Greater Matthews Habitat for Humanity received vital support in making nonprofit technology improvements that will help extend their ability to ensure high quality, affordable housing for their community
G.A.I.N. – Powered by Lowe’s
Greater Matthews Habitat for Humanity is on a mission to build strength, stability, and self-reliance through shelter in Matthews, Mint Hill, and the Stallings areas of North Carolina. By partnering with low-income families, volunteers, and community sponsors, Greater Matthews Habitat for Humanity provides decent, affordable homes for their community.
Apparo’s G.A.I.N. (Growth, Agility, and Innovation for Nonprofits) Grant Program provides nonprofit participants with the tools, training, and other support they need to implement and sustain their technology and process improvements. G.A.I.N. delivers a one-year journey of technology and process improvement to a cohort of nonprofits to help them overcome their technology challenges and amplify their nonprofit impact. The G.A.I.N. program is generously powered by Lowe’s.
In addition to being President & CEO of Greater Matthews Habitat, Natisha Rivera-Patrick wears many hats, including managing the organization’s technology infrastructure. In this phase of Apparo’s G.A.I.N. program, she was paired with a skilled volunteer team and Tech Mentor to create a Technology Plan. Volunteers documented Habitat’s current technology framework, risks, and pain points in order to create technology recommendations and a timeline to implement recommendations. They also provided cost estimates and actionable steps for completing recommendations.
Nonprofit Team: Natisha Rivera-Patrick
G.A.I.N. Mentor: Ross Feldman (CCP Tech)
OptML Volunteer Team: Mike Brenes, Patrick Gallavan, Lakshman Kakuman
After the project was completed, we met with Natisha Rivera-Patrick, President & CEO, to discuss the significance of this work and the anticipated impact. Natisha explains why making these nonprofit technology improvements was so critical, “We had an antiquated system with a server that also served as our router. So, when that would go down, we were down for the count and it was me going into that little closet to try to get things going again. I knew we needed to make improvements to have more efficiency and stability as an agency.”
Other problems included:
- Firewall established at hospital level of security, requiring “many hoops” to address when problems occurred
- Regular internet outages which caused frustration for employees and requiring the ReStore store to close down (negatively impacting revenue)
Nonprofit technology improvements already in place are saving considerable time and money:
- Shifting off of the server to the cloud, thanks specifically to the work of their mentor, Ross Feldman
- Changed the firewall to something more appropriate for their nonprofit – increasing accessibility to those who need to address problems or make fixes
These two technology improvements alone are anticipated to save 100 hours and nearly $7,500 a year:
- Natisha herself expects to save 60+ hours a year
- Other staff will save 40 hours a year
- They will no longer need to spend approximately $4,500 on an external vendor support to address problems
- They will save nearly $3,000 no longer needing to invest in backup and support of their server
Additional nonprofit technology improvements, such as cybersecurity training and shifting of all work to the Microsoft 365 will help reduce organizational risk.
Natisha explained that these improvements are critical as their organization grows. They are rapidly increasing their critical home repair program and on the search for new buildable land, so that they can help ensure more high quality, affordable housing for their community.
She shared, “Through this technology plan, we’re creating operational efficiencies, which means our staff has more time. We’re able to do things quicker, cleaner, and we don’t have to backtrack. It really affects across the organization. From our store customers to our staff and clients. This will help us as we scale as an organization.
“My Apparo and volunteer team has been phenomenal. They have always been available to answer questions. They listen to what I said that I wanted and I needed. Being in the G.A.I.N. program has given me the opportunity to have dedicated time to actually stop and put the pieces in place, so that we can move forward. We made a plan and we’re actually getting it implemented. That has been so helpful to us.”
Volunteer Patrick Gallavan shared, “We enjoyed being of service to Natisha and Greater Matthews Habitat. Natisha was engaged, enthusiastic and forthcoming in our collaboration and with that approach our team was able to conduct the assessment and set a course that works for her and our organization.”
