruitment process dramatically easier to manage.

Because Fireworks was built with the user experience top of mind, even small admissions offices can administer, utilize, and support Fireworks without adding staff.

Our current clients include community colleges, two-year colleges, four-year colleges, graduate schools, law schools, medical schools, nursing schools, and seminary schools.

Features & Functionality

Videos

Reports

Fireworks includes more than 50 pre-built reports that enable you to analyze and visualize your data. We can also create as many custom reports as you need at no additional cost.

Emails

Fireworks includes an easy-to-use email tool that enables you to design, edit, and test HTML emails without having to know code or use third party tools.

Smart Search

Take a look at how easy it is to identify, target, report, and communicate with your students using Fireworks CRM’s Smart Search. No technical expertise required!

What our Clients are Saying

Here’s what some of our partners are saying about working with us.

Brandon Griffin

Coordinator, Admissions Operations

MassBay Community College

“Although the Fire Engine RED team is a vendor, when we all meet, I feel as though we’re all on the same team working toward the same goal together. I respect them as colleagues and value their close partnership and extensive knowledge.”

Teri Clawson

Assistant Vice President for Enrollment Management

Snow College

“As a small, rural, community college, our funds for technology are limited. We needed a solution that could help us be successful without spending our entire admissions and recruiting budget on a CRM. We get the functionality that we need (and some we didn’t realize we could have) and have found it to be extremely beneficial to our processes and enrollment funnel management.”

Sarah Hall

Associate Director of Operations for Graduate Recruitment and Admissions

Clark Atlanta University

“Fire Engine RED has transitioned Clark Atlanta University Admissions process to the 21st Century! The automation has streamlined our application processes. Thank you, Fire Engine RED Team!”

Susan Stephenson

Admissions Director

Western Nebraska Community College

“I have to say that my absolute favorite part of Fire Engine RED is the people. When they say unlimited customer support, they really mean it. There were weeks I had to have training or contact them three and four times a week, and it was never a problem to schedule something or get an issue fixed quickly.”

Danielle Dinges

Director of Financial Aid & Admissions

Miles Community College

“Fireworks has given us the ability to reach out to students in a timely manner without creating additional work for our Admissions Counselor. We’re able to engage with prospective students in a way that just wasn’t possible prior to working with Fire Engine RED.”

Brandon Griffin

Coordinator, Admissions Operations

MassBay Community College

“Fireworks allows us to have more control over our digital and print communications, gives us the ability to communicate more effectively to our prospective students, and allows us to better track and engage our various prospective student populations. Fireworks also automates our prospect data loads, which was a mostly manual process for our Admissions team. It is an overall game-changer for our department and our college as a whole.”

Rachel Wade

CRM/Admissions Processing Manager

Snow College

“We originally chose Fireworks for the cost point that fit a budget for a 2-year institution that has to compete against 4-year institutions and budgets, and for the features that were included. That being said, we have come to love Fireworks CRM for other reasons as well.”

Maynard Schmidt

Director of Admissions & Recruitment

SUNY Orange

“SUNY Orange recently purchased Fireworks CRM and could not be happier with the product. From the very beginning of our implementation, the team at Fireworks were supportive and always available to assist with proper set-up and to answer questions we had about the functionality.”

Susan Stephenson

Admissions Director

Western Nebraska Community College

“I have worked in higher ed for more than 17 years and with a variety of different software products and third-party software, and I have never had such a level of customer service that I’ve received with Fire Engine RED … plus, they are all very friendly and just FUN. I highly and unreservedly recommend all of FER’s products and guarantee you will fall in love with their team.”

Gretchen Foster

Admissions Director

Western Nebraska Community College

“The best decision we made implementing a CRM and new application for admission was partnering with Fire Engine RED. It really is a partnership. To me, our project manager and her team have become an extension of my admissions staff and have been with us every step of the way. They understand admissions and recruitment and I can’t imagine not working with them.”

Melanie Casciato

Director of Student Recruitment

Columbia Basin College

“After a comprehensive vetting process including well-known CRM vendors, we selected Fireworks because of its ability to customize to the needs of a community college. Thanks to Fireworks we’ve been able to automate our communication flow, which historically has not been possible.”

Teri Clawson

Assistant Vice President for Enrollment Management

Snow College

“By far, Fire Engine RED has been the most responsive team I’ve ever worked with. Even after our implementation they are willing to work with us to find solutions to our needs and help us through the process.”

