Mediation Works, based in Medford, Oregon, teaches conflict resolution skills and offers mediation services. Mediation Works supports individuals and organizations to help them resolve differences peacefully, building understanding and respect within families, organizations and communities in Southern Oregon.

netCorps’ relationship with Mediation Works began in the Fall of 2003. Picture a situation where everything is much harder than it needs to be and the technology in use is only making things worse. Computers weren’t networked. Users ran between machines to find information. Each computer ran different versions of software, so sharing documents was difficult. Because information was spread around it was impossible to back up. The whole office shared one email account so the office manager printed everyone’s emails and put them on their desks. The donated phone system was not fully functional. Plus there was only one voicemail box for the entire organization so no one could easily get messages. There was no database of constituents. Instead, each person had their own Excel sheet on their own computer with their own contacts. It was a situation generously described as “frustrating”.

Fortunately, Mediation Works’ Executive Director took these challenges and turned them in to an opportunity to think long-term about the strengths, health and goals of the organization. Fast forward four years and Mediation Works is an organization with tools and infrastructure that have helped grow fundraising and programs, encouraged staff retention, increased efficiency and let staff focus on their work rather than struggle to get their work done.

But that is jumping too far ahead. The starting point was a netCorps technology assessment.  Jenny Council had just started providing netCorps’ services in a new Southern Oregon program.  Mediation Works was one of her first clients.  “The technology assessment process,” explains Jenny “is a real opportunity for nonprofits to think big, to articulate their administrative, financial and programmatic goals and design a technology plan that will move them forward towards those goals … and of course also to vent about their awful computers.”

The assessment is done using individual staff interviews, inventory of the organization’s hardware, software, and skills; and analyzing current information management systems, strategic plans, programs and goals.

From this information we craft a detailed technology assessment report that outlines specific technology projects that could help the organization meet its strategic goals. For Mediation Works this meant:

-          improved efficiency through upgraded, networked and standardized computers;

-          improved communication made possible by a better phone system, centralizing electronic data and setting up email for all staff;

-          increased fundraising with the help of a central donor database system designed for expansion down the road;

-          improved reliability of infrastructure through regular backups, more control over what sort of technology donations the organization accepted and the adoption of a proactive approach to computer upgrades and replacements.

The outcomes have been a doubling in fundraising from events, the development of a workplace-giving campaign that has grown into $28,000 in annual income, better marketing of programs, enhanced communication with the Board, improved efficiency (and decreased frustration!) of staff and in infrastructure with the capacity to support Mediation Works’ impressive growth of programs and increased impact on the local community.

All because of improvements in their technology systems? Of course not, but, explains Mary Miller, Mediation Works’ Executive Director, “this is what we’ve been able to do so far with the right infrastructure, the right tools and the right support. There is no way we could have done the fundraising work with the Board without this new database. It supports our annual event, our volunteer management and a lot more.” And, according to Mary, what has made their investments around technology over the last three years has a lot to do with…vision. “It’s not about just bringing in any tech consultant and pointing at a computer that isn’t working and saying ‘fix it.’ It’s about having a consultant with vision, one who really understands our vision for our organization, who understands our culture, our language, our funding needs, our structures—who understands nonprofits. And it’s about having a consultant who has the breadth of hardware and software skills to evaluation technology needs in the context of our organization.”

Jenny is proud of all that Mediation Works has accomplished in the last few years, and the way in which they embraced and moved forward with the technology plan piece by piece. “Once nonprofits see that investing in systems really can provide a concrete pay back, that it helps them reach their goals, it is hard to stop wanting to make that investment. Mediation Works is now ready to take the next step in their development database and their communication technology to help with education, marketing and fundraising. Keeping Mediation Works’ vision at the center of what can sometimes be an otherwise dry technology planning process is key to our approach. It is that vision that informs our work and makes their success possible.”