OptML and Cox Communications skilled volunteers delivered business process assessment to Rebuilding Together – Atlanta to help bolster their ability to keep more people safe in their homes.
Rebuilding Together – Atlanta (RTA) is leading the efforts in the Atlanta area in “Repairing homes, Revitalizing communities and Rebuilding Lives.” RTA’s Safe and Housing model helps low income senior and veteran homeowners to age safely in place in their homes and communities. RTA services help ensure safe and affordable housing is accessible to all residents regardless of the zip code they reside in.
RTA leadership reached out to Apparo for help to document current state business processes across their organization and identify areas of needed improvement. They were matched with a volunteer team from OptML and Cox Communications who identified current pain points, quick wins and provided prioritized recommendations.
One year after the project was completed, we met with Nichelle Mitchem, Executive Director and Mike Orum, Director, to learn about the sustained impact of this project. Nichelle came into her role after the project had completed, but shares, “When I came into my role a year ago, I read the Apparo report and I found it extremely helpful in the operational assessment I conducted for the organization. I talk about it constantly at every Board meeting. The work you did was important and it helps support me because it’s not just the Executive Director telling the Board that we need to do these things in order to adhere to best practices.” Mike adds, “All the recommendations provided by Apparo were included in RTA’s new strategic plan for tangible steps to grow capacity of the organization.”
Nichelle and Mike share some areas of improvement, based on project recommendations:
- Implementation of Constant Contact as a fundraising tool
- Board-related improvements
- Emphasis on increasing Board engagement related to strategic plan and fundraising
- Addition of a governance function to help ensure engagement
- Increased emphasis on onboarding
- Growth in number of members
- Increased accessibility and decreased risk by backing up accounting software in the cloud
- Improved use of social media and website for fundraising
- New marketing materials and annual report template