Maynard Schmidt

Director of Admissions & Recruitment

SUNY Orange

“The event management system is very easy to use and extremely student friendly. Our ability to automate our messaging and utilizing the text messaging feature has allowed our institution to engage with our students in a more meaningful way. The reporting tools are easy to use and will really allow the institution to make data related decisions.”

Rachel Wade

CRM/Admissions Processing Manager

Snow College

“The implementation process was by far easier than other CRM implementation processes. The implementation team was truly great. We had the same implementation team throughout the process and the team was very knowledgeable and responsive.”

Jeremy Gibbons

Director of Admissions

Cape Fear Community College

“During our CRM search, we focused on three key items: communication tools, reporting features, and finding a CRM that was intuitive. Fireworks delivered on all three.”

Jessie Bradley

Director of Marketing & Student Recruitment

The Medical University of South Carolina

“Having a CRM for our recruitment efforts has been a real gamechanger! Not only are we able to automate processes so our recruiters can be out recruiting, but we now have reporting capabilities to help us focus our efforts where they have the most impact. The Fire Engine RED team has been great to work with – always responsive, open to suggestions, and they’re also just nice people!”

Rachel Wade

CRM/Admissions Processing Manager

Snow College

“Fire Engine RED’s customer service during and after the implementation of Fireworks has been outstanding! We couldn’t ask for a better team to work with through the whole process.”

Melissa Rodriguez

Director of Outreach

Walla Walla Community College

“We chose Fireworks CRM because it was informed by the needs of the higher ed environment and because of the company’s reputation for offering the most responsive customer service. We have not been disappointed! Our implementation team is accessible, friendly, knowledgeable and beyond supportive. With so much going on, it is awesome to be able to count on the Fire Engine RED team!”

Brandon Dewease

Director of Student Engagement

Meridian Community College

“Fireworks CRM was recommended to us and has a lot of the tools we were looking for to help with recruitment. Each of the features were individually powerful and the fact that they were all in one platform sealed the deal for us. The staff has also been beyond gracious, often going the extra mile to ensure that the platform is implemented in a way that allows us to meet our institutional goals.”

Jordan Holladay, Ph.D.

Director of Enrollment Management and Recruiting

Southern Union State Community College

“Fire Engine RED provided tremendous customer service before, during, and after the implementation process. I know that I can reach out to them and expect to hear back quickly with an answer! As a client, I could not have asked for better people to work with throughout this process.”

Joe Beaty

Senior Enrollment Specialist

Coastal Alabama Community College

“We chose Fireworks because of its affordability and the many features that came with it. Implementation was quick and painless. The team was really helpful and actually had us up and running in about 2 ½ months.”

Chris Beiswanger

Director of Admissions

University of Colorado – Colorado Springs

“There were many reasons we chose Fireworks … initially it was that Fireworks was built from the ground up for admissions and not retro-fitted from another tech arena … it ‘spoke our language.’ From there, it came to the ease of use. [And] cost – it was and is a tremendous value. We see a long future with this product and company.”

CRM Clients

Resources

If you’re about to dive into the CRM selection process, these invaluable resources will save you countless hours.

Fireworks CRM: Features & Functionality Fact Sheet

A list of the features and functionality included in Fireworks.

Download

List of Community College CRM Requirements

The critical questions to ask.

Download

21 Crucial Questions to Include in Your CRM RFP

The 21 questions you simply should ask, and the reasons why it’s imperative that you ask them.

Download

User Experience

No technical knowledge required
Administer and utilize Fireworks without any coding or technical expertise.

Consumer-like user experience
Provides a simple, intuitive experience (think Apple® and Google®).

Built for admissions
Fireworks was built from the ground up by Fire Engine RED. It’s not a corporate sales tool (Salesforce®) that has been jerry-rigged for admissions.

Uses admissions terminology
All of the labels, values, reports, etc. are familiar and make sense from the start.

Responsively designed
Designed to dynamically adapt to your smartphone, tablet, or computer. No need to use an app when you’re on the go.

Designed for accessibility
Accessible to people with low vision, corrective lenses, and color blindness.

Security

SOC 2 Type II compliant
Fireworks undergoes an annual SOC 2 Type II audit attesting to its compliance with security, availability, and confidentiality controls.

Single Sign-On
Direct integration with the following SSO providers: Apple, Google, Facebook, Amazon, and SAML or OpenID Connect-based authentication.

Backup & disaster recovery
Full system backups are performed weekly, incremental backups are performed nightly, and transaction-log backups are performed hourly.

Data encryption
Data is transmitted over a secure, encrypted channel, both at rest and in transit.

