As 2009 winds down, I want to wish you and your family a joyous holiday season and a happy new year.  It is my hope that all of us find time to reflect on all we have and to consider the less fortunate.  I also hope you find time to relax and then re-energize yourself for the next decade.

I want to thank you for your continued support and commitment to GWg.  Without the support of all our constituents, we would not have the ability to be successful.

Lastly, I want to leave you with something that was said to me just last week that put a little more jump in my step.  I had the opportunity to tell the GWg story to approximately 300 Accenture personnel at their Columbus Office Meeting.  After my presentation, a young man came up to me and said, "The GroundWork group story is inspiring!!  I did not realize that technology could have such a profound impact in the nonprofit community.  Thanks for doing this."

Indeed, it is a joyous season!!

Sincerely,

John

Whether you celebrate the magic of Christmas, the festival of Hanukkah, the principles of Kwanzaa, or another tradition during this special holiday season, the joy of opening a gift from someone who cares is simply wonderful.  Holiday Wish is a special program that makes sure the abused, neglected and troubled children under the care of Franklin County Children Services experience this same happiness with heartwarming feelings.

Holiday Wish has been using the GroundWork group Holiday Wish List/Donor Matching System for over 20 years to help ensure the wishes of thousands of children are met each year.  GWg creates unique client management systems for nonprofits from our 20+ information management capabilities, simplifying service delivery, tracking, reporting and many more organization business functions.

Holiday Wish has been ensuring abused, neglected and troubled youth receive holiday gifts for over forty years, but Holiday Wish could not provide gifts for these children without the support of donors within the community.  Donors make each child's wish come true by sponsoring individual children, making monetary donations for teens, or by donating new toys.  Holiday Wish donors include local businesses such as Worthington Industries, the Liebert Corporation and Nationwide.  Many local churches, clubs such as the Mom's Club of Westerville, and youth groups such as Girl and Boy Scout troops also help to fill wishes. 

Holiday Wish is a unique holiday gift-giving program, in which each child gets to wish for a specific toy or gift.  The child's wish comes true through the generosity of community donors who shop for the gifts, wrap them in festive holiday paper, and deliver them to Children Services.  Each child age 11 and younger makes a wish for a gift valued at $40, and monetary donations are accepted for each youth age 12 and older to receive a $50 gift card.  New toy donations for emergency wish lists are also needed.  Social workers and community service workers distribute the gifts to the children. 

Support from the community is also felt through partnerships with Radio One stations (Magic 98.9, Power 107.5 and Joy 106.3) and CW on WWHO-TV, helping to promote awareness about Holiday Wish.

Children Services partners with GroundWork group to manage all donor and client data for Holiday Wish.  Through GWg's innovation and commitment, each child's wish is easily tracked through the Holiday Wish List/Donor Matching System, from the time they choose their special gift all the way to ensuring Santa's elves have delivered the gifts safely into their homes.  GWg has helped Holiday Wish become more efficient over the years.  Just three years ago, Holiday Wish was dependent solely on paper copies, matching donor gifts to children's requests by hand.  Today, operations are conducted with a high tech, virtually paperless system.  The Holiday Wish database set up by GWg is web-based, so case workers can log into the system using their laptops in the field.  They do their own data entry for the youths they oversee, dramatically reducing paper usage.  Forms are still mailed to donors, but now they are bar-coded for faster data entry when donated gifts are brought in to Children Services.  This year's biggest system upgrade is end-to-end tracking of gifts to ensure each youth actually receives what he or she requested.   The system enhancements over the years have resulted in increased accountability and significant reductions in the total number of staff hours needed to operate Holiday Wish.  The Holiday Wish List/Donor Matching System is just one of GWg's 20+ information management systems that can be specially tailored for your nonprofit's data needs.  To inquire about how GroundWork group can help streamline your information management and build your capacity to serve, please contact Bryan Butler, bbutler@groundworkgroup.org.

Holiday Wish needs donors within the community to sponsor the nearly 4,500 children served by Children Services.  These children may not receive any gifts for their special holiday without the support of individuals, churches, businesses or community groups.  All donations to Children Services are tax deductible.  Holiday Wish is located at 855 West Mound Street, in Columbus.  Donors can help make children's wishes come true by emailing holidaywish@fccs.co.franklin.oh.us , by calling 614-275-2525, or by visiting Holiday Wish online at www.franklincountyohio.gov/children_services.  Follow Holiday Wish progress this year on Facebook!

The Columbus AIDS Task Force (CATF) has been providing HIV care and prevention services for the Central Ohio area for 25 years.  CATF is a community-based, nonprofit AIDS Service Organization providing comprehensive care services, educational programs and HIV testing.  The CATF mission is to lead the fight against HIV/AIDS through awareness, advocacy and care.  CATF primarily serves the seven counties making up the Central Ohio region; however, some of its programs serve central eastern Ohio.  CATF is a GroundWork group member, a United Way member agency and is CARF accredited (Commission on Accreditation of Rehabilitation Facilities) for mental health and case management services. 

