I’m helping non-profits, social service agencies, and social enterprise companies from Minnesota to Georgia to pilot the Community platform. What do these diverse groups all have in common? Belief.

They believe closer connections to their participants makes it easier to support them. They believe participants ‘speak their own voice’ by building and owning their Community Profile. They believe that tracking events, deadlines, and forms through one simple platform creates a more cohesive experience. And, they believe that focusing together on vision will drive social service engagement to new levels of impact.

Within that belief, there are also realistic questions about gaps, things like the digital divide and whether an individual living in homelessness or poverty will be able to create and use an account. I’m partnering with organization leaders and community members to explore ways to bridge these gaps, such as offering computers to use on site or having events where staff can work with groups of individuals to get started making accounts on their phones together. We’ve seen success with starting out simple – working with a small group of participants and building from there to engage your whole organization.

From the flexible entry point Community offers, information can be tracked by staff OR the participant. If a participant has barriers to accessing their profile, the organization will gather information just like a traditional CRM. It’s just technology. But paired with belief, it’s a bridge to success!