Relationships

(A Fireworks exclusive)

Create & associate relationship records
Create and associate one or more relationships (parent, high school, sibling, counselor) with a student record, manually or upon import.

Measure the value of each relationship
Focus on the people, organizations, and places that matter most. For example, run a report that tells you how many of your applicants are connected to a local Community-Based Organization (CBO) or employer.

Communicate with relationships
Engage with a student’s relationships. For example, send an email to school counselors whose students were accepted for the fall.

Duplicate Management

20+ robust matching rules
All incoming records are checked against a set of 20+ sophisticated matching rules to determine if it’s a new or duplicate record.

Resolve possible duplicates
You have the option of creating a new record or merging the potential duplicate with an existing record.

Broadcast Email

Choose your audience
Send unlimited messages to any individual or group, including purchased lists.

Segment by field
Segment by any field or combination of fields (location, major, term).

Automate communications
Automatically send communications based on actions taken by people and/or organizations. For example, set up a series of follow-up email messages to go to any student who opens an email.

Powerful design features
Create and modify responsively designed messages and templates using our HTML “What You See Is What You Get” (WYSIWYG) editor.

Personalize your emails
Use merge tags to personalize your email messages.

Preview messages in 30+ email clients
Automatically see how messages will display in popular email readers (Gmail, Apple Mail, Outlook) and on mobile devices (iPhone, Samsung).

Spam testing
Automatically identify words, phrases, and other items that are likely to trigger spam filters.

HTML/URL validation
Test messages using HTML/URL validation.

View email communications plan
View your communications plan in a calendar or list format.

Track results in real time
Track and measure your campaign results, including delivery rate, bounces, opens, clicks, delivery rate, unsubscribes, etc.

Live Chat

Chat with your website visitors
Chat 1-on-1 with your website visitors in real time.

Brand the chat interface
Apply your branding to the chat window.

Receive notifications
Receive an alert when someone starts a chat session.

Offline availability
Enable students to email your office through the chat interface if your staff is offline.

Simultaneous chats
Chat privately with multiple students at the same time.

Chat transcript
Provide students with a transcript of their chat.

Review chat history
Access a student’s previous chats with your office.

Applications

Apply your branding
Customize the look and feel of your applications and application-related email messages.

Mobile-first design
Enable viewing and application submissions from a mobile device.

Pre-populate fields
Pre-populate the information you already know.

Utilize conditional logic
Introduce or hide questions based on the student’s prior answers.

Save progress
Allow students to save their application and complete it over multiple sessions.

Track progress
See which students have started but not yet completed your application.

Request documentation
Allow students to request and track online recommendations from teachers, coaches, etc.

Upload documentation
Upload documents such as essays, personal statements, and resumes.

Accept online payments
Integrate with your payment gateway (TouchNet, Authorize.net, NelNet, Nova Info/Elavon, Paypal/PayFlowPro).

Waive fees
Waive your application fee for all, or select, students.

Print completed applications
Print custom PDFs of completed applications one by one or in batches.

Store multiple applications
Store unlimited applications, including those provided by third-party vendors (Common Application, LSAC, state-wide applications).

Reporting & Analytics

Best reporting & analytics
Provides best real-time reports (Year-over-Year, Funnel, and ROI) of ANY admissions CRM.

Easily generate reports
No coding or technical knowledge required.

Utilize predefined reports
Access standard reports to quickly view and analyze your recruitment and admissions data.

Visualize data
View data in a variety of ways, including bar, line, pie charts, and more.

Build custom reports
Create custom reports using any combination of data fields.

Utilize formulas
Utilize admissions-relevant formulas (applicant rate, admit rate, yield rate) in any report.

Create personalized dashboards
Build dynamic dashboards with the reports you frequently access.

Download reports
Export reports in a CSV, Excel, or PDF format.

Technology

Powered by modern tools & technology
Uses tools, coding languages, and software engines that power some of today’s most innovative technology companies, including Airbnb®, Amazon®, Netflix®, and Zillow®.

Hosted solution
Hosted on Amazon Web Services® (AWS), the leading cloud platform. Works in any major browser and is available anywhere you can connect to the internet.

No third-party purchases or support required
All tools are included in your subscription to Fireworks and are supported by Fire Engine RED, not a third-party provider.

User Permissions

Unlimited users
Includes unlimited user licenses.

Simple setup
No technical experience required.

Granular permission groups
Customize permissions at the field level for each user.

Search

Powerful search capability
Provides a powerful Google-like search experience enabling you to find records quickly and easily.

Search on every data field within a single search
Define and build search parameters using all fields and conditions. No need to do multiple searches to get your results.

