- Organization Name
- Feet First
- Mission Statement
- Promoting walkable communities for people to walk every day for their health, transportation, environment, community and pleasure.
- City & State
- Seattle,
- Washington
- 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: In February 2009, Feet First undertook a strategic planning 2-day forum. Through a community, board and staff engagement process, we identified a new mission, vision, values, goals and actions. We used a consensus process to develop our action strategy, which represent the programs to support our mission. The comprehensive strategic plan has become our guide towards achieving our mission. Our challenge following the adoption of the strategic plan was not having specific metrics in place to measure whether we were achieving our goals outlined in the plan.
- 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: The Taproot Consulting Team built the first Balanced Scorecard for Feet First using Microsoft Excel 2007. The balanced scorecard is broken into four sections: financial, learning and growth, stakeholders and internal process. Each section has an associated metric. We now can measure our success of Safe Routes to School programs, Walk & Talk events and our advocacy efforts by implementing the Feet First Agenda. We have built into staff projects the scorecard elements and provide quarterly updates to our board. We also use the balanced scorecard as a baseline for conversation to develop work plans to support our constituents and to support the work from our fundraising/marketing and policy committees.
- 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: Feet First uses the 2007 version of Microsoft Excel. This upgrade provides us a quick visual representation of how well we are doing as it relates to financial, learning and growth, stakeholders and internal process. The red, yellow and green indicators based on specific metrics are very powerful in getting a snapshot of the current situation. Additionally, the comparison from quarter to quarter allows staff and board to monitor and change course, if necessary, based on quarterly information. An example quarterly balanced scorecard is attached.
- 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 have been able to increase the dollars raised by individual members. The new software has allowed us to visually see where we want to go and develop tactics including a newly adopted membership model. Additionally, we have been able to reach more people through a more accurate accounting of how we are generating enthusiasm and building relationships through our Walk & Talk events and advocacy efforts respectively. By capturing this information from our strategic plan into a scorecard we are able to tell our potential funders a comprehensive story about the efforts of Feet First.
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