Community Synergism
When people work together, great things happen!
For years I have rallied the cause for relational synergism – people working together for greater purposes realized only through concerted efforts. The results can be phenomenal.
I am witnessing this happen in my own community, right now!
When hurricane Katrina hit the Gulf Coast in August of 2005, the aftermath impacted my community in Northwest Alabama. Over 330 displaced families from the Gulf Coast found refuge in our community. Social service agencies, non-profit charities, and churches came to the rescue.
Many resources from different sources were allocated to Katrina victims, but a problem emerged. Who was getting what and how much? Were services being unnecessarily duplicated? Were the right people getting the right resources?
This awareness sparked much dialog among community service providers, who realized that this problem was not an isolated incident, but a “big problem” that had been prevailing for years. Something needed to be done to help service providers “get on the same page” in communications and collaboration.
Leaders from the United Way, Red Cross, Salvation Army, government agencies, and churches sat down together and talked. This rare encounter paved the way for a collaborative solution for “shared case management”.
These leaders approached us at Simon Solutions in October of 2006. Looking for a software solution, they handed us a single sheet of paper with only a few ideas. They said, “Can you build us something that we all can use; something simple to understand and easy to use?” We said “Yes, but only if we work together throughout the entire development process to see if this solution is something everyone will like and use.” They agreed.
Combining our knowledge of software design with ideas from community service providers, we built CharityTracker (known as SEANTracker in our community).
CharityTracker is a “shared community database”, a centralized hub for communication that is networked throughout the entire community. All information is entered and edited by individual case workers with shared access. And because CharityTracker is powered by internet technology, service providers have instant access to information 24/7, 365; whether at the office or in the field.
CharityTracker works best when only one “community network administrator” is designated for the entire community. This organization is usually the one who has built working relationships with other service providers. As administrator, this organization maintains the integrity of the database by qualifying organizations that share access to confidential information.
All information in CharityTracker is safe and secure. Only authorized users with a password have access to shared case files. No IT department or webmaster is needed to host or maintain CharityTracker. We (Simon Solutions) do it all. We also upgrade the software; depending upon feedback from service providers and their needs.
CharityTracker has given our community a simple and easy solution for “shared case management”. With better communications, service providers are seeing measurable results in reduction of fraud and duplication of services.
Becky Daughtery of Woodmont Baptist Church says, “Just in the last few weeks, the software has proven itself more and more valuable; and we are really starting to see that the more benevolence organizations that use it; the more effective that it becomes.”
In less than one year of service within our community, CharityTracker has enabled over 74 agents (representing 33 agengies) to work together in shared management of over 4,000 cases.
CharityTrackers helps save time and money; enabling service providers to focus their resources on people with real needs.
Simply stated, it works!
Just as Katrina’s devastation swept across the Gulf Coast, a solution for helping victims more efficiently is sweeping all across the state of Alabama. The word is getting out quickly. Prior to our official nationwide launch on September 4th, ten networks of community service providers, scattered throughout Alabama, were already making plans to use CharityTracker to better serve their communities.
Our community’s synergism is a powerful testimony to other communities all across the United States. If we can "get people on the same page" here in Northwest Alabama, you can do it also!
For more information, go to www.simonsolutions.com or www.charitytracker.net.