Build complex searches
No coding or technical expertise required.

Workflow

Create tasks
Assign tasks (call students, review applications, schedule events) to yourself or other staff members.

Manage tasks
Categorize tasks (communications, applicants, events) for better organization.

Set priority levels
Prioritize individual tasks (high, medium, low).

Set deadlines & track progress
Set deadlines and monitor progress (complete, in progress, not started).

Pre-built Recruitment Campaigns

Use immediately
Get up and running quickly with a sequence of email campaign messages.

Pre-tested, results-getting copy
Utilize our professionally written copy based on best practices and student trends.

High-impact creative
Utilize our modern, professionally designed creative based on best practices and student trends.

Responsively designed emails
Built to dynamically adapt to smartphones, tablets, and computers.

Print

Create letters, postcards, & labels
Access standard templates or create your own using our “What You See Is What You Get” (WYSIWYG) editor.

Personalize your letters
Use merge tags to personalize your letters.

Schedule sends
Schedule print jobs immediately or schedule them for a future date or time.

View print communications plan
View your communications plan in a calendar or list format.

Events

Create unlimited registration forms
Create forms for your on- and off-campus interviews and recurring events.

Apply your branding
Customize the look and feel of your registration forms and confirmation messages.

Flexible format
Present your events in a list or calendar.

Mobile-first design
Enable sign-up from a mobile device.

Manage events
Set guest limits and registration deadlines, track attendance, and create customized itineraries.

Create surveys
Automatically send a post-event survey to attendees.

Accept online payments
Integrate with your payment gateway (TouchNet, Authorize.net, NelNet, Nova Info/Elavon, Paypal/PayFlowPro).

Manage special requests
Automate internal emails for special requests (wheelchair accessibility, faculty appointment, visit with coaches).

Send confirmation messages
Automatically send confirmation messages and reminders.

Implementation

Start when you’re ready
Begin the implementation process on your timeline.

Fully managed process
You’ll be assigned a dedicated implementation specialist who previously worked in admissions. They’ll guide you through the process — from beginning to end — and do the “heavy lifting” for you.

Consulting on admissions recruitment
We’ll share CRM best practices and help you implement them.

Reports & analytics
We’ll create actionable, custom reports for you that will help you make better, data-driven decisions.

Communications strategy
We’ll evaluate your communications plan and help you build a communications strategy to maximize your results.

Integrations

Bi-directional integrations
Provides bi-directional integrations with ACES2, Banner, CAMS, Colleague, Jenzabar, PeopleSoft, PowerCampus, and other systems.

Standard integrations
Provides integrations with testing providers such as ACT, AP, GMAT, GRE, LSAT, SAT, and TOEFL, and others.

Online payment processing
Integrates with many payment gateways, including TouchNet, Authorize.net, NelNet, Nova Info/Elavon, and Paypal/PayFlowPro.

API integrations (In development)
Fire Engine RED is actively developing APIs for Colleague, Banner, Jenzabar, and PeopleSoft Student Information Systems.

Records

A home for all your data
Collect and store all of your admissions-related data.

Create and store multiple record types
Create and store unique records for students, counselors, parents, high schools, colleges, employers, & community-based organizations.

Assign multiple roles
Assign multiple roles to people, such as “parent” and “alum”.

Associate & store unlimited data
Associate and store unlimited mailing addresses, email addresses, phone numbers, applications, interests, sources, and more with each record.

Track admissions status
Track students through the recruitment funnel (inquiry, applicant, admit, enrolled).

Manage interactions
Track, view, and edit all interactions (email, text, campus visit, college fair) with students on a single screen.

Create unlimited custom fields
Create all the fields and values you need.

Update records in bulk
Schedule and update select fields in batches.

Archive and report on historical records
Search and report on archived records.

Document storage
Attach one or more documents to a student’s record.

Import & Export

Build, run, and schedule imports & exports
No technical expertise required.

Convert complex data
Automatically convert complex data values from external sources (campus-wide system, test sources, search lists) to CRM values.

Utilize standard import packages
Provides standard import packages for frequently used data sources (ACT, Common Application, LSAT, NRCCUA, SAT).

Create custom import/export packages
Build import/export packages based on your school’s needs.

Save & schedule import/export packages
Makes repeated imports/exports to the same source much more efficient.

New Student Leads

(Community colleges only)

Receive access to hundreds of new leads from a national test-based service at no additional cost.

Texts

Choose your audience
Send text messages to any individual or group.

Segment by field
Segment messages by any field or combination of fields (location, major, term).

Schedule sends
Send texts immediately or schedule them for a future date or time.

