“EditGrid was the only option… that allowed linking of live data between spreadsheets, as well as the posting of live data to websites.”
– Eric Whitney, National Systems Manager for Civic Engagement, Citizen Schools

Citizen Schools operates a national network of apprenticeship programs for middle school students, connecting adult volunteers to young people in hands-on learning projects after school. At Citizen Schools, students develop the academic and leadership skills they need to do well in school, get into college, and become leaders in their careers and in their communities.

The Challenge

Citizen Schools struggled with managing the thousands of volunteers who signed up to assist students at regional locations. Each location must report volunteer sign-ups back to the national headquarters in Boston, and the company didn’t have the time or money to create a relational database to maintain the data. They previously used Microsoft Excel but since each state recorded data differently, it was extremely difficult to tabulate. Citizen Schools was eager to find a solution to manage their data collection needs.

The Solution

EditGrid online spreadsheets. In October 2006, Citizen Schools’ systems manager was introduced to EditGrid to maintain its volunteer database. No longer does the company have multiple versions of Excel documents e-mailed around, trying to keep track of sign-ups. EditGrid automatically tabulates reported data into state and national reports (using a feature called Remote Data linking). Because of EditGrid’s intuitive interface, minimal training was necessary to get users up and running.

The Result

EditGrid online spreadsheets allowed Citizen Schools to automatically tabulate data from its 36 programs. By using EditGrid, the company was able to obtain live statistics on recruiting efforts. The data proved valuable in showing investors and other potential donors statistics on the success of the program. Citizen Schools also received higher quality data since the data were automatically tabulated and stored in EditGrid. By using EditGrid, Citizen Schools estimates its systems manager has eliminated 50% of his administrative duties associated with tabulating data manually. He now spends more time on data analysis and leveraging that data to make better strategic decisions for Citizen Schools.