Central Texas Food Bank achieved the goal of capturing more information, transferring data into Raiser’s Edge and creating an easy registration process with VolunteerHub.
An Organization with Impact in Mind
With a mission to nourish hungry people and lead the community in the fight against hunger, the Central Texas Food Bank is at the front line of providing support to the community. The Central Texas Food Bank, with the help of partner agencies, provides relief through programs and services across 21 counties in Central Texas, an area about twice the size of Massachusetts.
Nearly 46,000 Central Texans, one-third of which are children, rely on the Food Bank’s services and support each week. Last year alone, the Food Bank distributed 45 million pounds of food equating to more than 38 million meals through their partner agencies and mobile food pantries.
“In 2017, we were able to distribute more food to the community than ever before through the help of our volunteers, staff, and partner agencies,” said Ellen Weaver, Volunteer Resources Manager.
Efficiency is one of the biggest factors in the Central Texas Food Bank’s ability to provide support to the community. As of 2017, every $1 donated provides 4 meals to Central Texans in need. The Food Bank is also working on increasing the nutritional value of food distributed and working with more donors to rescue more food.
It is easy to see that efficiency is at the foundation of each component of the Food Banks program. The desire to create an efficient process and develop a program with the greatest reachability as possible is what lead the Food Bank to consider a volunteer management solution that could impact their program goals and mission attainment.
The Need for More Accurate Volunteer Data and Efficient Process
The Central Texas Food Bank relies on the support of volunteers to reach their goals and impact the community. The organization could not deliver on its mission without the helping hand of supporters and their commitment to the cause. Volunteers at the Food Bank fill a plethora of roles and work in the kitchen, garden, mobile pantry, warehouse, and provide skill-based administrative support.
Before considering volunteer management software, the Food Bank used a manual process to sign-in volunteers and record data. This process diluted resources and was prone to data-entry errors that negatively impacted efficiency. With the volunteer program goal of providing outstanding customer-service, team-based experiences, and value for supporters, the Food Bank knew that they needed a better process for managing volunteer data, streamlining registration, and creating more engaging experiences.
“We needed a way to capture more data, track volunteers accurately, and enhance experiences,” said Ellen Weaver, Volunteer Resources Manager.
VolunteerHub Offered the Right Solution
Today, the Central Texas Food Bank is using VolunteerHub to engage, manage, and recruit volunteers. In 2017, the Food Bank utilized 26,800 unduplicated supporters who filled 43,800 opportunities. With the help of VolunteerHub, the Food Bank is now able to collect cleaner data, integrate with Raiser’s Edge quickly, appeal to volunteers through a streamlined registration process, and handle program growth. Effective volunteer management is saving resources, improving communication, and increasing individual and group sign-ups.
Supporters have even noticed and commented on the improvements that the Food Bank has made to its recruitment and registration process. Volunteers can easily identify new opportunities, fill roles, and track their personal progress.
“Volunteers have praised our organization for having an organized volunteer program and easy online registration process,” said Ellen Weaver, Volunteer Resources Manager.
Deploying VolunteerHub has helped the Central Texas Food Bank create a volunteer program built on efficiency. The organization is optimistic about their ability to use VolunteerHub to continue to streamline their program in the future and create new opportunities to surpass goals and impact the community they serve.
“VolunteerHub is saving our organization a lot of time to focus on pushing other areas of our program forward and to new heights,” said Ellen Weaver, Volunteer Resources Manager.
If you are interested in learning more about the Central Texas Food Bank and how you can make a difference visit their site today.
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