Application for Emerging Opportunity Program 2013

Transcription

1 Application for Emerging Opportunity Program 2013 Submit application to Deadline: 12:00 pm (noon) on Friday, September 6, 2013 LATE APPLICATIONS WILL NOT BE ACCEPTED. Please limit your application and responses to the form and space provided. Any materials submitted in addition to this application form will not be considered in the evaluation of the proposal. If you need assistance with this application or are unclear about how to respond to any questions please contact Nancy Saiz at (608) , Title of Proposal: Tenant Resource Center Efficiencies and Technology Upgrades Amount Requested: 15,450 Is this program still viable if awarded less than requested? Yes No Contact Person Agency or Group: Brenda K. Konkel Tenant Resource Center Address: 1202 Williamson St. Suite 102 Telephone: Is this Group a 501 (C) (3)? Yes or No Yes Incorporated under Chapter 181 Wis. Stats? Yes or No Yes Aldermanic District 6 - Alder Marsha Rummel Name of Fiscal Agent (if Applicable ) Fiscal Agent Contact Person: 1. Emerging Need or Opportunity: (5000 characters) Please describe a) The specific problem or issue the proposal intends to address, b) how it intends to address the issue or problem and c) why it is important to address it now? PROBLEMS: - Over 10,000 people access our website every month & it needs an overhaul - the technology is out of date, we cannot make changes quickly or on computers without the correct software, our social media presence is not coordinated or cohesive, we do not have a data management system connected to our website, we can't do electronic newsletters & quite frankly, our design leaves a lot to be desired. - We desperately need a phone call & management system - we need to work smarter! We know of technologies that save time by automatically managing the 1,000s of calls that we get each year so we can be more efficient & spend more time helping clients. Software can prioritize calls, automatically remove duplicates when people call more than once, automate the phone calling process to eliminate time spent calling people who don't answer, leave automated messages, allow clients to get additional information quickly without talking to a person, allow us to text message our clients & much more. It takes staff 1-2 hrs a day to listen to all the phone messages & record the names, numbers & topics for others to call back. This is time better spent working directly with clients. - We need to upgrade our databases for fundraising, seminars & selling books. Up to 20% of our annual budget can come from these actitivites. If our tools to do this work are not optimal, we waste money to make money. In a time of decreasing funding, we need every penny we can get! - Our computer server for our 12 networked computers is dying. Every 5 years it costs us a few days down (hard to serve clients) & around 2,000 to fix our server & do necessary upgrades. We need to do that before it becomes an emergency again. - Technology exists that will allow us to treat tenant/landlord law like calling a help desk to fix a computer. Programs exist that can help housing counselors access the information they need quickly. Currently our Training Guide is manually updated with links to laws & other sections of the book. There are ways to automate this process. 1

2 - E-books & forms: We need to make our Apartment Management in Wisconsin & Tenants' Rights in Wisconsin books available as e-books & sell other materials online. There is an increasing demand from our clients in this electronic age. Generally speaking, our materials for tenants are free, but selling to libraries, law libraries, landlords and other service providers will generate extra income for us & if we can do it in a way that saves printing costs & other charges, we will make more profit while decreasing the cost to the user. - Other: Automate weekly housing list, phone apps, etc. HOW: Hire a 12.5 hour/week office assistant so the Office Manager can work on the following: - Website: We have found software that will help us manage all of our problems we identified. However, we need the staff time to make the transition to the new site. We estimate it will take an initial hours to create the new site, but intial maintainance and transition of our various data will take additional time. The weekly upkeep on that information will be substantial at first & lessen over time. - Phone call & management system: We have investigated open source (free) versions of this software, but it will take us some time to customize it & train our staff & volunteers to make sure that what we've designed works for us prior to implementation. We have a technology committee of experts in this area that are working on solutions for us but we need staff to work with them to ensure we get the right tool to fit our needs. - Database upgrades: We have struggled the last few years with an overgrown & unmanaged database for fundraising, seminars & book selling. We believe the website software will help us manage much of this, save us hours of time & simultaneously clean up the database. - Computer server upgrade: We need a new computer with a bigger hard drive & faster processing. We also need an upgrade in the software we are using that is 10 years old. - Electronic information management: There is "help desk" software that we are investigating that we believe would work for us. This could also lead to an app for our clients for them to access info. - E-books and forms & Other: We need to investigate what will work best for us as technology continues to evolve. WHY NOW: The combination of the 2% vacancy rate, 10% increase in homelessness & the three sets of law changes are crushing our organization. The combination of the call management software and "help desk" software will save us hrs of work/week & we estimate that at various times of the year, the website will save us 5 hrs/week. The additional fundraising and sales power that we will gain from these technologies will help us continue to support the programs that we have in place & working more efficiently means we can more quickly and reliabily serve our clients instead of doing administrative work. 2. Intended Service Population: (2500 characters) Please describe the intended service population (e.g., where they are located, ages, ethnicities, income ranges, English language proficiency etc.). Renters in Madison: 49.8% of the 99,512 households or 49,557 households (average 2.21 people per household) Paying more than 30% of income towards rent (HUDs definition of affordable): 25,095 households Poverty Rate: 18.4% in the City of Madison, which is over 44,000 individuals (most likely a high percentage of renters) (2010 Census figures) Of the roughly 6,000 clients we collected demographics for in 2012, they broke down as follows:total clients: Ethnicity/Race: 5% Hispanic 0.5% American Indian/Alaskan Native 15% Black 3% Asian 67% White 1% Other 2% Black or African American and White 1% Other Multiple Race 10% No answer Age 2

