Situation
The waitlist for Amethyst Place has grown significantly, as families stay an average of two years to gain the stability needed for long-term success. To ensure no one is left without care, plans were implemented by the organization to prioritize expansion.
Amethyst Place purchased 1.38 extra acres of land next to their current campus with plans to build 37 additional housing units — essentially doubling the organization’s capacity. To achieve this goal, they needed to raise $15.4 million.
With a growing number of beneficiaries, it became crucial to ensure that data could be easily and visually accessible to an increased number of donors. Backing up their program with solid statistics would help attract city, state and private beneficiaries.
Additionally, prior to 2020, Amethyst Place staff primarily used Excel spreadsheets to track operations, and individual therapists managed their own notetaking. Staff wanted an easy solution that would keep sensitive data secure and HIPAA-compliant while providing ample room for collecting necessary information.
Solution
Amethyst Place partnered with Community CareLink (CCL) in 2019, a case management company that specializes in software solutions, and implemented in 2020.
The ability to easily pull data and custom reports amplified Amethyst Place’s need for new buildings to potential donors, offering public reassurance that the organization meets its goals. With CCL, staff can record and track program and recovery processes, which streamlines grant writing and the creation of marketing materials. Using the self-sufficiency questionnaire that is built into the Community CareLink software Amethyst Place can address and evaluate the social determinants of health within their program.
Conjoined with a social media campaign, #GrowAP, the robust reporting capabilities of the CCL data management system tackled the ambition of raising a total of $15.4 million for 25 apartments, 12 townhomes, and an expansive green space.
“It was a very collaborative process. We had implementation team meetings with Community CareLink and our clinical team all leading up to the launch and then after. They very much customized it for what we were looking for,” said Sarah Knopf-Amelung, Director of Strategy and Growth at Amethyst Place.
"62% of the funders that have contributed to the capital campaign are first-time Amethyst Place donors, which suggests that we have been able to tell a richer story about our impact to give them the confidence and motivation to invest in our expansion."
-Sarah Knopf-Amelung, Director of Strategy and Growth at Amethyst Place.
Results
The CCL system allowed Amethyst Place to start thinking bigger about what data they want to track, how they want to evaluate their program, and the significance of the impact they show to funders and to the community. It provides an illuminating picture of the long-term care given through the organization and reveals the depth of their services that transforms throughout a family’s stay.
Through CCL’s built-in self-sufficiency questionnaire tool that tracks change every six months, donors now see well-documented progress and real-life metrics, allowing them to truly understand the impactful transformation taking place before them.
The current campus offers powerful support to early family arrivals, with the goal of graduating them after reaching stability to the new facility located just one block away. The space is designed for increased independence, with a safety net.
“We want them to stay longer so that they can really be in a stable position when they leave. Going to college, doing vocational training and certification, getting a better job that is beyond livable wages so they’re not paycheck to paycheck — those are the goals of why we want them to stay longer.”
Amethyst Place soared to impressive heights over the past three years — as a result of implementing CCL’s electronic health record software. CCL enabled them not only to stay compliant with protected health information regulations but to better coordinate care amongst a growing team of 16 employees.
In May 2023, the organization will cement this progress by breaking ground on the new campus — a testament that when good solutions are backed up with strong ambitions, anything is possible.
"The funding community has become increasingly data-driven and focused on investing in true impact. By adopting CCL in 2020, we have been able to better demonstrate our impact on Kansas City families and attract investment from new major foundations and government sources."
-Sarah Knopf-Amelung, Director of Strategy and Growth at Amethyst Place.