Second cohort class reflects on impact highlights after they completion of the nonprofit technology transformation program
The second nonprofit cohort graduated from the G.A.I.N. (Growth, Agility and Improvement for Nonprofits) program – Powered by Lowe’s – in late 2023. We checked in with them at that time to learn about the current and anticipated impact on their ability to improve lives in their communities.
Leah Rapley, Director of Development, of Profound Gentlemen shares, “Before G.A.I.N., our systems were everywhere, without purpose or intention. I was having trouble collaborating across the organization and getting the information I needed to do my job.
Our organization was siloed and we had multiple types of software that could do the same things. We needed to get streamlined to promote our efficiency, reduce costs, increase security and improve our internal communication and ability to collaborate.
Security can be overwhelming, but working with Apparo’s Tech Therapy team made it digestible and consumable. Now I have the relief of knowing our data is secure and I have peace of mind knowing that our computers are being monitored for threats. Our off-boarding risk has been eliminated and we can know regain access to all of our data and information.
We’ve built a solid foundation to grow from. It all starts with these basic operational systems and we’ve been able to strengthen our capacity through the resources and network of people we’ve met along the way in the program.
Our work is a lot more intentional now and our culture has shifted to focus on processes and improving our efficiency with technology. We’re thinking about technology, how systems talk to each other and how software is going to work.
It’s more than just the systems. It’s the people impact after all of this hard work. We feel like we’re a united team, standing on a solid foundation, on the same page and operating as one. I feel a huge sense of pride about where we are and very hopeful about moving forward.”
She adds that have also reduced expenses by taking advantage of nonprofit pricing and anticipate improving fundraising through better tracking of donor data.
Wayne Terrell, Senior Impact Director, shares, “Our systems are now supporting our decision making. These changes make for a very cohesive environment across our team and that feels nice. We all have a stronger foundational knowledge of our departments. We’re able to respectfully disagree and see issues from all sides. I’m personally able to show up more effectively as a leader, which sets my team up to be more effective. We’ve made astronomical improvements over the last year in our ability to fulfill our mission.”
Katie Gaunter, previous Director of Development and Communications of Changed Choices discusses the benefits of the G.A.I.N. program with us and the positive impact it is having on their mission of helping incarcerated women restore their lives.
The key benefits to Changed Choices have been:
- Receiving 5 Laptops
- Allows Changed Choices to provide a computer immediately to added staff and also for use on their volunteer desk.
- The Security Assessment
- Prioritize making confidential information secure for the benefit of the women they help
- Still in process – identifying and hiring an MSP (Managed Service Provider) to
- Having a prioritized set of recommendations allows Changed Choices to work on scalability for their organization, potentially allowing them to expand their reach.
Katie shares how much being part of the G.A.I.N. program meant to her, “G.A.I.N. has given us the confidence and freedom to spend time diving into each operational piece. This is an investment of time, and that’s okay. G.A.I.N. has allowed us to invest that time and focus on the operations and logistics side which will ultimately lead to scalability and sustainability as an organization.” She also notes that being part of G.A.I.N. allowed them to prioritize security and operations, which is something they otherwise would have delayed.
Alyssa Sharpe, CEO of Digi-Bridge discusses the benefits of the G.A.I.N. program with us and how it has helped them amplify their organization’s mission. Digi-Bridge completed a technology plan, a security assessment, and a software selection and implementation through the program. Alyssa states that she felt the software selection and implementation project with the SEI volunteers was the strongest component of the program and would have the most impact on their day-to-day work.
Through their technology plan, they realized they needed an MSP and Stephanie McKee, Apparo’s Chief Technology Thought Partner, has stepped in to help continue this search through Apparo’s Tech Therapy program.
To make the G.A.I.N. journey successful for the nonprofits involved, they are also assigned a mentor. Brad Richmond of Duke Energy was assigned to Digi-Bridge to provide advice and guidance. Alyssa praises the work he did, sharing, “We loved our mentor, Brad. He’s the type of guy that is “always there.” We really enjoyed working with him throughout the G.A.I.N. journey.”
Alyssa also shares how she felt the G.A.I.N. program helped her organization, “I think the G.A.I.N. program has been beneficial to us in a holistic way. It made us think about prioritizing things that, maybe, we would not have paid attention to as urgently.”
Pete Vacho, Vice President of Operations for Veterans Bridge Home (VBH) shares that his participation in G.A.I.N. improved efficiencies and bolstered their mission of connecting Veterans and their families in any state of transition to the community.
He feels that the five free laptops they received were a significant help. “VBH has grown, and we now have 40 employees. The free laptops reduced an expense we would have had otherwise.”
Pete says what stuck out to him most about the program was being able to “execute on a plan.” In the first project of G.A.I.N., the technology plan, OptML volunteers researched different programs to help make the onboarding process more efficient, and ultimately VBH chose AutoPilot and Intune. Pete had no idea how much AutoPilot and Intune would simplify and streamline the process for new employees. Using these programs allows Pete to order a computer, drop the HWID into AutoPilot, and assign computers without leaving his home. Due to the implementation of this software, VBH employees have saved 11 hours of staff time a month and reduced the need for onboarding travel-related expenses, freeing up time for them to focus on mission-related work.
Pete also gives kudos to Allie Lavallee and Allison Grant on the organization of the program. “The most important part is having a process, communicating the process, and simplifying things when you’re working with organizations. [The G.A.I.N. program] was organized, put into steps with big bucket items. This made it easy to follow and allowed us to prioritize, look at applications and software we may need. Having this list to be able to reference and work from, and having an organized agenda helped so much in this project.”
Overall, Pete feels that the G.A.I.N. program strengthened VBH’s ability to deliver their mission, and he shares, “I absolutely feel like it will allow us to strengthen our mission. The reduction in time on hardware and software implementation and updates during onboarding allows more time to focus on new staff training and the mission of helping Veterans.”
Natalie Williams, Director of Operations at ASPIRE Community Capital, says, “We want to be sure that we’re operating as efficiently and effectively as possible…
