Transmission Project

Throughout the service year, Mr. Moore showed a great deal of flexibility by taking on new tasks and meeting agency needs as well as those specifically involving the databases. He also showed his development capability by increasing the effectiveness of our databases, and helping our staff increase their reporting accuracy. Mr. Moore’s efforts led to the following successes:

1. Developed a new centralized demographics database to prevent duplication in reporting to major funders,
2. Increased the efficiency of the donor database,
3. Increased the accuracy of the grant tracker database,
4. Increased the accuracy and usability of the volunteer database,
5. Began to rebuild ECLR’s homepage,
6. Helped fulfill ECLR’s server needs in the absence of a part-time IT Manager, ­
7. Helped to install standard software packages on new ECLR hardware, and
8. Assisted staff with Microsoft Office problems.

Mike Moore came to El Centro de la Raza expecting to primarily customize an existing system, migrate data, tutor users and monitor data input. However, by the end of the first week, our staff realized his experience and capabilities were well suited for so much more. Mike quickly realized that the database El Centro proposed to utilize was difficult to tailor to our needs. Compounding the problem was an IT Staff that was difficult to reach and slow to respond. Mike projected that this customization and full utilization process would take close to the entire year simply to implement, no less train staff and begin to migrate data. This was time that our agency did not have, as major funders pressed us to improve our accuracy and develop unduplicated counts of individuals served. Mike recognized the immediacy of our needs, and proposed to build a database specifically customized to track demographic data in a format we could fully utilize. Working alongside staff members from a number of different departments, Mike noted each person’s need and a series of solutions to maximize the database’s efficiency and usability. On top of accomplishing other tasks associated with his placement (tutoring and modifying other databases), Mr. Moore was able to complete a workable system in just under five months. This left plenty of time to migrate data to the system and meet all of our deadlines.

We were able to achieve most of our significant goals, and also to complete additional items not on the original work plan.

Four Grassroots.org tools are now fully documented with help guides and easy-to-understand information for our membership, which will be valuable as we increase our member base. Our blog content helps convert visitors to members, and there is now a framework for our blog. The positive testimonials will help boost membership and funding prospects. We have also opened up our blog for members and supporters to post their testimonials. Please find it here: http://www.grassroots.org/blog Grassroots.org now has a newsletter template ready to be used monthly. Our e-mail list has grown from 600 to 8000+ contacts, and our monthly content has produced a loyal group of readers. (We currently sustained less than 1% unsubscribe rate). Alice developed seven significant programmatic partnerships, which resulted in on going referrals for membership at Grassroots.org. The partners include some of the best nonprofit umbrella organizations in the country. For a full list please go here: http://www.grassroots.org/support/program-partners Developed a you tube channel site, include new overview videos for potential members and potential donors. Please go here to see: http://www.youtube.com/user/GrassrootsDotOrg Developed an earned media outreach plan, which resulted in multiple significant media mentions. This included ABCnews.com, PC world, Tech Soup, and the Chronicle of Philanthropy. Please see our media page for more info: http://www.grassroots.org/news We have grown our membership from 680 members to over 2,000. We have increased the rate of usage for our tools. In previous years, we averaged about $200,000 in free services being given away. In the past year we have given away over $2 million in services.

Our CTC VISTA is the DISKovery Centers Accessibility Coordinator. She coordinated all of the meetings with staff and project partners. She also became our in-house AT specialist, and helped recommend our software and hardware purchases. She has developed advanced curriculum at Pacific Bridge. She has also coordinated and facilitated the access committee meetings. Our VISTA has also coordinated our Computer Adoption Program and has developed curriculum for the program. She has also trained staff on the Ubuntu Operating system so that staff can then teach the participants enrolled in our Computer Adoption Program.

Although we have partnered with other organizations that have given us a small number of users with disabilities, we are still short of our goals. Our VISTA has assisted on our outreach plan, and has developed outreach materials but both our centers in Little Tokyo and Echo Park are struggling increase our numbers.

Jack has sucessfully tracked and coordinated project activities. He has developed (programmed) functional components of the tools such as publishing editions, relating articles to additions, formatting content and processing visitor comments.

Jack faced challenges in learning the development framework used at CCTS. This was a new language for him. Furthermore, Jack had to adapt from the software engineering environment he in which he previously worked to a website development environment.

