HAWAII CHAPTER: Digitizing Records and Migrating to a Free Bookkeeping System
SUMMARY: After years of using paper records and a QuickBooks subscription, the Hawaii Chapter board undertook a financial overhaul during which it digitized chapter records and transitioned from QuickBooks to Wave, a free bookkeeping software. Migrating to a cloud-based system simplified the handoff between board members, while making financial records more accessible and increasing overall transparency within the board. Additionally, moving from a paid bookkeeping program to a free alternative resulted in annual cost savings for the chapter.
YEAR: 2024
ANN ARBOR CHAPTER: Free Online Tool to House, Update, and Access Procedures to Transform Board Onboarding and Task Management
SUMMARY: The Ann Arbor Chapter found it lacked documented standard operating procedures for the chapter. The board members created a plan to establish documented processes and procedures. Using Airtable, they created a way to store the processes for easy access. The content is now easily accessible for training and onboarding new chapter leaders, thus shortening the length of new board members' training from six months to four weeks.
YEAR: 2020
BATON ROUGE CHAPTER: The Way We Were: Capturing and Archiving Your Chapter’s History
SUMMARY: The chapter has records dating back to 1998 that needed to be reviewed for archiving, indexing, and retention purposes. The chapter secretary undertook the task of reviewing the records, deciding what was necessary to keep, and devising a strategy for storage, indexing, naming, and searching purposes. A team was put in place to track down the chapter’s history and create a repository of records.
Baton Rouge - SOS Submission Form
Baton Rouge - 2015 ALC Presentation
Baton Rouge - Information on Organizing Digital Files
Baton Rouge - Record Retention Guidelines
Baton Rouge - Record Keeping Principles
YEAR: 2018
DALLAS CHAPTER: Getting to the Summit Using Basecamp
SUMMARY: To provide an avenue for chapter volunteers to connect and provide transparency internally, the chapter volunteers adopted Basecamp. The platform allowed the volunteers to immediately communicate with one another, collaborate, offer resources and insights, and share documents. The barriers between the four core chapter areas began to dissolve, and documents previously stored elsewhere were moved over to the site to provide historical knowledge and transparency. Basecamp streamlined the chapter’s processes and evolved into a one-stop shop for locating information.
YEAR: 2018
KANSAS CITY CHAPTER: Using Trello to Collaborate With Programs
SUMMARY: The programming director used Trello, a web-based project management application, to manage chapter projects and events and to promote better communication and organization among board members and volunteers. All volunteers get access to each program so that they can find the information at the moment of need. Each event/program has its own plan in Trello, allowing for all information to be in one place and providing notifications if something is updated, added, or completed so that stakeholders know the status of a project in real time. The system allowed for better work flow, thus creating better programs for members and higher satisfaction among stakeholders.
YEAR: 2018
ROCKY MOUNTAIN CHAPTER: G Suite for Nonprofits
SUMMARY: To save about $170 monthly, the chapter moved board emails from GoDaddy to Google Suite (G Suite). A third party, Tech Soup, contacted the chapter to verify its nonprofit status on behalf of Google. Once the chapter was set up, it realized a full suite of free tools to use. The chapter has continued to discover more tools provided by G Suite it can use to manage chapter operations including forms, surveys, and other communication tools. The vice president of finance has started reviewing the chapter’s paid products and services to determine if there is a free or reduced price for nonprofits. The money saved will go back to the chapter through member initiatives.
YEAR: 2017
LOS ANGELES CHAPTER: Volunteer Tab in Wild Apricot
SUMMARY: The chapter created a “Volunteer Only” tab in Wild Apricot with subsections titled by each topic. The chapter implemented a system to designate who receives access to each section, and uploaded documents and historical information to each tab. This system compiles all resources and tools in one location and reduces email congestion and duplication of documents. At each meeting, the chapter shows documents from the volunteer tab instead of recreating PowerPoints.
YEAR: 2016
EASTERN PENNSYLVANIA CHAPTER: Knowledge Management
SUMMARY: The Eastern Pennsylvania Chapter’s Knowledge Management Initiative is designed to capture, document, organize, and publish the operational policies and procedures of the chapter. Standard operating procedures for each functional area and supporting area were created as an outcome of this process.
Eastern Pennsylvania - SOS Submission Form
Eastern Pennsylvania - Knowledge Management Sample
Eastern Pennsylvania - Knowledge Management Template
YEAR: 2007
