United Way of Calgary Updates to Quick Base, Saving Time, Dollars, and Revolutionizing their Workflow

“We have a very good relationship with Clearstream Collaborative, and our team loves working with Quick Base. It saves us money, it saves us time, and we are very happy.”

Profile:

United Way of Calgary collects donations through large-scale fundraising campaigns, then invests the funds into the community through successful applicant agencies. In 2010, $55 million was re-invested into three areas of focus: Healthy People, Strong Communities; All That Kids Can Be; and From Poverty to Possibility.

The investment and collaboration team of 20-30 people receives and reviews applications from agencies seeking funding for their programs. They choose the ~250 programs from 110-120 agencies which will receive some portion of the $55 million raised annually.

Challenges:

• Upgrade for current, 10-year-old system would cost millions in raised funds
• Don’t want to pay for the vast functionality of a system when they only use one of its functions
• Difficulty tracking received applications and finalized documents
• Need something requiring little to no IT servicing
• Need a simple process for agencies to apply with little to no help
• Need a solution which is easy to update, adjust, and add to, without a lot more money and time involved

Solutions:

Clearstream Collaborative provided a cost effective solution for the not-for-profit by customizing QuickBase to use both internally (to track and approve applications) and externally (for agencies to submit their applications).

• One form includes everything needed from the applying agencies
• Lockable forms mean that once submitted, United Way can prevent untracked changes until they have reviewed the information
• Tracking is simplified, with easy generation of reports on application status
• Journal function for internal use allows for internal communications built right into the system
• User dashboard allows for United Way to easily change their outgoing messaging to applying agencies
• Control is in their hands, with quick and accessible help from Clearstream Collaborative when needed
• Solution allows for easy, inexpensive alteration as the work processes evolve

“At the beginning, we did not have our internal work flow in mind. Now, when we come up with something to help the process, we can add it in easily to our system.”

Results:

• Saves the team time; no more “where can I find the report?”
• Internal workflow is excellent; application to approval to funding is faster and simpler
• Saved 80-90% of cost that could have been spent updating an average system, then extra coding for custom needs
• Applying agencies are happy with the user-friendly, functional process

“In terms of technical support and training, and people skills, Ming [at Clearstream Collaborative] is great to work with. He quickly helps us whenever we need it, with the training and support to help us get running.”