Introduction: Listening, Learning, and Rebuilding

For years, nonprofits told us the same thing: “We spend more time in spreadsheets than with participants.”

That pain point became our starting line. Over the last year, we have listened to more than 500 nonprofits, workforce agencies, and training providers. We heard their challenges: siloed systems, lost referrals, missed outcomes, and too much time spent on administration instead of people.

The result? A rebuilt RiseKit—shaped hand-in-hand with the communities we serve.

The Barriers We Heard About

From our ecosystem surveys and needs assessments, nonprofits shared consistent struggles:

• Spreadsheet Chaos: 5–8 hours weekly spent cleaning data, leading to missed follow-ups and inconsistent reporting.
  
• Siloed Referrals: No shared systems meant referrals were lost when staff left or emails went unanswered.
  
• Invisible Barriers: Case managers didn’t know when participants faced challenges like transportation or childcare until it was too late.
  
• Limited Capacity: Small teams juggling multiple systems were stretched too thin to adopt new tech.
  
• Fragmented Reporting: Funders couldn’t see outcomes across programs, making investment decisions harder.

In a recent survey, 45% lacked any centralized referral system. Over 60% cited transportation, housing instability, and employer engagement as their top operational challenges.

What We Did Differently: Building With Nonprofits

Instead of building in a vacuum, we designed the new RiseKit with nonprofit input at every stage:

• Workshops & Feedback Loops: Staff tested features and told us what actually saved them time.
  
• Youth Voice: Opportunity Youth and young adults shared what they wanted in a participant portal—transparency and ownership of their journey.
  
• Pilots: Early adopters tested referral tracking and dashboards before rollout, helping us refine in real time.

This feedback loop shaped everything in the new RiseKit.

What’s New in the Rebuilt RiseKit

1. Stage-Based Management

Nonprofits can now track participant journeys from intake through training, referrals, and employment in one streamlined system. No more piecing data together across tools.

2. Referral Tracking

Never lose a referral again. The new system confirms outcomes, preserves relationship history, and ensures follow-up—even if staff turnover occurs.

3. Shared Contact Book

A digital “contact book” that organizations can share across teams and partners. It reduces duplication, strengthens employer relationships, and creates continuity.

4. Barrier Tracking & Alerts

When participants face challenges like transportation, childcare, or housing, RiseKit flags them early. That allows nonprofits to connect people to wraparound services before they drop out.

5. Progress Dashboards

Real-time dashboards help staff see participant outcomes and trends at a glance. Funders and boards also gain transparency into impact without additional reporting work.

Real Impact: Time Savings & Increased Reach

The numbers tell the story:

• One nonprofit team went from sharing 28 resources in 160 hours to 76 resources in the same amount of time—a 171% increase in reach and 274 hours saved every month.
• Another organization grew from sharing 20 resources a month to 55, saving 280 hours monthly—a 175% increase in support delivered without adding staff.

Across the board, teams using RiseKit are doing more good in less time—freeing up staff to focus on what matters most: helping people get connected to the right resources at the right time.

Why This Matters for the Future of Workforce Development

By listening to nonprofits, we learned that the challenge isn’t lack of passion or effort. It’s systems that don’t talk to each other.

The new RiseKit acts as the coordination layer for workforce ecosystems:

• Nonprofits gain tools to collaborate, not compete.
• Participants gain confidence and transparency in their journey.
• Funders gain clarity to invest strategically.
• Employers gain visibility into real talent pipelines.

A 1% improvement in workforce throughput equals $37 million in annual economic impact. With shared systems like RiseKit, those small lifts add up to big community gains.

Call to Action

The new RiseKit is built for nonprofits, powered by collaboration, and ready to help your community remove barriers to economic mobility.

👉 Book a demo today to see how RiseKit can transform your program’s capacity and outcomes.