Case Studies: Connected Communities

Across America, organizations work hard to serve their communities, but too often they work alone—leading to duplication, gaps in care, and missed opportunities. Huntsville, Alabama chose a different path by bringing nearly 400 organizations together through Community Connections and CharityTracker. This case study explores how visionary leadership, trusted relationships, and shared technology helped build one of the nation's most collaborative community care networks.

Since the 2018 original drafting of this report by Krista Petty, we have discovered an emerging trend in local community partnerships. Over 150 health care providers, across the country, use care networking technology to partner with charitable and human service organizations in their local communities. These partnerships are designed to improve community health, reduce duplication, and streamline referrals. And, they are most effective in rapidly mobilizing resources in real-time and saving hospitals millions of dollars in emergency room expenses.

Hospitals and healthcare systems are moving into the community to collaborate with other organizations and churches for the benefit of their patients and overall community health, as well as their bottom line. CHI St. Joseph Health in Bryan, Texas is one such health system doing that and they are utilizing CharityTracker technology by Simon Solutions to meet their goals.

From its inception over 10 years ago, CharityTracker has worked alongside St. Vincent de Paul conferences to help them keep track of their good work through data collection and reporting. SVdP conferences have also used CharityTracker to collaborate and communicate with other conferences and organizations. In fact, there were Vincentians from Florence, AL that were a part of providing feedback into CharityTracker’s very first network. It was formed out of community agencies and faith groups desiring to communicate and collaborate alongside one another. This report shares: · The history of CharityTracker with St Vincent DePaul · The tools available within the system to help Vincentians serve collaboratively · How an entire SVdP Council uses CharityTracker for data collection, communication and reporting

Mercy’s Gate is an all-encompassing beacon of hope for many families in northern Colorado Springs facing hard times. On a weekly basis, member churches, volunteers and staff provide a plethora of resources all while tending to their neighbors’ spiritual and emotional health.

The Commodity Food Supplemental Program (CSFP) exists to improve the health of low-income elderly persons at least 60 years of age by supplementing their diets with nutritious USDA Foods. The Jacobs & Cushman San Diego Food Bank has a robust CSFP program, serving thousands of seniors monthly. In January 2016 this food bank and Oasis pioneered improved technology for CSFP customer intake and food distribution, certification and recertification. While staff of both organizations knew this could increase the efficiency in distribution and reporting, they were surprised at the greatly improved customer and volunteer experience. This case study outlines the development, implementation and initial outcomes of using Oasis Insight for CSFP.

Even though Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Programs have been in existence for over 75 years, many families facing food insecurity remain unaware of eligibility requirements or the application process. Feeding America reports that only 41% of the households receiving support from food banks receive SNAP benefits, while an estimated 88% could be. To bridge this gap, many food banks and community benefit organizations participate in SNAP outreach programs. This report features SNAP outreach leaders utilizing Oasis Insight, to strengthen collaboration among SNAP programs, application tracking, reporting and event management.

According to Feeding America, 16 million U.S. children face hunger every day. Food banks across the country are dedicated to reducing childhood hunger and one of the most effective ways to do that is to make nutritious food available where children spend a lot of their time: at school! Since 2012, The Great Falls Public School Foundation in Montana has utilized Oasis Insight to help their school food pantries record and report the results of their program. This reports features interviews with two of their school food pantry volunteers who utilize Oasis on a weekly basis.

Beyond securing donations, implementing programs and managing food distribution, food banks are critical partners in building the capacity of thousands of partner agencies and organizations. One way food banks build the capacity of their partners is by connecting them to technology that improves processes, record-keeping, reporting and collaboration. This case study examines how Oasis Insight is used to bring about such improvements.

Through coordination and implementation of an Oasis Insight pilot program, the food banks in San Diego decreased the wait time for clients from hours in line to just minutes, as well as introduced their food distribution partner agencies to: shared case management; ID cards with scanning and appointment system; and improved agency reporting functions. This case study features the solutions and continued possibilities these two food banks are exploring through their collaboration and Oasis network.

CharityTracker currently works alongside 94 United Ways across the U.S. helping them keep track of their good work through data collection and reporting. United Ways and their 211 systems have also used CharityTracker to collaborate and communicate with agencies, schools, churches and more.

Stillwater, OK is a community with a population of approximately 80,000. Within the community exists a network of 58 churches and organizations partnering together to prevent and alleviate poverty. Learn how this network: started with faith and community leaders built trusting relationships; did research cooperatively; created a common language; supported the creation of a backbone organization; implemented a community-wide plan with Getting Ahead/Bridges Out of Poverty constructs; and administrate a shared system of case management giving them the ability to report their collective impact.

Founded is 1910, Catholic Charities is a leader in compassionate, community service across the world. According to Catholic Charities USA, there are 164 official member agencies across 2,631 U.S. locations. Simon Solutions is proud to partner with over 30 Catholic Charities across the country, equipping them with technology for shared case management, reporting and agency collaboration. This report features Catholic Charities Biloxi, a vibrant network of programs, assistance and outreach efforts in four locations covering a 23-county service area of Mississippi. Read how this organization collaborates and keeps records across multiple offices to improve productivity and outcomes.

While one church can help one family at a time, faith leaders are coming together to better steward funds and strengthen their capacity to meet needs. Through communication and coordination, churches are reducing duplication of services and taking proactive approaches to fighting poverty. They are moving away from individual congregations providing temporary relief to coalitions and cooperative ministries that create sustainable, restorative solutions for families. Read about Interfaith Ministries their tools and technology used to track success.

This report features the SafetyNet CharityTracker Assistance Network of the Trident United Way of Charleston, SC. This community collaboration does a great job modeling the 7 C’s of Collaboration: Connection, Clarity, Congruency, Creation of Value, Communication, Continual Learning and Commitment. SafetyNet CharityTracker connects people to resources and a path to financial stability. What began as a small group of 35 organizations and churches working together for poverty relief has grown into a vibrant alliance of 300 multi-sector partners coordinating basic needs and helping people achieve self-sufficiency.