Program management, operations, and reporting software, Orange County United Way
Project Title & Client:
WelcomeHomeOC Command Center: a single tool for case management, inventory management, support tickets, and housing assignments. Orange County United Way (California)
The Challenge:
The WelcomeHomeOC (WHOC) program of the Orange County United Way had three different core functions, which were all interdependent and accessed different components of the same records. Without a centralized solution built from the shared information but presented in a function-focused view, staff had created 35 different locations for storing the relevant information (mostly Airtable bases and Excel workbooks), all of which required manual transfers of data from location to location. Daily tasks could require dozens of these documents to complete the work, and the burden of repeated data entry greatly limited productivity.
Solution:
In a single Airtable base, three separate nodes were created to align with the different business functions: landlord engagement, client management, and housing stabilization, creating robust working spaces and hierarchical records for each function without siloing information or forcing duplicated data entry. Complex and data-rich records were made manageable with task-based views, automations, and built-in formulas. Record linking in Airtable enabled the flow of necessary information through records and departments, creating a network of interconnected records that functioned as a comprehensive case file and provided an easy path to related records.
Impact & Results:
Upon being hired at WHOC, Amanda immediately identified the significant bottleneck and associated high risks resulting from years of using ad hoc tracking tools. Within a week, she had permission to mock up a solution using the Airtable service WHOC was already familiar with, and within 10 weeks, had delivered a complete system for managing all three core functions and the large amount of sensitive client and rental data.
The biggest challenge was matching available rentals to potential tenants, a decision that required dozens of data points to be compared and weighed across all clients and would routinely take 90 minutes to successfully match 3-6 rentals. After the Command Center was launched, matches would take less than five minutes per rental, using a filtered and weighted list, based on built-in formulas, to focus on the strongest potential tenants. Matches were recorded in minutes and were now monitored in real time, cutting down the lag time to match a new rental from days to minutes. Before Command Center, the WelcomeHomeOC team had a maximum capacity of about 30 active clients and matches. After implementation, WHOC was able to provide navigation services to a pool of over 500 clients, manage hundreds of matches, and expand the landlord network.
Role:
Homefrontally completed all database design and implementation. Created procedures and staff training. Managed data migration from legacy systems. Ongoing support and modification of the database as the program expanded and adopted new policies.