26 Jun
Case Studies – KEDC
For nonprofit organizations dedicated to supporting education systems – such as providing assistance to direct service providers, training professionals, creating and analyzing data, connecting data and programming to policy – two primary strategies stand out: events and data.
Events serve multiple purposes for these organizations. They provide opportunities for training, community building, stakeholder engagement, knowledge and capacity building, and more. And on the other hand, data is often the foundation upon which these organizations develop strategies, generate insights, and demonstrate effectiveness of their programs to policymakers and the broader community.
You might not make the connection between events and data immediately. But take another moment. Events are places where data can be showcased, shared, and challenged. Event registration offers the opportunity to collect stakeholder data. The right event management software can support both efficient data collection and stronger events.
This is precisely where RSVPify steps in, providing a reliable solution that streamlines the intricate event planning process, allowing for standardized data collection and analysis, and promoting event attendance.
With that in mind, RSVPify sat down with Rachel Holbrook of Kentucky Education Development Corporation (KEDC), a leading education cooperation organization and trusted partner in education, to learn more about how KEDC leveraged our software to make nonprofit event planning easier.
About Kentucky Education Development Corporation (KEDC)
KEDC is a systems builder. In its own words,
KEDC is here to serve our districts, and that means a lot of different things in a lot of different capacities. We have four official vision statements. They include:
- The KEDC team will focus on the improvement of the education community, always providing high quality services to all.
- The KEDC team will foster a culture of “Customer Service”; the call to serve will be promoted and expected. All resources will be committed to fulfill our mission.
- The KEDC team will focus on preparing learners for global competitiveness. We will keep on the cutting edge of all practices, processes, and resources.
- The KEDC team will provide a professional environment and hospitality to all. We will provide a clean, safe and respectable environment to promote a learning atmosphere.
How does KEDC think about events?
Rachel is a part of KEDC’s Deeper Learning team as the Learning Acceleration & Deeper Learning Specialist. As Rachel describes:
I joined the KEDC team three years ago as part of a COVID grant that offered trainings and support to help schools bounce back. After I joined, I was quickly tapped to implement KEDC’s vision for data work - to collect and use data to make decisions and to help KEDC grow. Now, on July 1, I’ll transition specifically to oversee KEDC’s data services.
Since joining the team KEDC has focused on standardizing data collection, training, and reporting. This is, in part, where RSVPify steps in.
We host a variety, and probably our top priority is training. So we train teachers, we train paraprofessionals that help teachers. We train food service workers, we train administrators, we train superintendents. So that's our primary role. And then we have other events as well….. [Events drive everything we do because we are a service agency. So we want to serve our districts, and that looks different in different capacities in our different departments, but we most definitely want to serve our districts and provide for their needs. And so a lot of times we'll gather feedback and we'll make adjustments to what we offer and the types of support that we offer based on that feedback, and we use the event registration to track that data.
The Challenge
Prior to RSVPify, KEDC was using myriad tools for event registration. Rachel shares,
We didn't have a uniform way of tracking. So, like, some departments were using Google forms, some departments were still using paper pencils, some departments weren't recording anything. We wanted a better way to look at what we're doing and how we can better at it.
Rachel shared that because the team was using an assortment of tools, any large or standardized data collection was not really possible. Nor was it easy to track a full calendar of invites, who was getting invited to what, and more.
The Solution
The team did a quick Google search and found RSVPify. We connected with Rachel and her colleague on the IT team for a demo. It was clear – RSVPify would help level-up KEDC’s event management processes.
Rachel shares that RSVPify helped build KEDC’s internal capacity. As the team moved from several different tools to adopting RSVPify as its singular event management tool – with a standard event template – Rachel noted the following improvements.
Standardized data collection was possible and powerful!
We actually now have a dashboard for all of our different departments where we utilize event data. RSVPify has helped us grow as an organization because everyone is on the same page, and we all know what each other is doing. And it was a rocky go at the start. We had departments, you know, who had done things this way their entire existence, and they were reluctant to change, but I think once they saw how easy it was going to be and RSVPify was easy to use, and we've definitely seen a turnaround change of attitude with that.
My favorite feature so far is the automatic data collection and standardized exports. RSVPify automatically collects names and emails so I don’t have to worry about it. And then we’ve standardized the questions so if I download a spreadsheet, I don't have to worry that you spell a district one way and I spell a district another way. It makes it much easier for reporting purposes, streamlining data regardless of who's using the system. That's probably one of my favorite features.
This data collection drove future programming.
