When you start an association, it’s hard to imagine where it will end up years later. It is all the more difficult to predict its needs in terms of data management (children, parents, activities, payments, donors, etc.).
After 18 years of its establishment and a wide range of activities, Negba found itself with a huge amount of data, scattered in different files and managed by several people. “It became difficult to quickly and efficiently get an overview of the situation,” says Eliav Geissman, CEO of the association, “a simple request for data analysis required contacting several people and took too much time. The information available to us was not always up to date. We needed to have a central platform that would provide reliable data in real time and be easy to use.”
Establishing such a project is not an easy task for an association dealing in the social field. Therefore, when we heard that Code for Israel organization published a call to help build an IT system for several associations, we submitted an application.
Says Ary Brami, Operations and IT Manager at Negba: “Establishing a system of this type requires time and advanced technical knowledge, which Negba does not have. Code Israel’s offer to build a system with high-tech volunteers was perfect for us.”
Fortunately, we won the call. Gila Ogorski, director of community and operations at Code for Israel: “Negba’s candidacy was received very positively. Negba is an example of an association that constantly seeks to grow and improve the way it operates. They are not afraid to integrate new technologies in their work.”
Eliav and Ary presented the project for the first time to the volunteers, graduates of Atidim program on March 1, 2023. They immediately responded to the challenge: “As former graduates, it was important for us to be able to help an association like Negba that supports children from the periphery,” says Hila Schwartz, a volunteer, who is responsible for the project, “It’s a subject that is close to our hearts.”
The first task was to find the appropriate IT solution:
- Easily accessible
- Pleasant to use
- Reliable
- Safe
- Reasonable budget
After examining several solutions, the team decided to use Monday.com: “The company offers a discounted price to non-profit organizations and provides technical advice. And most importantly – the software is flexible and easy to use so that we can adapt it perfectly to all our needs. The ease of use ensures that all staff members are happy to work with it.” Ary says.
After hard work for many hours by the volunteers, in cooperation with Ari, the operations and IT manager, a system suitable for our needs was built, and we imported into it all the data that was stored in the different files of Negba. With increased effort, we were able to activate the system already at the beginning of the current school year (2023-2024)!! The system currently includes the personal data of each child, attendance, monitoring of payments, management of volunteers, classes, meals order, donors, contact with alumni and more. And everything is updated on a daily basis! The entire Negba team quickly realized the benefit of such a comprehensive system for their work and enter their share of the data in real time.
Gila from Code for Israel: “We are happy to see that the system we implemented together extends to the entire work of the association, optimizes processes, makes it possible to get a real-time situational picture and continue to develop and improve.”
The system proved its importance following October 7. Just two days after the Hamas attack, while the war raged and the schools were closed, Negba’s teams were active, and used it for daily monitoring of personal conversations with each child and participation in remote activities for each group. This way, we were sure not to leave anyone behind.
Eliav concludes: “In less than a year, we have completely changed the way we work and communicate. This allows us to save time and work as best and accurate as possible for each and every child. The collaboration with Code for Israel and the alumni of Atidim, with technical support from Monday.com, proves how much it is possible to change things for the better with the help of a spirit of volunteerism, the ability to create collaborations, and most importantly – goodwill!
This project was financially supported by the Kim family of South Korea, friend of Negba for several years. A big thank you to them.
