Focusing Resources On Community Programs

YMCA of the USA's Technology Resource Group (TRG) provides resources and consulting related to general technology to the 974 YMCA associations that run the nation's 2,575 local Y program locations. Each YMCA Association chooses and manages its technology autonomously.

While TRG staff generally knew what technology was necessary for a local YMCA's operations, they had no specific information on what technology each local office used, or what unique needs or inefficiencies existed that technology could help address.

At the same time, the local program locations, some without IT directors or dedicated IT staff, found that assessing and articulating their technology needs was a challenging and time-consuming process. They needed a way to collect accurate information quickly, freeing up their time to focus on service delivery in their communities.

TRG's question: How can we gather the necessary information to assist hundreds of diverse, remote locations and provide meaningful technology recommendations, while also empowering each YMCA to better understand and manage its own technology?

Steve Heye, a Technology Specialty Consultant for YMCA of the USA turned to NPower's online technology planning tool, TechAtlas. With the TechAtlas Partner tools, TRG customized the assessments, planning and maintenance recommendations specifically for local YMCA associations.

To begin the process a small group of Ys attended an in-person workshop where an NPower trainer introduced the TechAtlas tools and provided staff with the foundational planning skills they needed to proceed. While capturing key technology information, TechAtlas educated Y staff on the importance of often overlooked technology details like firewalls, back-ups, and quality web sites.

First, YMCA of the USA's Technology Resource Group is now able to offer a tool to YMCAs to assist them in meeting their specific needs, while being more strategic about organization-wide technology and where to focus their resources.

In addition, local Ys now have an online tool that helps even non-technical staff to quickly assess their current environment and needs, and be more efficient with the time and money they spend on technology.

As Steve explains about the new environment at one local Y, "The board could let go of things like approving every small decision on what technology to buy, and focus on the bigger things that really matter. Now the board can make one decision (to approve a strategy to replace old machines throughout the year) rather than having to approve each replacement one at a time. As a result, the board is now able to focus their energy on expanding their efforts working in the community, not working on technology."