Case Studies
Local Investment Creates a National Impact
OPAL Community Land Trust works to maintain the character, vibrancy and diversity of the Orcas Island community by acquiring land and creating permanently affordable homes. A few years ago, OPAL staff saw a need to create a customized database to track their clients and properties. After taking a Salesforce.com database class, they discussed this idea with other community land trusts (CLTs) in the region and found that the dream of a CLT-specific CRM was shared by other organizations. They began the process, along with two other organizations and the help of NPower, to develop a database that would meet the common needs of CLTs. The result is HomeKeeper, a CRM system built to meet the specific needs of affordable homeownership programs that enables organizations across the country to compare themselves to their peers and adjust their programming to increase impact.
Full-Service Consulting Creates a Technology Turn-Around
Camp Fire USA Central Puget Sound Council honors childhood by reconnecting youth and families to each other and the natural world. Camp Fire’s administrative staff has always provided high-quality programming, but their focus was often pulled from their mission in order to deal with technology issues. After spending several years “making do” and improvising with the outdated equipment that was available to them, they were ready to take a more strategic approach to technology and engaged with NPower to get their tech planning on track.
Web and Database Integration Lead to Greater Staff Efficiency
Humanities Washington sparks conversation and creative thinking, and nurtures thoughtful and engaged communities across the state. Humanities Washington's Salesforce database was not integrated with their website, which required staff to make time-consuming manual updates to the database and online calendar whenever programs or events were scheduled. In addition, their website was out of date and in urgent need of an overhaul. Humanities Washington turned to NPower, which had exactly the right resources to help.
Cloud-Based Systems Increase Access, Stability, and Security
Phinney Neighborhood Association (PNA) is working toward their mission to build community by providing and promoting programs, services, and activities aimed at connecting neighbors and fostering civic involvement. PNA came to NPower with an outdated server that needed replacing, a recent technology assessment with prioritized projects, and a new Executive Director that was ready to bring their technology up to speed. Having worked with NPower on a database project in years past, PNA once again turned to our team to help shepherd the necessary technology upgrades.
Reliable Tech Support Provides Peace of Mind
Easter Seals Washington provides exceptional services to ensure that people with disabilities and families in need have equal opportunities to live, learn, work, and play. Easter Seals staff had been frustrated with the amount of time they were spending troubleshooting technology issues, and hoped to find a way to make technology slip into the background, enabling them to focus on their mission. NPower's Managed Service team brought their technology infrastructure up to speed and provides continued oversight of their systems, allowing the Easter Seals team to dedicate their time and resources to serving clients.
Website Puts Strategic Plan In Motion
NPower Northwest is where savvy nonprofits turn for technology. For over a decade, NPower has been providing technology consulting and training services to nonprofits in Washington and Oregon, enabling organizations to increase their capacity and get one step closer to meeting their missions. In 2010, a new strategic vision brought about the possibility to design a website for ourselves that aligned with our refreshed brand and provided the infrastructure to support our expanded educational initiatives.
Training Makes Possible a Valuable Community-Building Tool
Ronald McDonald House Charities of Western Washington & Alaska (RMHC) supports seriously ill children and their families, providing a "home-away-from-home" to help families through difficult times. To facilitate the creation of a supportive environment, RMHC seeks to host group dinners five nights a week, and asks volunteer groups to prepare meals for as many as 75 people at a time. Communications Manager Julianna Ross saw an opportunity to create a professional-quality recipe book to help guide volunteers in meal preparation, and turned to NPower for the InDesign training she needed to to develop a quality finished product.
Customized Database Tracks Outcomes and Shows Community Benefit
Friends of Youth is a nonprofit agency that provides safe places to live and emotional support for youth and young adults in challenging circumstances. Effectively running their wide spectrum of programming requires a high-functioning database that allows case management staff to track the progress of their clients, and also generate accurate reports detailing demand for services and community impact. Thanks to Youthforce, Friends of Youth’s dynamic Salesforce-based database system, the organization is now capable of effectively managing their clients’ cases and reporting on outcomes that will enable them to secure the funding they need to continue to provide critical services.
