In this first blog of 2016 I thought we might take a moment to view the overall nonprofit fundraising landscape. I know that your strategic plan and operating plan have already been written, but I thought this might be the perfect opportunity to do your first edit. The best plans are living documents always awaiting amendment.

As 2015 comes to an end, we've taken the time to reflect on the ups, downs and things we've learned along the way. We can only hope that we've helped you have a successful 2015 - and we look forward to serving you in 2016.

A grandfather and his grandson are having breakfast when the grandfather asks his grandson to hand him the newspaper.  The grandson looks up from his IPad and says “Grandpa, this is the 21st century.  We have electronic gadgets that are 100 times better than a crummy newspaper.  For instance, with my IPad here I can look at 10 different news sources in that many minutes and get 100 times more information than a paper. Here,” he says, handing his IPad to his grandfather, “I already pulled up Fox news for you.”  Let me tell you, that fly never knew what hit it.

We recognize how tough it is to run a successful agency.  We have such admiration for you and the work you do to help our society's most vulnerable children and families.  It is why we've dedicated a good part of our lives to serving you, your social workers and your agency.  However, we not only strive to bring you world-class software solutions, but useful information that can help in other areas, as well. 

For many case workers and service providers – managing technology can be challenging. Good technology can improve data collection, process workflow and reporting. However, finding and implementing the right system is often difficult. At the end of the day, how do you know what features to look for in a great case management application? Are those features “out of the box” or something you’ll need to incorporate based on your requirements?

After reading the recipe I looked up at this public relations legend and said, “Of course - seems obvious when you put it like that”.  Core Values and walking the walk seems to be more attractive to donors than a bunch of advertising.  

FAMCare now enables smaller agencies to organize, consolidate, and communicate information just like the best teams in the NFL. Watch your favorite team carefully this Sunday with an eye on how they smoothly execute a play when every position clearly understands their assignment and rapidly communicates their intentions. Every team of case workers, large or small, can execute with the same efficiency as the best in the NFL.

The purpose of this weekly blog is to stimulate thought and discussion about the topics that affect the entire social services sector. Even though our blog appears here on the FAMCare site, it is not our intention to inform you about our products in this space. However, every now and then, FAMCare does provide the perfect solution to a problem the social services sector is faced with.