Team Players On and Off the Field

Earlier this month, thousands of fans gathered in the San Francisco area to root for either the Broncos or the Panthers. While all eyes were on the big game, our eyes and thoughts were on Bay Area organizations like Catholic Charities of Santa Clara County, the Bill Wilson Center and Kidango. These organizations, part of the Foothold Technology family, work every day to make a difference in their communities and we consider these team players our “everyday heroes.”

Since 1979, Kidango has been supporting children and families through an array of services including early childhood education, early childhood mental health, child development, and family services to over 3000 children annually. Staff provide services in schools, through home visits and at program locations throughout the San Francisco Bay Area. Over the last year, Kidango has expanded its programming and has experienced tremendous growth.

We spoke with Kidango to learn more about their work and to discuss how the organization is using AWARDS to support this growth. Staff at Kidango often receive calls from the local department of social services seeking eligibility information for individuals receiving services through Kidango programs. With client consent and with AWARDS at the their fingertips, staff are able to verify information in a matter of minutes, freeing up their time to maintain focus on the children and families they serve.

“AWARDS has really increased our agency’s efficiency and ability to show our funders the quality of work we do.” –
Kidango

Kidango also noted that AWARDS can help with legal or emergency issues. If a potential problem arises, staff with appropriate access can review an individual’s progress notes within AWARDS, anytime and from anywhere. Reporting is also much easier with AWARDS. For example, one of the agency’s departments used to tally its home visit records by hand. When running an annual report, this was especially tedious. Now that AWARDS is in play, reporting is a snap. But no one is happier about AWARDS than Kidango’s finance department. Staff who have access to AWARDS, can quickly create reports and share real-time, accurate information with the finance department. “A rep in our finance department was beside herself when she saw how quick and easy it was to create reports. What used to take her an entire day, can now be done very quickly using AWARDS.”

Interested in hearing more about AWARDS and its impact on Bay Area organizations?

• View a short testimonial from Catholic Charities of Santa Clara County here