The Latin American Youth Center always did great work, but a new software program the D.C.-based nonprofit implemented last year has brought even more success to the organization.
“Using the software has created a cultural shift in the organization that put a focus on outcomes,” said Isaac Castillo, director of research and evaluation for the Latin American Youth Center. “For all nonprofits in this day and age, to raise moneyyou need to be able to prove outcomes.”
The software, “Efforts to Outcome,” is a patent-pending case management program from Baltimore-based company Software Solutions Inc. that allows nonprofits to manage, track and report their progress. The company’s founder and president, Stephen Butz, designed the software after eight years working as a case manager for at-risk youth in Baltimore. Without a streamlined reporting system, he said, there was no way to measure if his work was making a difference.
“I knew I was making a tremendous difference with these kids,” Butz said. “But I was very unsatisfied with the way reporting was done … so I built some software that helped me better understand the relationship between my efforts as a case manager and the outcomes I was seeing.”
Butz launched his company in July 2000 and now has more than 1,200 clients around the globe — including more than 20 in the Washington region.
The D.C.-based Latin American Youth Center uses the software to monitor their tutoring program.
We can “look at how often they’re coming to tutoring,” Castillo said. “Are there changes in report cards, behaviors, attitudes? Being able to organize all of their information and access it in just one or two clicks has been extremely valuable.”
The software’s reporting ability has translated directly into increased funding for the organization, Castillo said. The nonprofit will increase its $9 million budget by about $1.5 million next year. Castillo estimates that about $500,000 of that additional funding is directly connected to the new reporting system.
The software has been so successful, Butz said, because it fits well with the current climate where accountability and transparency are key.
“All of a sudden it’s not a mystery anymore what they’re buying,” he said. “Which is better than just saying ‘Yeah, give us your money. We do great work.’ ”