Web Design and Development Facilitates Creation of a National Network
Catalyst Kitchens is a collaborative network of organizations across the country that seek to empower lives through job training, generate revenue through social enterprise, and nourish bodies and minds through quality food service. In order to leverage the potential of their network, members needed to find a way to stay connected. To achieve this goal, the NPower Northwest web consulting team worked with Catalyst Kitchens staff to design a website with a members’ section that would facilitate discussion, learning, and community-building.
Tech Planning Pulls the Pieces Together
Washington Health Foundation (WHF) is a Seattle-based nonprofit whose mission is to improve health for the people of Washington. Before working with NPower, WHF was relying on multiple consultants for each aspect their technology and their lack of coordination led to problems with their website and database. Thanks to NPower, WHF now has a comprehensive technology plan, a highly functional database, and a re-designed and interactive website.
Scheduled Support Opens Up a World of Possibilities
Treehouse is a Seattle nonprofit offering a combination of education and enrichment services to give foster kids a more enjoyable childhood and a brighter future. One of the programs offered by Treehouse is the Warehouse, a free store full of clothing, school supplies, and toys that help fill the gap between the actual cost of raising a child and what Washington reimburses foster parents. Behind the scenes are the powerful computers and software that keep operations functional and organized. NPower’s scheduled support service keeps that technology infrastructure running along smoothly, allowing staff to focus their energy on fulfilling their mission.
Walking the Talk on Staff Training
Many area nonprofits have benefited from the funding and support provided by The Seattle Foundation thanks to their focus on a mission to create a healthy community through engaged philanthropy, community knowledge, and leadership. The Foundation wanted to ensure that all members of their staff were utilizing technology effectively to make their work as efficient as possible. The Foundation worked with NPower to create customized classes for technology training. Since their trainings, there has been a noticeable boost in productivity at the Foundation, giving staff more time for the mission because they've invested the time to obtain proper training.
A Good Database Fosters Creative Habits of Mind
Arts Corps is a regional leader and national force in arts education, bringing a range of artistic expression to young people in schools and community settings in the Seattle area. Prior to engaging with NPower, Arts Corps had a database, but it was insufficient when it came to running reports and integrating with their other systems. Thanks to help from NPower, they now have a new database that allows them to record student enrollment, track attendance, keep their online class calendar updated, and maintain donor records.
Staying Up-To-Date to Enrich Lives
Cancer Lifeline seeks to maximize the quality of life for individuals living with cancer and their friends, families, and caregivers by providing free emotional support, resources, and classes for those in all stages of the cancer process. Staff at Cancer Lifeline knew their website wasn’t meeting their needs - relying on an off-site webmaster to update content created a lag-time that meant their class schedules were out-of-date more often than not. NPower came to the rescue by providing new technology that allowed staff to quickly update content and class schedules.
What a Difference a Database Makes
Sponsorship is at the heart of Friends of the Orphans’ mission to support the Nuestros Pequeños Hermanos (NPH – Spanish for Our Little Brothers/Sisters) network of homes for orphaned, abandoned, and disadvantaged children in Latin America and the Caribbean. Friends of the Orphans’ database, which they use to track and manage sponsorships, was cumbersome to use and expensive to maintain. The NPower team came to the rescue, developing a Salesforce database, fully customized to meet their needs, along with a training program to help employees adjust to the new system.
Intranet Creates a Worldwide Community
The International Training and Education Center on HIV (I-TECH), based in the University of Washington’s Department of Global Health, employs over 600 staff in a network of offices and projects across 25 countries. With so many employees scattered across the world, maintaining connections and sharing resources became a daunting task. NPower helped to conquer this challenge by implementing a multi-faceted, interesting, and easy-to-use intranet site for staff. With staff usage steadily increasing, the intranet has begun to contribute to a sense of connection within the organization.
