Thank you, Times Daily, AP, WEDF, WAFF, WBRC, Houma Today, The Ledger, Al.com, The-Dispatch, Herald Tribune, WAKA! We appreciate you helping us get the word out about CharityTracker!

We were also honored to discover a wonderful article describing the impact of the United Way of Whitewater Valley’s use of CharityTracker in their local newspaper, the Palladium Item out of Richmond, IN. We’re more than grateful!

Sometimes when I get that question, I wonder whether the person asking is simply being friendly or if they really want to know. Usually, I determine my response by where I am at the moment. If I’m passing by someone in the mall, I’ll usually respond with a brief “Good Stuff!” If I’m standing in Walmart, I’ll give the “Cliff Notes” synopsis. Now, if we’re sitting down with a mug of java, that’s where I can really unload! Out of respect for you, dear reader, even though I have a java mug’s worth of stuff to share with you, I’ll shave it down to the “Cliff Notes” version.

Our tech guys, working in their “bat-cave” of an office, have churned out a dandy update to CharityTracker.com. The improved website is chock-full of tutorials and testimonials. And it’s just so appropriate that one of the first things you see on our website are pictures of some of our dear friends who regularly use CharityTracker.

The tech guys have also added several new features to CharityTracker with the goal of helping to streamline your processes even more! Each new feature you see was recommended by you, the users of CharityTracker. I’ll outline the new features in upcoming blog posts.

While the tech guys working away, some of our other team members went to Las Vegas and Corpus Christi for some quality time with the awesome people of Feeding America. Every conference we attend is a sharing opportunity – we show what we have learned and built, and we listen very attentively to the needs and challenges faced by our customers.

What a great privilege to do what we do! Please stay posted as we share more over the coming months!

Cheers,
Greg
CharityTracker Support Team

As of December 2010, thousands of users have used CharityTracker to collaborate and provide help for 888,125 individuals, adding 1,400,130 assistance records totaling $42,456,541 of assistance dollars! We’re just as blown away.

To start the year off right, we’ve added four new features that we think you’ll find useful:

1. You can now track personal and household expenses for each case. When you add or edit a case, there is an improved section labeled ‘Income & Expenses.’
   
2. Network administrators can now add, edit or delete assistance category sections. Under the categories tab in the administration section, there is a new button labeled ‘Manage Category Sections.’
   
3. We’ve added a ‘Reset Search’ button within advanced search. This button allows you to empty all the fields of advanced search with one click.
   
4. Last, but not least, we’ve added a field for phone extensions on all cases, agencies and agents.
   

As always, just about every feature we add to CharityTracker has been suggested by our partners like you. This way CharityTracker is improved based on feedback, and not solely on what we think is important. If you have an idea you would like to share with us, simply click the feedback button in the top-right corner of CharityTracker and shoot us a message. Thank you for a wonderful year! Together, we can make 2011 the best year ever!

1. The Reports tab, in the My Agency tab, now features a list of Recently Requested Reports. Now you can easily access reports you’ve recently made. This is also handy to be able to check the status of your CSV reports.
   
2. Also in the Reports tab, a new report: Household Report. This report gives you a list of households based on the criteria you choose.
   
3. When requesting a report on assistance given to a case, there is now the option to sort the results based on Newest to Oldest.
   
4. There is now a checkbox to give you the option of whether or not to include the Assistance Summary on each report.
   
5. Now, on an individual case report, it is noted who verified the ROI, when they verified it, and when the ROI will expire.
   
6. Now reports will show, within a specific date-range, how many clients were first-time visitors.
   

As always, your voice matters to us and shapes CharityTracker each and every day. We’d love to hear your thoughts. Just click the “feedback” button in the top-right hand corner of CharityTracker anytime.

As of this morning, thousands of users have added $35,079,472 assistance dollars, 1,177,783 assistance records and 749,959 cases into their CharityTracker networks. We couldn’t be more honored.

As you may know, we’re constantly working to improve CharityTracker. We’d like to introduce you to four new features we’ve just added.

1. Demographics now include an “other” field. This feature adds a layer of flexibility within demographics to allow agents to not only choose from the pre-defined list, but also to provide an alternative response.
   

2. You can now view the current status of the Release of Information for each case. We’ve also added the ability to print a new ROI as well as re-verify the Release of Information.
   

3. Within both simple search and advanced search, you now have the option to create a new case from your search terms. For example, if you searched for a name, address, and phone number in advanced search and do not find a case, you can click a link to automatically populate the fields you searched for on the add new case dialog.
   

4. Instead of seeing a blank screen, all reports now include a loading dialog to let you know the server is working hard to process your request.
   
   

We hope these additions make your life easier. As always, we add features based on feedback from users like you. If you think of a great feature, want to explain a bug you may have discovered, or have thought of a way to simplify CharityTracker — click the feedback button in the top-right corner of CharityTracker and share your thoughts. We always love hearing from you!

Popular Posts

• 7 Awesome Improvements in CharityTracker V3
• New Reporting Features in CharityTracker Version 3 (Includes Tutorial Video)
• CharityTracker Update: What We’ve Been Up To

Our mission is to constantly improve CharityTracker based on your feedback. In the upper right-hand corner of CharityTracker, you’ll find the feedback button. Found a bug? Want to share an idea you’ve got? Maybe you just want to say “hi” to the developers? We love hearing from you!

