Case Studies
BOYS & GIRLS CLUBS OF CANADA
Boys and Girls Clubs of Canada is a leading charitable organization providing programs that support the healthy physical, educational and social development of 200,000 children, youth and their families each year.
In community locations across Canada, Clubs offer access to opportunities, after-school and at other times when children are not in school, to develop healthy behaviours, academic success and technology learning, positive relationships and life and leadership skills. Many Clubs also provide nutritious snacks and meals, emergency shelter, family support programs and other support to children, youth and families at risk. Boys and Girls Clubs have been helping young Canadians to discover, develop and achieve their potential, for over 100 years.
Their Challenge, Our Opportunity
The Boys and Girls Clubs of Canada is a federation of 1040 clubs serving more than 700 locations. Their central office, in Markham, Ontario, houses their servers and in 2007 their IT requirements were supported by only one part-time staff. The organization began to feel the strain of an inconsistent IT infrastructure. At the same time the organization began planning for the integration of its regional offices and grow its staff complement from fifteen to thirty-two including the provision of remote access for telework. With a widespread network of offices to manage, the Boys and Girls Clubs of Canada needed a way to stabilize their IT environment.
The national office serves its membership through a range of services and these services began to expand to include fundraising, government relations, professional standards monitoring, brand and image as well as media relations support. As the organization struggled to manage with minimal IT support, a more pressing need to address larger-scale IT tasks began to surface. Management identified several issues that required attention, including building and consolidating their databases and redevelopment of the members website and public site. They realized that their part-time staff lacked the knowledge and experience to handle these projects, and given the short-term nature of their needs, hiring a full-time staff would have overshot the mark.
The Solution
The Boys and Girls Clubs of Canada were specifically looking for a company with the resources to serve as an outsourced IT department, and the experience to manage IT projects. While their problem was twofold, the solution was not. Dynamix had the capabilities to do both.
Dynamix structured their network so that we became responsible for all aspects of their IT system. We created a nationwide gateway so that any individual working out of any one of their locations would have consistent access to their data, which was centralized at their main office. Implementing this national access system stabilized their IT environment and created uniformity for the organization.
Establishing a reliable IT structure solved only one of their problems. The Boys and Girls Clubs of Canada still had several tasks to undertake, and they needed Dynamix's help. We met with management, not as their IT support, but as experienced project managers with the ability to delegate and manage any IT-related task. Together we identified and prioritized their projects, and started by focusing on the selection, procurement and implementation of a new contact management system. Our professionals assisted management to hire and negotiate with the right consultants for the job. We helped guide the process to completion and then tasked ourselves with focusing on consolidating their databases. At the same time, the web service supporting the old website proved unstable, and Dynamix staff filled the void with a part-time webmaster. We are working with BGCC today to help select a web developer for the new portals by drafting an RFP, attending pitch meetings, and identifying the crossover between the now install CRM and the new web requirements.
The Results
The Boys and Girls Clubs of Canada gained the security and peace of mind that only comes with having a reliable virtual IT department.
They also gained the Dynamix advantage of having expert project managers. Management appreciated the quality of our experts, who were available to educate and advise at every step.
"I rely on the senior expertise at Dynamix to help sort through the endless maze of IT choices that face any growing concern. I am reluctant to hire an IT manager because I do not want to trade Dynamix expertise for less knowledgeable staff," says Susan Bower, VP Business Operations at Boys and Girls Clubs of Canada.
As with most growing companies, IT projects and tasks can pop up at any point, but having a Dynamix consultant on board allowed the Boys and Girls Clubs of Canada to stay a step ahead. We kept their projects on point, on time and within budget.
Ongoing Benefits
Today, the Boys and Girls Clubs of Canada have consolidated database and distributed network – two solutions that lend strength to the organization's overall functioning.
Since entrusting Dynamix with the responsibility of overseeing its IT needs, we have served as problem-solvers and advisors. The Boys and Girls Clubs of Canada rely on our input and look to us to explain the ins-and-outs of the IT world.
Allowing us to handle their IT needs and manage projects, enables their employees and volunteers to worry less about the stability of the organization, and focus more on the people they reach. And we take big pride in the small role we play in helping them do just that.
