Our Upcoming Webinars We have several webinars in May. Intuition & Rehab Management Webinar: Tuesday, May 10th, at 2:00pm EST. Intuition & Rehab Management Webinar: Thursday, May 25th, at 11:00am EST. Table of Contents Customer Spotlight 1 Vertex Highlight 1 What’s New? 1 Customer Spotlight (Cont.) 2 How to Get More Donations 2 Happy Birthday! 2 Tips & Tricks 2 More Donations (Cont.) 3 Social Media Tips 3 AbilityFirst on NBC 4 Our Customer Spotlight - KSI This month, we spoke with Brenda Ruth- erford, the IT Director at Kent-Sussex Industries in Delaware, about her work at their social service vocational rehabilita- tion organization. Vertex Systems: Tell us about yourself Brenda: I’m married, have 2 children, and have lived in Dover, Delaware since 1966 but I am originally from Easton, PA. I am working on my twentieth year and am so glad that I took the opportunity to work- with such wonderful individuals VS: Tell us about KSI. Brenda: The mission of KSI is to assist people with dis- abilities in the pursuit of their potential in employment and meaningful participation in their communities. We provide employment opportunities in the community and in our Milford facility. We also provide Supported Employment and Competitive Placement services. And we provide Vocational Educational opportunities (Cont. on Page 2) What Sharmean Heffernan, of Lane Specialized Services, said after a recent webinar: “Our jaws are on the floor!” What’s New at Vertex? There are been several new addi- tions to the Vertex Systems team. We recently added a new software developer, Craig McKeachie, and a new director of marketing, Tim Clark. Both have already made a big impact on our products and our company. We recently added a new blog to our website - it’s called The So- cialPath - and you can subscribe to receive regular updates by email. Also, we’re on Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn. You can click on our social media icons on the website to follow us online! Spring 2011 KSI is located in Milford, Delaware, with 102 fulltime staff and over 300 participants.
Transcript
Our Upcoming Webinars We have several webinars in May.
Intuition & Rehab Management Webinar: Tuesday, May 10th, at 2:00pm EST.
Intuition & Rehab Management Webinar: Thursday, May 25th, at 11:00am EST.
Table of Contents
Customer Spotlight 1Vertex Highlight 1What’s New? 1Customer Spotlight (Cont.) 2How to Get More Donations 2Happy Birthday! 2Tips & Tricks 2More Donations (Cont.) 3Social Media Tips 3AbilityFirst on NBC 4
Our Customer Spotlight - KSI This month, we spoke with Brenda Ruth-erford, the IT Director at Kent-Sussex Industries in Delaware, about her work at their social service vocational rehabilita-tion organization.
Vertex Systems: Tell us about yourself Brenda: I’m married, have 2 children, and have lived in Dover, Delaware since 1966 but I am originally from Easton, PA.
I am working on my twentieth year and am so glad that I took the opportunity to work-with such wonderful individuals
VS: Tell us about KSI. Brenda: The mission of KSI is to assist people with dis-abilities in the pursuit of their potential in employment and meaningful participation in their communities. We provide employment opportunities in the community and in our Milford facility. We also provide Supported Employment and Competitive Placement services. And we provide Vocational Educational opportunities (Cont. on Page 2)
What Sharmean Heffernan, of Lane Specialized Services, said after a recent webinar: “Our jaws are on the floor!”
What’s New at Vertex? There are been several new addi-tions to the Vertex Systems team. We recently added a new software developer, Craig McKeachie, and a new director of marketing, Tim Clark. Both have already made a big impact on our products and our company.
We recently added a new blog to our website - it’s called The So-cialPath - and you can subscribe to receive regular updates by email.
Also, we’re on Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn. You can click on our social media icons on the website to follow us online!
Spring 2011
KSI is located in Milford, Delaware, with 102 fulltime staff and over 300 participants.
Our Customer Spotlight (cont.)
such as Community Trips and Community volunteer trips. We currently have 102 full-time staff, 259 active participants and 55 casual production workers.
VS: The most amazing part of your day? Brenda: It’s the first thing in the morning, seeing the smiling faces on the participants as they walk through the door and get ready for their daily adventure. But I cannot forget to mention pay days. The smiles when the supervisors hand the participants their pay checks is out of this world. You would think you had just handed them the world.
VS: The worst part of your day? Brenda: Hearing the alarm go off at 5:30 a.m.!
VS: What about the future of your organization? Brenda: Even though there have been a lot of cut backs in State and Federal funding, KSI’s future looks pretty stable with plenty of growth potential. It seems as though much of the employment opportunities in our area are putting a lot of focus on hiring individuals with disabilities. Our in-house facility production work has been increasing every week. Our Supported Employment program has also seen an increase in our participants finding stable job opportunities out in the community. (Read more in our “Customer Spotlight” on the site)
How To Get More Donations Many of you have your own website. And many depend on donations to further your vision and mission. Some might have to close their doors without these gifts and donations and fund-raising events.
We have a tip on how to use your site to generate even more donations. Near-ly everyone has an icon or button that says “Donate Now”. Or “Contribute”. A few get more creative using phrases like “Get Involved” or “Here’s How to Help” as a navigation tab or link that leads potential donors to mail in a check.
