Case Study: Blessings of Hope

Blessings of Hope, a nonprofit organization committed to combating the global food crisis, distributes the equivalent of 1.6 million meals each month to communities in need. With a volunteer force exceeding 20,000 individuals, the organization relies on dedicated volunteers to fulfill its mission of providing food assistance to those who need it most.

Managing a volunteer force of this scale presented Blessings of Hope with logistical challenges, from scheduling shifts to tracking volunteer hours. Their existing systems were inadequate, leading to duplicated efforts and inefficiencies in volunteer management.

How Blessings of Hope moved their volunteer program onto a more scalable platform

Knowing the organization was growing fast, Lori Glick, Administrative Manager at Blessings of Hope, knew that the volunteer management software in place was inadequate. At the time, Blessings of Hope was managing volunteer hours across two separate systems, leading to unnecessary duplication of effort. This meant extra work, having to input scheduling and hours data twice over.

The volunteer software they were using had very basic features, and a new solution was needed to ensure Blessings of Hope could continue to grow. In response to these challenges, Blessings of Hope implemented Rosterfy’s comprehensive volunteer management software. Lori led the transition to Rosterfy, recognizing its potential to streamline operations and improve the volunteer experience.

“I oversaw the implementation of Rosterfy for Blessings of Hope. It was a really big transition for us. We already had an existing system, but I love that with Rosterfy we have room to grow. We were really reaching the limit of what our previous system could do." -Lori Glick, Administrative Manager, Blessings of Hope

Scaling fast

With Blessings of Hope preparing to open new locations, Rosterfy provides the flexibility to accommodate growth and manage larger volunteer cohorts seamlessly.

“We needed a system that could handle large numbers of volunteers with room for growth, as we’re opening a new location in the next year and expect it could potentially double our need for volunteers." -Lori Glick, Administrative Manager, Blessings of Hope

With a shared vision for progress and enhancement, Blessings of Hope and Rosterfy are aligned in their commitment to facilitating positive change.

“Rosterfy is really oriented towards growth, just like we are. It’s all about making things better. It’s such a relief to no longer be getting notifications that our volunteer scheduling system is nearing max capacity. They’re constantly evolving and updating the platform, which we didn’t have with our previous system.” -Lori Glick, Administrative Manager, Blessings of Hope

Inclusivity in action

Diversity and inclusion plays a significant role in Blessings of Hope's volunteering program strategy. They utilized Rosterfy's unique features to help them accommodate the needs from their volunteer base which includes retirees, individuals from Amish and Mennonite communities, and families with children who wish to volunteer.

Something as simple as being able to create an account without an email address would be a significant challenge for many other volunteer management software providers, but not Rosterfy. Members of the Amish and Mennonite community don't always have access to the internet or smartphones.

"It's important we could create accounts for anyone. Some have internet access but many do not. To accommodate everyone we needed the option for them to call in so we can set up an account for them without an email. Rosterfy allows for that." -Lori Glick, Administrative Manager, Blessings of Hope

Additionally, Blessings of Hope utilizes Rosterfy's group and family volunteering features, the latter allowing parents to create accounts and add their children to volunteer schedules. This functionality is particularly useful for their family-oriented volunteer shifts, enabling families to participate together in meaningful community service.

“We needed something that could accommodate groups. We get a lot of groups, from school groups to church groups to friend groups. We also get a lot of families, so the ability to have a parent create an account and add their kids to the schedule was crucial. We have three shifts a week that are specifically for families, so they can bring even their youngest kids in to help out.” -Lori Glick, Administrative Manager, Blessings of Hope

Rosterfy's mission is to connect communities to causes they care about, so it shouldn't matter what their demographic or individual needs are, it's important to find a way to accommodate them. 

Blessings of Hope ensures inclusivity and accessibility by using Rosterfy and is able to foster a sense of belonging and purpose among a highly diverse volunteer base.

Data driven insights

“The future of volunteering is transparency.” -Lori Glick, Administrative Manager, Blessings of Hope

By providing volunteers with real-time insights into the impact of their efforts, Blessings of Hope fosters a sense of connection and purpose among its volunteer base. This commitment to transparency not only empowers volunteers to see the tangible difference they're making but also aligns with Blessings of Hope's values of accountability and community engagement.

“We make sure that volunteers know where the food they’re sorting is going, who they’re helping. We have a dashboard in Rosterfy that’s updated regularly that shows how many volunteers were here in the last week. It shows them how many ministries got food from us in the last week, how many pounds of food and meals were distributed in the last month. We like to keep those stats in front of volunteers so they can see their contributions are really making an impact. And all that data feeds directly from Rosterfy.” -Lori Glick, Administrative Manager, Blessings of Hope

This transparent approach ensures that volunteers understand the tangible impact of their efforts, empowering them to continue supporting Blessings of Hope's mission with renewed dedication and enthusiasm.

It's not just the volunteers that benefit from knowing the impact of their efforts. The whole team at Blessings of Hope has greater visibility of the difference they are making to people's lives.

Many volunteer programs are turning their attention towards not just improving recruitment but having greater visibility of impact.

If you want to know what you should be measuring in your volunteer program, check out our downloadable guide.

A modern volunteer program

The integration of Rosterfy has revolutionized volunteer management at Blessings of Hope.

“Our old system would often lag on our busy days. That’s not a problem with Rosterfy - you can go in and quickly do whatever you need to. The system we were using seemed very dated - you couldn’t even have multiple tabs open at once, which was very frustrating. The longer we use Rosterfy, we’re going to see even more benefits.” -Lori Glick, Administrative Manager, Blessings of Hope

Volunteers and staff alike praised the system's efficiency and user-friendly interface.

“I use Rosterfy’s software on a daily basis, and it’s a huge improvement to all the things we were doing before. I overheard a volunteer at a recent event tell someone else that the new system is great.” -Sarah Musser, Front Desk Manager, Blessings of Hope

Gone are the days of manual scheduling and cumbersome administrative tasks. Rosterfy's automated systems streamline every aspect of the volunteer program, from recruitment to onboarding, scheduling, and performance tracking. Volunteers can easily sign up for shifts, receive automated reminders, and access relevant information through user-friendly interfaces, all at their fingertips.

“We’ve set up the system so that as soon as a volunteer checks in, a name tag is printed, and that was so helpful. I also set up a custom field where we can flag someone’s account, and if they have that box checked, their confirmed shift status will say ‘Check Notes.’ That way, the volunteer coordinator sees that when they come in. This ensures that important information is easily accessible and reduces the time spent on communication back and forth.” -Lori Glick, Administrative Manager, Blessings of Hope

Conclusion

Looking ahead, Blessings of Hope remains committed to leveraging Rosterfy's capabilities to further enhance volunteer management processes and community engagement efforts. With a shared focus on growth and improvement, Blessings of Hope and Rosterfy continue to ensure that volunteers play a vital role in bringing hope to communities in need.

“I’m still learning all the different things we can do with Rosterfy. I feel like there’s an infinite number of ways that things can be set up, and that’s so exciting going forward.” -Lori Glick, Administrative Manager, Blessings of Hope

About Rosterfy

Rosterfy is used by nonprofits, charities, sporting federations, local governments, and more to better manage their volunteer programs by improving how they can recruit, screen, train, and retain volunteers.

Our market leading technology helps you create an engaging experience throughout the whole lifecycle of your volunteer journey.

Book a call today.