How technology is helping German parents and children in need

Nestwarme familyNestwärme e.V. Deutschland was founded in 1999 to help the nearly one million families in Germany caring for children with disabilities or chronic illnesses. Over 1,400 volunteers and more than 80 employees help take care of the children, which gives parents much-needed time for themselves. Whether it’s going to the doctor, running errands or simply taking a nap, parents get the time to do things they otherwise wouldn’t be able to do.

With so many families to help, Nestwärme was becoming overwhelmed by the sheer volume of cases to manage and track. Staff and volunteers needed to remain in constant communication and information-exchange mode; however much of the information they needed was scattered throughout countless emails that had to be combed through time and time again. Working this way was wasting time that could be spent providing much needed support to Nestwarme families. The organization realized that improving their use of technology could help them.

Nestwärme turned to Stifter-helfen.de – IT for Nonprofits, TechSoup Global’s partner in Germany, who were able to provide them with a software donation from Microsoft to address these issues and support their expanding work, including: Windows Server, Exchange Server, SQL Server, Windows 7 and Office 2010.

Using these donated products, Nestwärme was able to develop a Client Relationship Management system to act as the data warehouse where all relevant info and emails regarding families are stored. Now, the entire distributed team has access to this nationwide client database. The new software also enabled Nestwärme to improve its coordination of appointments between volunteers and families, to better manage volunteers’ time, and to streamline access to official forms that help families get state support for therapy and medical devices. All of which means families get faster and more thorough help.

As any parent knows, even the smallest amount of help makes a big difference. But Nestwärme is aiming to offer much more than a little help, and having the right technology tools in place is a key part of that. Microsoft is proud to help nonprofit organizations like Nestwärme pursue their missions. For information about software donations for a nonprofit you support, visit www.microsoft.com/nonprofit.