With the help of two staff members, two interns, and one volunteer Robyn was able to investigate needs, develop a structure, select software to satisfy needs, test, and receive approval to launch a new website for KDHX.org. Robyn’s work was completed methodically and with a great deal of care. The site is currently in a late beta testing stage, and is expected to replace KDHX.org within two months of the termination of Robyn’s service period.

The scope of our project was quite large and it was intended to allow for discovery at the beginning to determine what work would need to be completed. The discovery revealed a large amount of work to replace all of the existing website functionality with the new system. Robyn discovered an innovative way of using a software called JomSocial to build a social network within KDHX.org. This unique tool enables audience members to connect to and interact with radio and television show hosts in a way that was never before possible. Additionally, Robyn was able to investigate the use of a magazine management component for Joomla! called K2 that simplifies and expands upon our capabilities to present complex data and metadata. Her investigation and skillful testing of this component has completely changed our management of content and multimedia on KDHX.org

The work our VISTA is doing with our database and outreach is a major function to CTOC’s mission. As a consortium, keeping in contact with our members, keeping them updated to local policies, and positioning them to network together and exchange ideas and practices is reliant on constant and continuous communication with the membership base.

Our project has completed 5 workshops which covered the topics of IT fundraising for non-profits, education and advocacy surrounding local and state cable franchise issues in Los Angeles, disability and access issues, social enterprising for non-profits, and digital storytelling. In each of our workshops, our VISTA was implemental in outreaching to attendees and presenters, updating our website information and list-serv, and follow-up on evaluations of attendees.

CTOC has made major changes to the website, moving it to a new server and expanding the previous capabilities to include membership capabilities, a discussion forum, and more resources for local organizations to aid CTOC in its networking and outreach capacities. The VISTA has helped to keep the site updated with upcoming CTOC workshops and events, as well as making the site more user friendly by changing the layout of the page and adding visual pictures. Our VISTA has also aided in managing the list-serv and adding new members.

CTOC held a local logo contest for youth. This project was suggested and created by our VISTA who wrote a proposal, created the contest criteria, and outreached to local organization who worked with youth in digital media.

Nathan has done an excellent job in his role as a VISTA here at UTEC! He took on a leading role in coordinating UTEC’s most comprehensive and successfull fundraiser to date. He has contributed immensely by helping us organize and develop a new online grants database (which I strongly believe will be a model for other nonprofits on how to best integrate technology into their development work). He has written and won grants. He has created a well organized foundation/donor recognition system that has substantially improved our capacity for relationship building with funders. And he has provided much excitement around the development of a new individual donor organization process. I have been very pleased with Nathan’s work (this being his first time in a development position as this) and would rehire him in a minute.

Jeff has set up an exchange server for the UTEC network. This has helped staff better communicate with one another, and made accountability, reporting, and assigning tasks simpler and quicker, in order to better achieve our mission. Jeff is making progress with his project to update the teen log-in database which will keep track of interactions of senior staff with all UTEC teen members. Jeff has made a presentation and training manual on how to use the teen log-in database, and exchange servers. Jeff has been working consistently with the CSL (on site once per week) to continue to enhance UTEC’s tecnhical capabilities. Some of the projects he is working on in this regard are enhancing UTEC’s fundraising database, organizing the UTEC listserve, and his teen log-in database and exchange server projects. Jeff is still preparing equipment to kick off the next wave of computer repair classes at UTEC, which will begin when UTEC officially opens our new building this spring.

Aaron has done a significant amount of work with these projects, securing donations of large scale pieces of equipment for UTEC as well as really streamlining the research, cataloging, and time line of our donor campaigns using online research tools and creating a database. He has also done some PR work designing materials for our corporate giving campaign. Additional projects include writing two grants and securing funding for our sports and recreation program. And updating and refining our donor mailing list which we use to send out newsletters, annual appeals, and other updates. He also worked to coordinate and publicize one fundraising event: an organ concert which drew over 60 people to the center, raised $500 and generated an enormous amount of local publicity for UTEC. We’ve had some challenges in focusing these projects in a way that priorities are clear so that deadlines will be met, as there is such a large number of projects to be covered in terms of the fund raising needs of the youth center. Aaron has done a great job of learning more organizational methods, and is putting them into practice in new ways that are really helping his work.