7 Awesome Improvements Now Available in CharityTracker

1. Demographics and Other IDs are now column-based and easy to read on the ‘Personal Information’ tab of cases.
   

2. Funding source is now displayed on the assistance record as opposed to only shown when editing.
   

3. If someone in your agency hasn’t logged in yet, you can resend their login information with one click.

4. Zip Code is now available for searching within the ‘Advanced Search’ screen.

5. The ‘Billing’ tab will now display when your next payment is due, your current invoice amount, the ability to update your credit card and the option to make one-time credit card payments for invoices.

6. Income source and assistance record amounts now prevent errors by limiting the field to numbers and decimals.

7. Recent Cases and Searches now have the option to be shown or hidden.

We hope you enjoy these improvements! With your help, we’ve collaborated to add hundreds of features and improvements to CharityTracker. If you’ve got a great idea, click the feedback button in the upper right-hand corner of CharityTracker and let us know. Your idea could impact communities all over the United States.

P.S. Did you see the recent reporting tutorial we just added?

Our motto – “if you can record it, you can report it.” – CharityTracker’s powerful reports will give you the statistics you need with just a few steps. Here’s a tutorial video to demonstrate how easy it is:

Several of the largest food banks in Texas have implemented CharityTracker to streamline food distribution. Notably, one of the most important solutions CharityTracker offers food banks is accurate, instant reports. CharityTracker reveals a bird’s eye view of who’s being helped, by who, when and how within the community.

A very special thanks to Karla Cantu, Senior Director of Agency Relations for the Capital Area Food Bank of Texas. Karla invited Larry LaBarge, an owner and team member of Simon Solutions, to speak at a state-wide gathering of food bank Agency Relations Directors.

Also In Texas, we’re working with the OneStar Foundation to help in building capacity for collaboration and community partnerships, especially among food banks. In Michigan, we are working with Jeremy White, Restore Hope Consulting, in providing a “2-Rail Model for Collaborative Solutions” – technology and capacity-building.

In South Carolina, we’re partnering with The Benefit Bank and United Ways. Together, we are working on a possible state-wide launch of CharityTracker networks for every county in South Carolina. We are also developing a fast and easy way for sending out state-wide bulletins and alerts. This feature will give state leaders (emergency response directors, VOAD, FEMA) a simple way to quickly mobilize charitable organizations for emergency care and disaster relief throughout the entire state of South Carolina.

U.S. Senator Richard Shelby sent us an encouraging letter saying, “I commend the valuable work this organization [CharityTracker] is accomplishing in countless communities, and I look forward to hearing more stories of its success. I will support this organization’s efforts should a legislative opportunity arise in the 111th Congress”.

With great excitement, we’re proud to announce CharityTracker is going international. We’ve been invited to Canada to speak at a major conference to discuss a strategy for launching CharityTracker networks across their country.

We’re honored to receive encouraging words and the chance to see CharityTracker serving in the role we always wished – helping churches, nonprofits, and government agencies work together at grassroots levels.

Warmest Regards,

Mike Simon
President/CEO

On Friday night, a week ago, I received a phone call from Larry, who was pretty excited. He said, “Mike, guess what just happened? We were on the evening news!” He went on the say that the local NBC affiliate in Huntsville, AL aired a special report on CharityTracker.

Needless to say, I got very excited too. Larry told me to go to the TV station’s website and see the report online. I read the report, and even found they had video of the segment on the website.

Featured in the report were our good friends Tina Scott, Executive Director of the United Way of Northwest Alabama, and Ashley Butler, 211 Information and Referral Specialist. Both women shared how CharityTracker was fighting the problem of scammers.

“We have been able to identify a lot of people who were scamming the system, people going to different agencies to get the same bill paid.”

- Tina Scott

They also shared how the network was bringing people together and building relationships with other service providers.

“The best thing is the networking and relationships we now have with agencies and churches in Colbert and Lauderdale Counties, that we didn’t have before [CharityTracker] was made.”

- Ashley Butler

I had a chance to talk with Tina the other day. She said that calls are coming in from all across the country. People are hearing about CharityTracker and calling to see if it is “for real”. After hearing Tina’s story of the success of CharityTracker in our community, these callers are filled with hope.

My hope is that this simple tool, which is now becoming a community-builder, will find its way into communities all across America and help make a difference.

- Mike Simon

We decided to leave a little later than we originally planned, because of news reports of several accidents along the ice covered highway in the Louisville, KY area. It turned out that leaving late was a good decision, because as we made our way through Louisville (and north of there), there were at least 20 cars parked along the highway, but the roads were thawed.

As we got closer to Indianapolis the roads got worse because of sleet and freezing rain. The last 50 miles took almost two hours, but thankfully we arrived in one piece. After a long day on the road and a lot of white-knuckle driving, we finally got to the our hotel in Indianapolis. (On a side note, I had used Google map’s “street view” yesterday so I was able to recognize my way around. Pretty cool, huh?)

We were pleased to see that the good folks at the Great Rivers United Way Conference gave us a booth right next to the registration table and entrance to the meeting room! While we were setting up our display, I was approached by a man who was an Executive Director at an Indiana United Way. He said to me that he really liked what he saw, so I told him to check out the CharityTracker website and give the CharityTracker Demo a try. I hope I see him tomorrow so I can see what he thinks!

After setting up the display, Lee and I went to dinner and then back to our room where I responded to a few emails. I am very excited to meet some more United Way representatives tomorrow and share the story of CharityTracker and how it can help their community. I love my job.

-Larry