3 9% % % % % Over 62 Disabilities 20% One or more disabilities 20% Receive SSI/SSDI/Social Security Income Ranges 42% Very Low (,30% AMI) 23% Low (30-50% AMI) 11% Moderate (50-80% AMI) 8% High (over 80% AMI) Spanish speaking clients: roughly 2-5 people a day We can also provide services in Hmong (Hmoob) as well. Additionally, we are seeing an increase in needs of seniors. There are more seniors who are getting renewed after years of living somewhere and they face additional challenges in trying to move. We have also seen an increase in repairs issues that go unresolved. 3. Project Goals: (2500 characters) Please describe the specific goals, objectives and intended impacts of this project. Please indicate how you intend to measure the proposal s outcomes, effectiveness or specific benefits. - Our overall goal is to get current on our technology to enable us to spend more time serving clients and ensure that they get called back more quickly and that we are using tools to ensure they are getting the best quality service possible. We need to work smarter to serve the growing demands in our community more efficiently. - New website design and software which includes electronic newsletter function, coordinates social media and has data management capabilities, and staff trained to use it. - Implement an electronic call and managment system for the agency. - Updated and effcient databases for fundraising, book sales and seminars. - Update computer server - "Help Desk" software to help manage information for volunteers to ensure quality information is being disseminated. - Investigation and implementation where possible of ebooks and forms, apps for clients and tools to make our housing list user friendly for those searching for housing, particularly those without access to computers. 4. Proposed Timeline for Implementation: 3 Activity New website up and running December 1, 2013 Phone call and management system up and running January 1, 2014 New Computer server up and running January 1, 2014 Database conversion and upgrades February 1, 2014 "Help Desk" type software implemented July 1, 2014 Craiglist, Apps, ebooks and other technology upgrades investigated and implemented Estimated Date of Completion December 31, Coordination: (2500 characters) Please describe the level of involvement between your organization and residents, potential participants, service providers, funders, government bodies, or other public or private stakeholders in the development of this proposal and its expected implementation. Again, this is an internal efficiencies matter for our organization which will improve all of our services to our thousands of clients. We have several tech saavy individuals on our board, including computer programmers and first adopters of

4 new technology. We believe that if the technology committee of the Board of Directors can work with our Office Manager and Executive Director, who are also fairly tech saavy, these new technologies will save us substantial time in the long run. We can call on mutliple volunteers to assist us in these endeavors who are experts in these areas and appreciate the importance of smooth and efficient technology to providing quality human services. If this project is focused on a particular geographic area: Have you discussed your application with the Alderperson(s) for the district(s) that will be most directly affected by your proposal? Yes No 6. Funding: (500 characters each) a) What other funding have you sought and/or received to support this project? Fundraising and volunteer recruitment for professional "in kind" assistance for various technology upgrades and researching and modifying open source (free) software. b) Do you anticipate future funding needs from City sources associated with this proposal? Please describe. No, hopefully this will help relieve the pressure we are currently under and permanently improve our delivery of services. 7. Budget: Summarize your project budget by estimated costs, revenue, and fund source. A. Personnel Costs BUDGET EXPENDITURES TOTAL PROJECT COSTS AMOUNT OF CITY REQUESTED AMOUNT OF NON-CITY REVENUES 1. Salaries/Wages (show detail below) 8,450 8,450 immeasurable 2. Fringe Benefits and Payroll Taxes 1,000 1,000 B. Program Costs 1. Program supplies and equipment 6,000 6, Office Supplies 3. Transportation 4. Other (explain) C. Space Costs 5. Rent/Utilities/Telephone 6. Other (explain): D. TOTAL (A + B + C) 15,450 15,450 immeasurable SOURCE OF NON-City FUNDED PORTION In-kind volunteer expertise Explanation of Other expenses: (500 characters) 8. Personnel Chart: 4 Title of Staff Position F.T.E.* Proposed Hourly Wage*

5 Title of Staff Position F.T.E.* Proposed Hourly Wage* Office Assistant.3 13 TOTAL *FTE = Full Time Equivalent (1.00,.75,.50, etc.) 2080 hours = 1.00 FTE *Note: All employees involved in programs receiving City of Madison funds must be paid the established Living Wage as required under City of Madison Ordinance The Madison Living Wage for 2013 is per hour. Effective January 1, 2014 December 31, 2014, the Living Wage will rise to per hour. 5

6 -SIGNATURE PAGE- 1. Affirmative Action: If funded, applicant hereby agrees to comply with City of Madison Ordinance and file either an exemption or an Affirmative Action Plan with the Department of Civil Rights. A model Affirmative Action Plan and instructions are available at 2. Living Wage Ordinance: All employees involved in programs supported by City of Madison funds must be paid the established Living Wage as required under City of Madison Ordinance The Madison Living Wage for 2013 is per hour. Effective January 1, 2014 through December 31, 2014, the Living Wage will rise to per hour. For more information on Living Wage requirements, go to 3. City of Madison Contracts: If funded, applicant agrees to comply with all applicable local, State and Federal provisions. A sample contract that includes standard provisions may be obtained by contacting the Community Development Division at (608) If funded, the City of Madison reserves the right to negotiate the final terms of a contract with the selected agency. 4. Signature: Enter Name: Brenda K. Konkel By entering your initials in the box, bkk You are electronically signing your name and agreeing to the terms above. Date: 9/5/2013 6