About Austin Public Health
Austin Public Health (APH) is dedicated to preventing disease, promoting health, and protecting the well-being of all Austin residents. To further this mission, APH has engaged in a strategic partnership with Catchafire, driven by a need for capacity building identified in a Harvard Business School study on Austin nonprofits. APH, through its city government work, supports organizations across various programming areas. Recognizing a strong desire within these organizations for enhanced capacity, APH turned to Catchafire to leverage their expertise in connecting local agencies with skilled volunteers.
About the partnership
Austin Public Health's mission to make Austin a healthier and more equitable city aligns perfectly with Catchafire's goal to empower nonprofits through access to skilled volunteering. Catchafire provides capacity-building services by facilitating connections between nonprofits and volunteers skilled in areas such as human resources, data analytics, communications, and web development. The platform also offers professional development resources for leaders including webinars, articles, and networking opportunities. This partnership addresses the capacity-building needs of local agencies, particularly those constrained by budget or staff limitations, by offering equitable access to talent and resources. Catchafire’s comprehensive data collection on user engagement enables APH to better assess and respond to the timely needs of these agencies.
The impact
The partnership between APH and Catchafire has yielded substantial returns over the past three years. With a return on investment (ROI) of 1.55, the collaboration has generated an impact of $477,649 in value through volunteer contributions. This figure represents the immense value of skilled professional time and expertise dedicated to various projects, meeting the needs of local agencies in areas such as translation, event management, and IT.
A total of 2,105 volunteer hours have been donated, allowing health agencies and their staff to concentrate more effectively on addressing the community's health needs. The primary beneficiaries of these efforts are communities such as low-income families, women and girls, and children and youth. The successful outcomes of this partnership underscore the powerful effects of community collaboration in supporting long-term, positive health outcomes.
The experience has been excellent. Catchafire's system of volunteer connection is easy to set up and use - it takes away many of the barriers we experience in connecting with and working with volunteers, saving us time and connecting us with eager volunteers.
We are grateful to have this resource provided to us by Austin Public Health and have several translation projects among others we plan to post in the coming weeks. Our marketing efforts directly impact our fundraising, which supports our program work.
Assistant Director of Communications and Strategic Partnerships
Literacy Coalition of Central Texas
Nonprofit spotlight: American Gateways
American Gateways’ mission is to champion the dignity and human rights of immigrants, refugees, and survivors of persecution, torture, conflict, and human trafficking through exceptional immigration legal services at no or low cost, education, and advocacy.
With 1,274 hours donated by volunteers on Catchafire, staff can focus on their mission and provide immigration legal services to low-income individuals and families throughout their community.
Catchafire has been a huge help to our organization with translations. For example, there was a volunteer from Catchafire that assisted us with translating a PowerPoint from English to Arabic to help educate the Arabic community.
Volunteer and Intern Coordinator
With projects like these that save nonprofit staff considerable time and provide quality deliverables, American Gateways is able to expand their reach to support more individuals with their immigration and legal needs.
Partner with Catchafire
Interested in learning how Catchafire can elevate your organization's impact and support your community's health outcomes? Request a demo below or speak to our team today to explore how partnering with Catchafire can empower your organization and contribute to healthier, more equitable communities.