Miriam’s Kitchen is using VolunteerHub to recruit volunteers, engage corporate partners, and positively impact its bottom line while increasing impact through the software’s integration with Salesforce.
Miriam’s Kitchen has been a staple in the Washington, D.C. community for over 37 years. The nonprofit organization, founded in 1983, is focused on meeting the urgent needs of those who are experiencing homelessness in Washington, D.C., and helping its guests obtain permanent housing. Miriam’s Kitchen has created several programs to help those in need including distributing meals, providing case management, systems change and advocacy, and permanent supportive housing.
The organization, focused on impact, serves an average of 300 fresh meals per day (70,000 annually). Miriam’s Kitchen supports over 200 individuals in supportive housing; and assists over 3,000 other individuals who are experiencing homelessness with obtaining critical day-to-day resources. The nonprofit truly is focused on ending homelessness one individual at a time.
To support its mission, Miriam’s Kitchen relies on the commitment of staff, volunteers, and donors. Each year, the organization recruits over 1,300 volunteers to work in a variety of capacities. Volunteers help to prepare meals, manage dining room shifts, support staffed chefs, and provide guests with daily living supplies. The work of volunteers is crucial to supporting food initiatives at Miriam’s Kitchen and allows staff to focus on connecting guests to services that fill individual needs.
“Volunteers are crucial to the work we do at Miriam’s Kitchen. With the support of volunteers, we can effectively engage with individuals experiencing homelessness in D.C. while providing them with the essentials they need,” said Andrea Scallon, Director of Measurement, Evaluation, and Learning at Miriam’s Kitchen
“We have always had a strong need for volunteers to support the programs that we offer the community. As our organization and programs have grown, so has the need for volunteers to support our mission and goals,” said Andrea
VolunteerHub Provides the Best Tool-Set for Miriam’s Kitchen
The staff at Miriam’s Kitchen have been using VolunteerHub to recruit, engage, and manage volunteers for many years. The volunteer management software has become an instrumental and integral part of the organization’s volunteer program and provides key features the organization needs daily.
“VolunteerHub enables us to organize and deploy an effective volunteer program. We rely heavily on technology to ensure that our volunteer program runs smoothly, and all volunteers are provided the opportunity to give their time towards our mission,” said Andrea
Because Miriam’s Kitchen recruits both individual and corporate volunteers, the nonprofit finds great value in being able to create volunteer groups within the VolunteerHub platform. The team at Miriam’s Kitchen uses VolunteerHub to organize volunteers, nurture relationships with partners, and provide a personalized experience to supporters.
The software makes it easy for the organization to quickly track and report how volunteers, both public and private, are interacting with their program and available opportunities.
“Being able to create shifts and user groups, quickly, is a big benefit of VolunteerHub. We have relationships with corporate partners, individual volunteers, and donors. VolunteerHub and the integration with Salesforce provide us with a holistic view of our supporters and the functionality to keep them engaged and nurtured,” said Andrea
The communication features of VolunteerHub are also an important component of the volunteer program at Miriam’s Kitchen, adding to the value of VolunteerHub. The organization uses the communication features of VolunteerHub to remind volunteers of upcoming shifts; create personalized messaging based on user groups; engage corporate volunteers; convert volunteers to donors; and thank volunteers for providing their time. Deploying strategic communication campaigns is easy with VolunteerHub and saves the organization time.
For Miriam’s Kitchen, one of the most valuable features of VolunteerHub is its integration with Salesforce. The integration allows the organization to identify and leverage the relationship between volunteers and donors and positively impact the bottom line.
The staff at Miriam’s Kitchen leverage the integration to send targeted emails focused on cross-pollination, and to provide special welcomes to donors who volunteer in the kitchen. Having access to this holistic data is helping the organization nurture relationships and engage both volunteer and donor constituents.
“The integration between VolunteerHub and Salesforce has a direct impact on our bottom line. We can use VolunteerHub in conjunction with Salesforce to better understand our volunteer and donor behavior and look for opportunities to cross-pollinate through strategic communication and engagement,” said Andrea
“The integration between VolunteerHub and Salesforce allows us to see when donors are scheduled to come in and volunteer. This information gives us the ability to welcome them effectively and nurture the relationship strategically,” said Andrea
The Future is Bright for Miriam’s Kitchen and the Individuals They Support
Miriam’s Kitchen will continue to provide services and programs to the Washington, D.C. community until homelessness in the area is eradicated. Until then, staff, volunteers, and donors play a critical role in helping the organization reach its mission, overcome obstacles, and achieve goals. With the right tools in place, the future looks bright for Miriam’s Kitchen and the individuals that the organization supports.
Ready to transform your organization’s volunteer program?
Miriam’s Kitchen is a great example of how the right volunteer management software can make all the difference in accomplishing a mission. VolunteerHub provides the features your organization needs to transform your volunteer program.
