Skilled volunteers help select case management software that will help nonprofit deepen impact on those facing removal from our country
Carolina Migrant Network’s (CMN) core mission is to build and sustain services for people targeted by the Department of Homeland Security and Immigration through compassionate and competent pro-bono legal representation.
CMN reached out to Apparo for help to enhance their data tracking abilities for grant reports, applications, participant demographics, and cases taken, so that they could be more efficient and save staff time.
Apparo matched CMN with a skilled volunteer team including those from Novant Health and Lending Tree. Skilled volunteers worked alongside CMN through this Community Impact Project to support their goal of selecting a new software application to help better manage their data. The volunteer team assessed current business processes in order to create a business process and requirements document that addresses the organization’s technology needs. Then they conducted research and provided an evaluation of application options to assist with selecting a platform that fits the business processes and requirements identified.
Through this project, the volunteers helped CMN selection SOFTWARE and identified a significant nonprofit discount.
Nonprofit Team – Carolina Migrant Network: Yakita Rodriguez, Stefania Arteaga, Becca O’Neil
Volunteer Team: Paige Stryker – Novant Health, Steve Kasten, Eoghan Nolan – Lending Tree

After the project was completed, we met with Becca O’Neill (Co-Director) and Yakita Rodriguez (Case Worker) to discuss the significance of the work and its anticipated impact.
Becca explained, “Until now, the systems we’ve had in place are ones we created ourselves. We didn’t have the funding or ability to deal with technology. While I’m proud of what we were able to accomplish, we were at a point that we needed the right systems in place to support our growth.”
Case Management Software will support nonprofit growth while maintaining their high level of service.
With the new system in place, they anticipate:
- Increased ability to fundraise – As they will be more appealing to funders and better able to report on their impact
- Improved business decision making with improved access to data
- Improved internal communications and deadline management
- Saved administrative time with improved reporting processes and forms integration in place (approximately two hours per client)
- Faster movement through immigration process for their clients
- Increased data security
- Decreased keyman risk
- Simplified onboarding of new staff
Importantly, these improvements will bolster and speed case management, helping CMN deliver more high-quality, pro bono legal representation to those facing removal from our country.
In closing, project team members shared their appreciation
Becca O’Neill (CMN) – “It’s going to be a major improvement for us and will support us in increasing our capacity to support the large number of people who need immigration lawyers and can’t get one. I’m really excited about it.
“Sometimes with nonprofits, there’s this false belief that we don’t deserve, we can’t afford, or we shouldn’t have access to quality software. There’s a scarcity mentality. Through the Apparo process and by getting this software, it demonstrates that we can have the best systems, just as any other law firm would.
“Our clients are having their humanity literally stripped from them and are being treated without dignity. Our employees as well as our clients deserve to have these systems in place. It increases morale and brings a level of dignity to the work. It helps meet our goals of connecting people to resources and providing them with quality, legal representation. It makes a big difference. We really appreciate the help.”
Yakita Rodriguez (CMN) – “This process could have been very complicated if we didn’t have a volunteer team like you to walk us through the process because, at least for me personally, it was like a whole other language. You helped make a smooth transition for us and have really been a great help.”
Paige Stryker (Novant Health) – “I have been both sides of this, from the nonprofit perspective and the private organization perspective and I know what a game-changer this will be, so I’m so excited to be able to offer that to another team. I know that CMN will be better at meeting their client needs and will serve them well for years to come.”
Eoghan Nolan (Lending Tree) – “I have enormous admiration for the work of CMN and I love how the technology will be used to scale up their impact. The new software will be a cornerstone of the long-term success as an organization and I truly enjoyed collaborating with the team throughout the process.”