Even with the medical advancement of HIV/AIDS treatment, the community needs prevention and education programming to continue a high quality of life for both individuals and society.  The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimate that more than one million Americans are living with HIV.  More than a quarter of them do not know they are infected.  The CDC also estimates that more than 56,000 Americans contract HIV every year, making HIV prevention a national health priority.  CATF is committed to continue service to those infected and affected by HIV/AIDS.

CATF recently made the switch back to Groundwork group's Information Management Solution for donor and volunteer data management.  "The transition to GroundWork group from our previous database has been remarkably straightforward," states Peggy Anderson, president and CEO.  "Since I am not the staff person who primarily works with the donor data, I have found it difficult in the past to get necessary reports when my staff is unavailable.  The GWg Volunteer Tracking and Donor Management Systems have been extremely easy for me to learn and create the reports that I need.  We are very pleased with the transition to GroundWork group."  To learn more about the Columbus AIDS Task Force, please visit their website: www.catf.net. To learn more about GWg's information management systems, please contact Bryan Butler: bbutler@groundworkgroup.org.

GroundWork group stays connected in the Central Ohio community through our many technology projects.  By keeping our focus on the missions of the nonprofit organizations we serve, we feel we have developed the kinds of Information Technology products and services that truly help nonprofits serve their clients.  We are enjoying recognition for our efforts.

• GroundWork group was featured in the October 2009 issue of The Nonprofit Advocate, the newsletter of Bricker & Eckler, Attorneys at Law.  The article highlighted GWg and how our cost-effective solutions can help nonprofits in these difficult economic times.
• Throughout December, GroundWork group has one of the 10 Featured PowerPhilanthropy Projects in the Connect section of The Columbus Foundation's website.  GWg is being recognized for our efforts in Technology Education for nonprofits.
• GroundWork group CEO John Hrusovsky was selected as one of the 2010 winners of the Rea & Associates Nonprofit Executive Director of the Year awards.  John is being honored for his "efforts as head of GroundWork group" and for being "a tribute to this region."
• GroundWork group has been nominated in three categories for the TechColumbus Innovation Awards for 2009: Innovation in Non-Profit Service Delivery (joint nomination with Pelotonia), Outstanding Service (less than 50 employees), and Executive of the Year (less than 50 employees).  The TechColumbus Innovation Awards will be presented February 4, 2010.

Please contact GroundWork group at any time to discuss ways we can serve you better.  Share your ideas, provide us feedback, we will always listen.  Our general phone line is 614-884-7780; our general email address is info@groundworkgroup.org; or, contact any staff member directly.

Office Productivity Classes – "PowerPoint 2007 Day"
Monday, January 11, 2010
8:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. (11:30 – 12:30 lunch break)
Platform Lab, 1275 Kinnear Rd., Columbus, 43212

From Pondering to Presentation…  Experience PowerPoint from the thought process to utilization.  Spend the day going from design and development through delivery of a high impact PowerPoint presentation.  It will be a learning experience you do not want to miss!  (Requirement: must at least be familiar with the application.)  Instructor: Cyndee McCaskey.

Cost per person for the day: $50 for Full Members; $60 for Associate Members; $70 for Non-Members.  Please RSVP by Friday, January 8 to Brenda Grosse: bgrosse@groundworkgroup.org or 614-884-7780, ext. 101.

Nonprofit IT Forum – Vendors: Discussion around how to select outside vendors for your organization. ***
Tuesday, January 12, 2010 – Noon to 1:30 p.m.
Jewish Family Services, 1070 College Ave., Columbus, 43209

How do you select the right vendor?  Does your organization have a process currently in place that will guide others through the proper steps of how to select the right vendor for your organization and/or specific project?  Do you have past experiences to share? 

Come and join the roundtable discussion around steps, processes and procedures on "how to select the right vendor for any project."

There is no cost to attend the Nonprofit IT Forum, and a pizza and salad lunch will be provided courtesy of the Tony R. Wells Foundation.  Please RSVP by Friday, January 8, to Brenda Grosse: bgrosse@groundworkgroup.org or 614-884-7780, ext. 101.

***GroundWork group requests that no outside vendors participate in this event.

SAVE THE DATE!  GWg's Stretching the IT Dollar workshop
Wednesday, February 10, 2010 – Noon to 4 p.m.
United Way of Central Ohio, Room 136-138
Lunch will be provided.  More details coming soon!

Continuing Education at Franklin University
Franklin University's Center for Professional Training & Development (CPTD) offers classes, most of them for free, to help you boost your career and capabilities.  Follow this link for more information: http://www.franklin.edu/continuing-education/upcoming-events/