A nonprofit operations review and application selection for PFCLG will result in increased efficiencies and 260 hours of staff time saved annually.
The Partnership for Children of Lincoln & Gaston Counties (PFCLG) reached out to Apparo to support their goal of improving their data collection process. PFCLG provides services, advocates, and collaborates with others to ensure the wellbeing of children so they can reach their health, developmental, and educational potential. They support local families through Smart Start, North Carolina’s award-winning early childhood initiative.
Project Background
The volunteer team assessed PFCLG’s existing nonprofit operations. During this assessment, the volunteers noted the nonprofit used manual entry through Google Sheets, Excel, and other similar means for reporting. PFCLG needed assistance to identify one integrated system allowing them to collect, share, track, analyze, and report data. The volunteer team identified HubSpot as the solution.
Volunteer Team:
- Mike Lewis, Duke Energy
- Bridget Jones, Individual Volunteer
- Rhea Kapadia, UNC Charlotte Student Volunteer
- Beth Moss, Unisys Corporation (Change Agent)
“It was a tremendous joy working with PFCLG, Apparo, and the fellow volunteers! I am beyond excited for PFCLG for their next steps with HubSpot and wish them all the best! Thank you,” Rhea Kapadia, student volunteer from UNC Charlotte shared of her experience.
Open Snapshot in Separate Window
Project Process
Karen Anzola and Monica McCarthy-Aton of PFCLG needed help managing their nonprofit operations, because they were doing a lot of manual work. Their Smart Start funded program data needed to be accurately reported to the North Carolina Partnership for Children. Due to the manual-nature of their work, Monica was spending 80 hours a quarter on data collection and reporting. The volunteer team assessed the systems they were using and dug into ways to streamline their process to make them more efficient. Karen Anzola shared, “Our group of volunteers were so wonderful to work with. They were patient with our crazy schedules. They spent a tremendous amount of time and deciphered all the bits and pieces of our data collection. The volunteers assigned to us worked beautifully with our organization.”
Outcome
After reviewing their nonprofit operations, the volunteer team decided HubSpot would be the best application for PFCLG. This application would allow PFCLG to reduce manual work and save time on data collection and reporting. Nonprofit participant, Monica McCarthy-Aton, stated that HubSpot was pricy, but she was able to make it affordable for their organization by negotiating a reduced price.
As a result of this process, PFCLG anticipates:
- 260 hours of staff time reduced annually due to reduction in manual work
- Freed time will allow Monica to have a more “boots on the ground” approach to spread their mission
- Karen will be able to spend more time in the community and anticipates achieving her fundraising goal of $25k-$50K
- Mitigation of Risk: loss of data, inaccurate reporting, human error will be eliminated
Conclusion
In conclusion, the volunteer team and the nonprofit participants anticipate more efficient nonprofit operations will allow PFCLG to better serve their constituents.
“I had a vision for streamlining our data process, and am deeply grateful to Apparo, the volunteer Team, and HubSpot for this vision to be realized beyond what I imagined possible. Now, Karen Anzola, our Executive Director, Cindy Martin, our Program Assistant, and I can devote those saved energies and time to carrying out the work that matters most – ensuring equitable access to the highest quality of early care and education services for every child and family in Lincoln and Gaston Counties,” Monica shared.
Skilled volunteer, Mike Lewis shared that he felt this was a “great experience. Everyone on the team was very professional, personable, an engaged in finding a viable solution. I’m looking forward to learning whether PFCLG is able to reach an agreement with HubSpot. I recommend Apparo to anyone who is looking to share their experience and knowledge with the community.”
Are you interested in using your skills to volunteer? Find out how here.
