SeaChar.org Donor Base development

Mission Statement: SeaChar is a grass-roots, non-profit organization that promotes the widespread use of biomass waste to create biochar and generate clean energy for the purpose of mitigating global warming, rebuilding soils, improving household air quality, and building green economies in the U.S. and developing countries. We accomplish our mission through research, education, and the development and distribution of appropriate technologies.

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: As a young organization, SeaChar.Org had no system to organize contact information for donors, volunteers, or participants in events and workshops. Names were written on slips of paper, business cards were set aside and opportunities to create deeper donor relations were unseen. Also, without a donor tracking system in place, we were unable to take advantage of social media resources to further our development.

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: Outlook and Excel allowed us to efficiently collect and organize the contact information of our SeaChar.Org stakeholders. We then were able to import that information seamlessly into Constant Contact, facilitating more successful and engaging outreach through newsletters and event invitations. This organizational work led to improved stakeholder engagement and increased donations which will allow us to better serve our communities with stove building workshops, carbon garden education and the introduction of clean stove technology in Central America.

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: Excel’s ability to easily sort and organize data from the disparate sources of information made inputting the data a breeze. And its compatibility with other information systems simplified the exchange of data, making it quickly available for our use.

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: We now have an accurate, easy to manage list of our 1053 supporters. With this list we can easily segment our audience, allowing us to engage our donors with information specific to their interests and needs. This will facilitate our fundraising efforts, allowing us to continue our important mission.

Upload photos or other supporting works/files: SeaChar Contacts Report 1-17-11.docx

Special directions needed to access your work: Check out our photos engaging our stakeholders at a stove building workshop!

Microsoft Technology For Good Contest