e-CImpact (formerly e-CFund) is Logical, Easy to Grasp and Implement

4/14/2008

CASE STUDY: Kenosha, WI - Recently we had a conversation with the United Way of Kenosha County, one of our newer members of the e-CFund family. We wanted to inquire about their experiences so far and how e-CFund was influencing their current workflow as well as their community.

The United Way of Kenosha County is located in Kenosha, WI with a population of approximately 162,000. They are a Metro 4 classification, with an annual campaign of approximately 1.2 million dollars, and currently staffed with five full-time employees and four part-time employees.

The system previously used by the United Way of Kenosha County proved to be frustrating and more complicated than initially anticipated. According to Crista Kruse, Community Investment Director, "e-CFund has proved to be much easier to learn and work with to ‘get the job done’. It is so nice to have a software program the average person can learn to use without becoming overly frustrated. I do not consider myself computer savvy; however, I do feel I have a great capacity to learn. I have felt e-CFund is a logical system, easy to grasp and implement."

The United Way of Kenosha County has been working with the e-CFund program for just under six-months. They came on board September 1, 2007, kicking off their first process, September 17, 2007. Setting up their first process for launching took approximately two weeks, which addressed their three Issue Areas of Basic Needs, Healthy People, and Strong Families. The initial application consisted of an Agency Overview, a Standards of Accountability form, Agency Board Demographics, an Agency Fundraising Worksheet, Program Overview, Program Client Beneficiaries Matrix, Program Logic Model and Program Budget forms. Crista indicated, "The Seabrooks side probably took one day. We chose to enter data for the 2006 funding cycle in order to provide the agencies a historical record to view on their sites. That was time consuming; however, we felt it was worth our efforts."

When preparing for their second process Crista noted, "it was so much easier than the first, with no complaints from the agencies so far! I have also been able to figure out and answer questions from the agencies without needing to call the helpdesk. That is a great feeling."

The United Way of Kenosha County has also brought online, as a collaborator, a Municipal Partner and is currently in discussion with another prominent department. When questioning what the determining factor was in bringing aboard this partner as a collaborator, Crista mentioned their United Way and these partners have a very close working relationship. One exciting result of their working relationship is providing standard forms for their agencies.

When Crista first presented e-CFund to the agencies at an Outcome training session in tandem with this partner, they were very interested. "We really did not reach out to them. They were impressed with the features and functionality of the site. The product sold itself, providing them with everything they need, including the ease of reporting."

Crista also indicated another major reason the partner became a collaborator is the e-CFund presentation given to them by Seabrooks via a Webinar. "They were left with the impression that Seabrooks was very knowledgeable and helpful. They felt very comfortable with the level of expertise Seabrooks offered. They have also been impressed with how quickly I have been able to learn the system."

At the close of our conversation, we asked Crista how supported she felt throughout the process to date, "I don’t think this would have gone as smoothly if Seabrooks did not have such wonderful Customer Service. With other helpdesks there seems to be a long lag time for a response, or a complicated method to submit questions when I need assistance. With Seabrooks, I feel I am always taken care of and my questions are answered quickly by either email and/or phone!"

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