CharityTracker gains traction

A single mom raising two children is in need of a few pieces of furniture after finding stable housing and moving herself and her children out of homelessness.

An elderly resident hopes to find a safe ride to an exercise class so she can work on staying strong and upright.

A young family that lost everything in a house fire is in desperate need of food and short on money as they look to start over in a new home.

The calls go out. Prayers are answered, needs are met and those among a vulnerable but widespread population in the community are able to shift their focuses from short-term crises to long-term goals of living thriving, independent lives.

Those journeys can begin with CharityTracker.

"We are still just on the precipice of this bringing major change to how we resource and help our neighbors in need," Charity Reimagined founder Maggie Lyons said Tuesday. "No single charity can do it all."

CharityTracker is an online networking database that allows users — namely nonprofits, churches and service organizations — to communicate short-term needs of those they serve via a bulletin feature that goes out to everyone in the network. Users see the bulletins and share resources, contacts and information to help the posting agency fill that need.

"This is a communication and collaboration tool that lets every different touchpoint talk to each other instantly," Lyons said. "And you only have to tell the story once as a client."

Charity Reimagined, a nonprofit that helps other nonprofits more effectively deploy their resources, underwrites the fees for CharityTracker so entities throughout Idaho's five northern counties may use this tool at no cost.

Since the North Idaho CharityTracker launched nearly two years ago, 76 different organizations have joined the network, including North Idaho College's Center for New Directions, the Kroc Center, Family Promise of North Idaho, IdaHope Families, the Coeur d'Alene School District and Love INC, which was one of the first to test drive Charity Tracker.

"We utilize CharityTracker a lot now," said Jules Cosby, community outreach and education specialist with the Kroc Center. "It's one of our key components of how we are providing social services in a very strategic way. It’s been very impactful."

She said the bulletin feature is amazing.

"That bulletin is going to land in every other charity’s mailbox," she said.

Cosby said another CharityTracker feature she appreciates is the case management notes section that allows users to look up the party in need as they respond to requests.

"Then what I'm trying to do is figure out, 'What is my nonprofit and what can we provide?'" Cosby said. "We can provide those services without someone being ping-ponged around."

She said for the population of ALICE — asset limited, income constrained, employed — those families and individuals practically have to go through obstacle courses to receive assistance.

With CharityTracker, their referring agency shares information with other Tracker users, therefore streamlining the process and making it so those in need don't have to share their stories dozens of times, which can be defeating and humiliating.

"We are doing this to help give a hand up and not perpetuate circumstances for a hand out," Cosby said.

Charity Reimagined programs manager Aly Edwards shared that just last week, CharityTracker was able to fill a need for a desk in one day.

"The referral feature has been a pretty big hit the last few months, and some of that will be met the same day or the next day," she said.

She said the biggest thing people get excited about with Tracker is the resources that are available.

"And the resourcing that can happen that doesn't normally happen," she said, adding how difficult it can be to find resources by emailing special agencies or reaching out on social media.

She said CharityTracker is an asset to the community.

"We’re all able to work together to help somebody met their needs," Edwards said, "and doing it in a way that saves time and effort."

Lyons said the Charity Reimagined team was excited when it received a $10,000 grant after applying to the Stimson-Miller Foundation last summer. These funds will allow the nonprofit to hire an employee to dedicate to Tracker.

Charity Reimagined also just received $3,500 from Umpqua Bank, its first corporate donation specifically to help with the underwriting of CharityTracker license fees. Hopes are other businesses and corporations follow suit.

"I think it's exciting to be the groundbreaking corporation to contribute," said Judy Coe, a Charity Reimagined board member and relationship specialist with Umpqua Bank. "Charity reimagined is doing amazing things in the community and Umpqua is proud to support the organization."

Lyons said as people and organizations help those in need, it must be asked, "What are we hoping for in the long run? Do we accept our poor are destined to stay in poverty and the best our 'charity' can do is help people merely survive? Or do we want our charity to actually help change lives?"

CharityTracker allows impact to be measured and goals to be achieved. It encourages goal setting so those requesting assistance have paths set before them that others can follow along as they meet their next milestones.

"How we respond matters," Lyons said.

She said by using Tracker, our community has begun collaborating and working together to redirect resources that are helping people realize they are not defined by their poverty; that they are worthy and have talents and gifts to develop; and they are setting goals for a future filled with hope.

Ultimately, what will the impact be?

"We will celebrate with those who've beaten the cycle of poverty — families celebrating graduations and weddings, careers discovered, homes and gardens tended, holidays taken," Lyons said, "that without this work, would likely never be realized or experienced."

Info: charityreimagined.org/charity-tracker

  

    Umpqua Bank donated $3,500 to Charity Reimagined during a presentation Tuesday. Umpqua is the first corporate sponsor for the North Idaho CharityTracker, an online resource and referral tool used by 76 local nonprofits and growing. From left: Jason Steenstra, manager of Umpqua Coeur d'Alene; Connor Skinner, commercial underwriting manager; Judy Coe, relationship manager and Charity Reimagined board member; Maggie Lyons, Charity Reimagined founder; Aly Edwards, Charity Reimagined programs manager; and Clayton Carter, commercial lender.
  

  

    This is an example of the North Idaho CharityTracker dashboard users see when they first log on, including instant access to the bulletin feature. As of Wednesday, 3,616 people had been served through this online tool; 7,639 acts of kindness had been counted; and $847,177 of assistance had been deployed.