Lengthy intake process made managing schedules and routes difficult
Founded by the Manor Park Community Council, Ottawa Cares is an initiative that recruits and manages volunteers delivering food from food banks to residents to fight food insecurity in multiple Ottawa communities.
Before using Link2Feed’s Volunteer Management Software (VMS) powered by InitLive, Ottawa Cares had a complicated system of scheduling spreadsheets and forms which was prone to missing or incorrect data. Because of the lack of organization in these spreadsheets, their volunteers also struggled to get the most efficient routes for their delivery addresses, delaying many drop-offs and slowing down the overall operation. Ottawa Cares realized that a shift to a more efficient volunteer management system was needed to increase the number of clients served and meet growing demands in their communities.
Utilizing Volunteer Management Software for faster deliveries
Ottawa Cares adopted the Link2Feed VMS to automate their volunteer recruitment and management processes. Volunteers at the organization can now sign up for shifts themselves and easily access their schedules or hours worked using the user-friendly software application.
What’s more, food banks utilizing Link2Feed’s Client Management System can share with Ottawa Cares their client information such as unique dietary needs and up-to-date delivery addresses. In order to maintain client privacy, this data is anonymized before it’s integrated into MapTag, a route optimization software that offers the quickest delivery routes for volunteers. The integrated solution also helps volunteers maximize the number of food hampers based on their vehicle capacity per delivery, which helps reduce unnecessary trips over time. Ottawa Cares can now rest assured that their delivery routes are optimized and efficient, saving their volunteers time and ensuring fast deliveries to their clients.
Increased number of households served and volunteer retainment
This simplified solution improves everything from sign-up to delivery, allowing Ottawa Cares to save tremendous staff hours and maximize the number of clients they are able to serve in a single volunteer shift. The flexibility to self-register for a shift makes managing volunteering schedules easy, something that’s also greatly appreciated by volunteers at Ottawa Cares. The organization has seen a growing number of volunteers returning for more shifts thanks to this simple, fast and organized process created by the Link2Feed and InitLive software suite.
“We have been able to streamline our workflow to the point where we could take on new food banks without an increase in staff resources. We firmly believe that staying organized contributes to volunteers returning for more shifts. From sign-up to delivery, we want this to be a simple process for volunteers. InitLive’s simple and flexible software has been paramount in keeping us organized.” – Josh Cassidy, Community Response Coordinator at Ottawa Cares.
Click here to learn more about our Volunteer Management Software powered by InitLive.