In the heart of every nonprofit and public agency beats an unyielding commitment to the organization’s mission—a commitment often hampered by the relentless challenges posed by outdated data systems. As frontline workers dedicate themselves to their mission-critical work, the importance of a robust and flexible software solution becomes evident. Social Solutions’ Apricot solution steps onto this stage as a transformative force, bringing to the forefront the power of controlling data, shaping stories, and securing funding. In the following blog, we’ll uncover the flexible features that allow yo ..read more

So far in 2023, the team at Social Solutions, which is part of Bonterra, has been hard at work bringing you features we know you’ve been anticipating. To name a few: Time-Based Alerts and Smart Fields were released in the first half of 2023. We strengthened our case management foundations with upgrades to Penelope’s billing service, improvements to Apricot’s accessibility, and several technical upgrades throughout the year. We also built long-term accelerators with an ETO Results Reporting Engine upgrade and enhanced usability, especially when working with high volumes of participants. An ..read more

Last year, we shared the exciting news that Social Solutions became Bonterra. Bonterra is the leading social good software company that brings together innovative technology, unmatched expertise, and strategic partnerships from CyberGrants, EveryAction, Network for Good, Social Solutions, and their respective entities, with a purpose to power those who power social impact.    One of the reasons Social Solutions was selected to join Bonterra is its powerful origin story. Twenty years ago, Steve Butz was working in Baltimore as a social worker. He had a strong passion for helping ..read more

Everyone deserves a place they can call home. It’s why you and your staff work so hard to lift your participants out of the darkest moments of their lives and set them on a path to independence and stability.   If you’re helping put a roof over heads, you are also thinking about the long-term needs: the programs and services that will lead your participants to self-sufficiency. On top of basic reporting and security needs, you need a way to elevate your services to address the increasing demand; a system that allows you to partner with other organizations and programs; and the abilit ..read more

Some of the biggest school districts in the United States have their social workers and advocates working out of disjointed documents and spreadsheets, resulting in siloed data on their student population and their families.   Operating with unified and consistent data is important for school districts looking to free up their staff’s workload and create visibility across campuses and programs, thereby enhancing services for students. A central, consistent place for data also makes reporting a breeze.   Once your school district has landed on a case management solution like ..read more

Social Solutions is excited to announce the arrival of a highly anticipated feature for Apricot 360 customers: Time-Based Alerts!  Our new Time-Based Alerts feature allows nonprofit organizations and government agencies to create alerts for events bound in time. This means organizations are now able to schedule triggers to notify staff about key deadlines, follow ups, and other time-based milestones, enabling the automation to free up even more time and confidence in a worker’s day.   For example, if staff want to ensure they can intervene proactively to support a participant’s ..read more

In recent years, K-12 students’ needs have expanded and intensified, and school districts across the United States are looking for ways to better support them. Legislators have responded to these needs with federal and statewide funding such as the 2022 Bipartisan Safer Communities Act, which supports states in providing mental health resources to students in school settings.   “The school has become the hub, the access point, for students and family members to connect to the resources they need to thrive,” says Tre Cabrera, a professional urban and regional planner with a 16-year ca ..read more

October 19, 2022 Estimates suggest that up to 75% of nonprofit leaders plan to leave their positions in the next five to 10 years. And unless there are some good systems in place, operations at an organization can begin to break down when an executive director or CEO leaves. However, according to BoardSource, only 27% of nonprofits have a documented plan for the succession of the executive director or CEO.  At A Place Called Home (APCH), a nonprofit that serves Los Angeles youth, leadership and staff members knew for several months that their CEO of 13 years was resigning. In early 2022 ..read more

October 13, 2022 The Arab-American Family Support Center (AAFSC) recently joined Social Solutions in a webinar hosted by Chronicle of Philanthropy to explain how our Apricot 360 software has revolutionized data at the organization, allowing the New York City nonprofit to enhance reporting and thereby increase its impact.   Let’s dive into the specifics and discover how your organization can achieve similar results. Improving Data Management with a Data-Driven Culture  Before implementing Apricot 360 two years ago, Maia Dillane, director of research and evaluation at AAFSC, said ..read more

October 12, 2022 From isolated incidents between students to mass shootings, violence in schools seems to be a constant in news headlines. The statistics and anecdotes surrounding on-campus violence have many school leaders and parents alike wondering how they can keep their school from becoming the latest headline.  According to The Washington Post, a new federal report shows that school shootings rose to the highest number in 20 years after the 2020-21 school year. That report from the National Center for Education Statistics stated there were 93 incidents with casualties at public and ..read more