Send reminders
Send reminders (event invitations, deadline notifications) based on specific dates and times.

Personalize your text messages
Use merge tags to personalize your text messages.

Build relationships
Have two-way text conversations with students at all stages in the admissions funnel.

Automatically manage opt-outs
Enable recipients to automatically opt out of texts.

View text communications plan
View your communications plan in a calendar or list format.

Forms

Create unlimited forms
Build as many customized forms as you need (inquiry, enrollment deposit, registration forms).

Apply your branding
Customize the look and feel of your forms and confirmation screens/messages.

Mobile-first design
Enable viewing and form submissions from a mobile device.

Pre-populate fields
Pre-populate the information you already know.

Utilize conditional logic
Introduce or hide questions based on the student’s prior answers.

Email Response

Answer incoming emails quickly
Respond to incoming email messages in a quick, customized, consistent way in less than one minute.

Sort & route emails
Automatically sort and route messages to the appropriate staff member to answer.

Training & Support

Customized training
We’ll provide you with unlimited, live online training customized to your needs.

Unlimited, live support
Our legendary Client Care team is available to you, your entire staff, and the students you serve 365 days a year.

Jeff McLaughlin

Jeff is Executive Vice President of Enrollment Data, Strategy, and Analytics at Fire Engine RED, where he leads a data services group that’s earned a reputation for helping clients achieve outstanding results.

Jeff currently oversees strategy, data management, as well as reporting and analytics for 65-plus clients, including the College of William and Mary, Hamilton College, Seattle University, Southern Methodist University, and Whitworth University.

Prior to joining Fire Engine RED in 2014, Jeff spent 20-plus years in admissions and enrollment. He served as the Dean of Admissions & Financial Aid at St. Olaf College, where he led all aspects of enrollment management. In addition, he served as the Interim Dean of Admissions and Financial Aid at Antioch College, and as an enrollment consultant for over 20 institutions, including Butler University, the College of the Atlantic, Millsaps College, Northwestern University, and the University of Chicago.

Jeff is available to consult on:

CRM data analysis and strategies
Data collection and management
New market identification
Operational best practices
Strategic enrollment planning
Travel optimization and planning
Vendor optimization
Coaching and mentoring
Board meeting preparation and reports
Funnel assessment
Communications flow
List purchase strategy and optimization

Shelly Spiegel

Chief Executive Officer and Chief Creative Officer

shelly@fire-engine-red.com

215-913-6066

Philadelphia, PA

Founded Company

December, 2001

Current Role
The creative force and visionary leader of Fire Engine RED.

Former Position
President, Search By Video, a national clearinghouse for college admissions videos.

Education
University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, B.A.; The Columbus School of Law at The Catholic University of America, J.D.

Who'd play me in ”Fire Engine RED — The Movie“
Julia Louis-Dreyfus

Fireworks CRM

Features & Functionality

User Experience

Security

Relationships

Duplicate Management

Broadcast Email

Live Chat

Applications

Reporting & Analytics

Technology

User Permissions

Search

Workflow

Pre-built Campaigns

Print

Events

Implementation

Integrations

Records

Import & Export

New Student Leads

Texts

Forms

Email Response

Training & Support

Videos

Reports

Emails

Smart Search

What our Clients are Saying

Brandon Griffin

Coordinator, Admissions Operations

MassBay Community College

Teri Clawson

Assistant Vice President for Enrollment Management

Snow College

Sarah Hall

Associate Director of Operations for Graduate Recruitment and Admissions

Clark Atlanta University

Susan Stephenson

Admissions Director

Western Nebraska Community College

Danielle Dinges

Director of Financial Aid & Admissions

Miles Community College

Brandon Griffin

Coordinator, Admissions Operations

MassBay Community College

Rachel Wade

CRM/Admissions Processing Manager

Snow College

Maynard Schmidt

Director of Admissions & Recruitment

SUNY Orange

Susan Stephenson

Admissions Director

Western Nebraska Community College

Gretchen Foster

Admissions Director

Western Nebraska Community College

Melanie Casciato

Director of Student Recruitment

Columbia Basin College

Teri Clawson

Assistant Vice President for Enrollment Management

Snow College

Maynard Schmidt

Director of Admissions & Recruitment

SUNY Orange

Rachel Wade

CRM/Admissions Processing Manager

Snow College

Jeremy Gibbons

Director of Admissions

Cape Fear Community College

Jessie Bradley

Director of Marketing & Student Recruitment

The Medical University of South Carolina

Rachel Wade

Fireworks
CRM