One trick that marketers and advertisers have always used is to lure people in with the unknown. Not to deceive but to tanta-lize. To layer a product or service in mys-tery. And to provide an emotional release.
Happy Birthday! This year, Vertex Systems turns
30 years old! We’ve been help-
ing social service agencies better
serve people with disabilities with
our case management, financial,
service billing, and client payroll
solutions for three decades now.
We have over 400 installations
in over 35 states and continue to
add new customers every week.
Happy Birthday and congratula-
tions to our founder and presi-
dent, Sanford Chandler!
Tips and Tricks For our Vertex Financial Man-ager users - Did you know that
Would you like to see what’s behind Door Number Three?
Remember those emotional coffee TV ads and long distance phone commercials? They pulled you in because you wanted to know more and to see a happy ending. You want-ed to laugh, to cry, to feel a bit more human.
Give your website visitors those same feelings.
Imagine replacing your Donate Now but-ton or the “Here’s How You Can Help” link with this:
“This Story Will Make You Cry”
(Continued on Page 3)
“Take visitors to a web page that provides a heartwarming story about one of your par-ticipants and how your organization made a difference. At the end of this emotional tale, explain that more sto-ries like the can happen - but they must make a donation.”
Social Media Should your agency be on Face-
book? Twitter? Writing a blog?
Millions are using social media
- these sites are the #1 online
destination for most Americans
(who now spend an average 20
min. a day on Facebook.)
But, if you decide to join in, make
sure you do the following:
— Put someone responsible,
knowledgable, and mature in
charge of your social content
— Create a guideline for what is
and is not acceptable to publish
about your agency
— Contribute often - don’t create
an account and abandon it or use
it only twice a year
— Be a part of the conversation
by asking and answering ques-
tions, conducting surveys, shar-
ing best practices and ideas, and
providing links to great stories on
other websites
— Don’t expect too much. Just
because you set them up doesn’t
mean you’ll automatically get
donations
— The number of fans or friends
is not as important as it is to have
a quality two-way interaction with
stakeholders. This can result in
more contributions, volunteers,
well-attended events and more.
How to Get More Donations
(Cont. from Pg. 2) And this will take visitors to a web page that provides a heartwarming story about one of your participants and how your organiza-tion made a difference. At the end of this emotional tale, explain to visitors that more stories like this one can happen – but they must make a donation.
What tales can your agency spin? What emotional strings can you pull? What emotional outlet can you provide on your site to help more people to want to donate to your cause? It takes some ef-
fort to think of these things and be creative - but imagine what the payoff will be.
Another issue many sites have is they ask for a donation but don’t really help make it easy for their visitors.
Don’t simply provide an address where a check can be mailed. Even if someone were ready to donate, how likely is it they’ll follow through that minute - on their computer, ,looking at your website? Will they go grab their checkbook, write out the check, get an envelope, write down your address, lick a stamp, walk out to their car and drive it to the mailbox? No.
Give your website visitors a choice. They want multiple options. They may need a mailing address, but also give them a phone number, a link to donate online, and an email address. Let them know all the ways they can help - giving money, a car, office supplies, land, etc.
Providing options will loosen those purse strings and help you get what you need to make a difference for those you serve.
Vertex Systems - Upcoming Conferences
May 2011
Financial Managers Association of NY - May 6, Cooperstown, NY
June 2011
Ancor - June 5-8, National Harbor, MD
If you are attending these conferences and you get a chance, stop by our booth to say hi. And if you can’t make it, be sure to sign up for one of our webinars to see new products that can help your agency be more efficient and effective.
Vertex provides a complete enterprise-wide information so-lution that supports the Community Rehabilitation industry in both financial and program operations. We take pride in offering our customers software that 1) is easy to use, 2) simplifies day-to-day activities, and 3) provides users at all levels with the information, outcomes, and analysis required to better serve all stakeholders. We deal with the technology so you can focus on your business issues.
440 Polaris Parkway, Suite 150
Westerville, Ohio 43082-6999
“Our group was very engaged and encouraged everyone to join in the singing. There was a lot of singing, and it turned into a lot of dancing, too!” - Carolyn Aguayo
AbilityFirst on NBC’s “The Sing Off”!
Congratulations to AbilityFirst, one of our customers located in California! They were featured in the live finale episode of NBC’s “The Sing Off” back in December. “The Sing-Off” production team visited the adult program at the Long Beach Center, one of 24 AbilityFirst locations in Southern California, to film a segment tied to one of the show’s four finalist a cappella groups.Finalists Jerry Lawson and the Talk of the Town sang a few songs with their participants. And then the singing turned to dancing! “They visited the adults with special needs program,” said Carolyn Aguayo, AbilityFirst’s director of communications.
“They worked with the adults on ceramic activities, decorating holiday ornaments, and the adults presented ornaments to the singers as gifts.” The a cappella group also performed for the adults in the program, staff and friends and family of the center.
“They sang holiday songs and a couple of pop songs,” said Aguayo. “Our group was very engaged and encouraged everyone to join in the singing.” AbilityFirst operates facilities in the greater Long Beach area for people of all ages with physical and developmental disabilities, including autism, cerebral palsy, epilepsy and Down syndrome.
