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Institute Uses Computers to Teach Self-Reliance |
Founded in 1960, in honor of the legendary Georgia Tech football coach Bobby Dodd, the Bobby Dodd Institute is a full-service training and employment program for individuals with disabilities and disadvantages. It has found and created jobs for thousands of people with disabilities. The institute has tripled the number of clients served to more than 600 annually and doubled the number of jobs it provides directly to clients during the past five years. They added a permanent placement program, which last year placed 205 clients into jobs, and a jobs program for homeless and economically disadvantaged veterans with disabilities. Wages earned, taxes paid by clients and the decreased public assistance annually creates community benefits of more than $4 million, said Bobby Dodd Institute CEO Wayne McMillan. Each year, TechBridge and technology firm Accenture Ltd. present the Technology Innovation Award, which highlights the impact of technology on nonprofits. Because technology has played a large role in making the Bobby Dodd Institute more efficient and effective, this group is a finalist for the award. In 2005, the institute adopted a three-year technology plan focused on increasing value to clients, stakeholders, donors and customers. "We have been very focused on technology over the last few years by upgrading what we use and making sure we have the best technology available," McMillan said. "In a society that has instant need for information, connectivity and content, we know that we need to be there. It stretches us to figure out how the heck to get there and how in the world to develop content with relevancy. Technology makes us both more efficient in terms of how we are able to process things and by increasing the speed in which we can do business, which is very, very important." The two most direct benefits for clients to come out of the implementation of the technology plan have been the addition of two mobile classrooms for the Work & Progress enrichment program and the Explorers program for high school students with severe disabilities who are transitioning from school to work, as well as the upgrading of their vocational evaluation software to a computer-based testing format. The mobile classrooms are equipped with laptops, software, a projector, wireless Internet and network capability, and two digital cameras. These classrooms have enabled the institute to provide each student with training that will make them more marketable. The institute upgraded its vocational evaluations from a paper-based assessment to a computerized assessment. By implementing CareerScope software, it was able to eliminate paper and pencil tests, test groups of individuals simultaneously, get immediate, timed and scored results, and more effectively test clients in various locations. Technology upgrades have had a significant impact on fund-raising, advocacy and volunteer efforts. In 2006, the institute subscribed to eTapestry, a Web-based donor database and management resource. Through eTapestry, it is able to accept online gifts, produce e-newsletters to donors and volunteers, and keep comprehensive data on donors and prospects for fund-raising. "We have seen our annual fund-raising campaign grow about 30 percent," McMillan said. The Bobby Dodd Institute also upgraded its outcome measurement and client management system to provide reliable, quick and easy-to-generate reports for key stakeholders. Barb Kunkel, chief information officer at Troutman Sanders LLP, was impressed that the institute was using technology in so many ways. Technology Innovation Award |