We ask a question where we want to know the years of experience for our participants. We have a lot of participants with 0-5 years of experience. This information drives our offerings because we know there's a great need there. We have very few participants with 25 plus years. So we know that we could utilize those people as mentors. It kind of helps us focus on certain groups to target.
Events and data collection became a shared effort.
I have administrators we bought accounts for, and so they have access. I trained them how to set up the events. When we started, I focused on one department. We have since grown. I created event templates. I would then make copies of the templates, assign those to the administrators, and then the administrators took care of setting up events for their department. I also have users who, when they go out in the field or if they're hosting an event, stand at the doors and check-in guests. I give these team members check-in and read-only rights so that way they don't mess up any of the collection that we do.
One DIY tool (and a power user) lowered the barrier for maximum use.
Rachel trained the initial KEDC cohort of RSVPify users, and now that cohort trains others charged with hosting events:
When we first started the program, I created a how-to guide. I took screenshots and text and put those on slides and made a PDF that I gave everyone. Then I trained each department individually. Sometimes I meet with the department heads or the administrators if there are changes or we're doing something different. Now that we've done the initial training, when we onboard people, it's those administrators that help bring on anybody they hire in that department, and they kind of do the training from there.
KEDC stakeholders had a unified brand experience across all events.
Our Executive Director wanted KEDC branding, and so being able to use our logo and email white-labeling was key. Since we have been using this for almost two years now, our districts know if they're going to get something from us that it's going to look the same. So if they see something that comes in that's not with that address, they know you know, it's fraudulent and it's not really from us.
The RSVPify Factor
Rachel shared a set of savings that RSVPify brought to KEDC and additional benefits that stemmed from adopting RSVPify as the KEDC event management tool.
Savings
- Time. Rachel estimated that with RSVPify, KEDC saves approximately an hour or more per event in administrative time. It saved much more time than that from a data perspective….
We now have our standard registration questions pretty locked down, and they are multiple choice. So that way you don't have a lot of that manual input. I can’t even tell you how many hours of data cleanup we did before using that system. So that has been a lifesaver and a game changer for collecting data in large quantities, because we have one department who probably has, I would say, easy 10,000 participants a month. When I had to go through and clean up their data and they were manually entering, I mean, it would take me a couple days. So the fact that we have this standardization, it's been a lifesaver.
- Tasks.
We love that feature of the automated emails going out to remind participants. That saves our administrators a lot of time by not having to send out those email reminders or schedule those. It automatically does it in the program. It's an awesome feature that we have really taken advantage of.
Added Benefits
- Better Record Keeping and Reporting. Rachel shared that prior to RSVPify there was no standard event record-keeping from department to department, let alone year over year.
I would think it's helped us be more distinct and accurate when we report numbers. We have to do a lot of reporting for state funds, and then we also have a department that has a lot of federal grants. And so when we have to go back to reporting purposes, then we have a reliable source that we know is, you know, keeping record of everything.
- More Efficient Follow-ups. It also saves KEDC time in standard event follow-ups. For example, KEDC administers certificates for approximately 90% of trainings. The team downloads registration data from RSVPify and uploads it directly to a certification system. Prior to RSVPify, the team printed and mailed certificates. This move to digital has saved time, printing costs, and more. And it makes a better experience for trainees as they have digital access to certificates long term.
For example, if you were a teacher and you come to a training today, you may not need that certificate until maybe two years from now, when you're working on a portfolio to show your professional development. And so that saved us from having a secretary have to go back from two years worth of records and pull those certificates for people that need them. So that's probably been one of the biggest saves, I think, for us.
In closing, Rachel shared a nugget of wisdom for all in the nonprofit space about the value of events and role of data in event registration. She described that event registration is an opportunity to create data you might not have, and if you have a centralized tool for data collection, you can build a strong dataset for your organization. You then have a standardized way to look at the impact of events on your organization, which was exactly the task given to Rachel by the KEDC Executive Leadership team.
Partner with RSVPify for your education training events
Are you looking to save countless hours planning education training events like KEDC? Have questions about how RSVPify can partner with your organization to provide a custom suite of event planning tools designed for streamlining your upcoming fundraisers, student life functions, commencement events, or donor relations?
You can contact our Sales team here to book a demo and learn more about features, pricing tiers, and features specifically designed for higher education users.
RSVPify is proud to partner with hundreds of education institutions from around the world, to help these organizations continue the vital work that they do and spend less time on the mundane duties of event planning. We’re excited to meet you and help tailor a solution to fit your organization.
