America SCORES Seattle Tech For Good Submission

Mission Statement: With teamwork as the unifying value, America SCORES Seattle inspires youth to lead healthy lifestyles, be engaged students and become agents of change in their communities.

Question 1: The Before: What was the challenge, issue or problem your organization was facing? Or, what was the opportunity you were not able to take advantage of before you put a technology solution in place?; Answer: SCORES is an after-school program that works with 160 at-risk youth in Seattle's low-income neighborhoods, combining literacy, athletics, and community service. Before we switched to Microsoft software, we were buried in paperwork, dealing with the logistics of the program. Creating an up-to-date database of students, parents, volunteers, and coaches turned out to be challenging without the proper software or tools. Furthermore, staying organized planning fundraisers, sending out e-mail updates, and keeping our organization relevant with our donor database became increasingly difficult. Moreover, targeting major foundations for grants was a frustrating process, being we didn’t have the proper means to create engaging presentations to show just how exceptional our program is.

Question 2: What Microsoft software have you used/are you using in your organization to more effectively engage your beneficiaries, donors and/or volunteers and/or to make a difference in your community?; Answer: Microsoft Office 2007 or 2010 (Includes any of the following: Access, Excel, PowerPoint, Publisher, OneNote, Outlook, and Word); Other:

Question 3: The After: How have these Microsoft products allowed you to engage your stakeholders more efficiently or effectively to make a difference in your community?; Answer: As soon as we began using the Microsoft software, we noticed a difference in the success of our program. We are now able to maintain a database of students, parents, and coaches, which is both up-to-date and extremely organized. Additionally, we have maintained improved contact with our donors and have the ability to make more appealing presentations in order to attract funding from foundations. The modernization of our organization has led to more donations, which are then directly used towards enhancing the SCORES program for the at-risk youth served. Therefore, because of Microsoft’s software, our program has been able to successfully be implemented in more schools and serve more vulnerable students, who desperately need the support and inspiration that the SCORES program offers.

Question 4: What about these products (the features or the way you used them) made them particularly helpful in enabling your organization to expand and improve upon its community impact?; Answer: Microsoft Office Suite is undoubtedly essential to implementation, organization and growth of the SCORES program. We use Excel to organize and maintain our ever-growing diverse database. Microsoft Word is our chief word processing software, and the place where all of our grant writing is done. Microsoft Outlook lets us maintain exceptional contact with donors and board members, letting them know when the next fundraiser or opportunity to volunteer is. Publisher is the program we rely on for all our creative needs and marketing materials. Powerpoint is crucial for all of our presentations, and has transformed our ability to make a creative and engaging proposal. Microsoft Suite is indispensible to our organization, and has directly led to a more effective and growing SCORES program.

Question 5: Please provide any examples, stories or data that illustrate the difference the use of Microsoft software has enabled you to make (i.e., # of new clients reached, new program added, increased dollars raised, increased volunteers, etc.; Answer: With the assistance of Microsoft software, we are now successfully maintaining a database of close to 3,000 students, parents, coaches and volunteers from low-income elementary schools throughout Seattle, dating back 8 years. Furthermore, we have close to 1,500 donors who receive e-mail updates and are becoming more active and interested in SCORES. Recently, our organization has developed stronger relationships with larger corporations such as Seattle Sounders FC, Adidas, and UPS, and our program is receiving more publicity than ever. We have also gained enough money through grants and donations to add a sixth school in 2011, which will increase our database, the amount of at-risk students benefitting from the SCORES program, and the overall impact in Seattle’s low-income communities.

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Microsoft Technology For Good Contest