Passage Home
Raleigh, NC
Passage Home fights poverty and homelessness in Wake County by strengthening families and neighborhoods. Nationally recognized since it’s founding in 1991 by Jeanne Canina Tedrow, Passage Home provides a “hand up” to over 1,000 
individuals annually. Like the rest of the Country, Wake County has seen more than it’s share of unemployment, foreclosures, high drop-out rates and lack of resources. Passage Home’s programs include providing tutoring, after-school enrichment, youth summer camp, community meal program and homeless family transition.
But just like the majority of small, community based nonprofits, Passage Home contends with a surge in demand for services, while the traditional major annual gifts seem to be on the decline. At the same time, many younger donors who want to be engaged with giving back to their communities, have the time and smaller resources to give but require the technology engagement and ask to do so.
So how would Passage Home use the Atlantic BT mobile grant?
The Passage Home Registry Mobile App.
Much like a wedding registry site and app where people can select an item they wish to purchase for the happy couple, the Passage Home App would enable supporters to view then select items PH staff would populate the site with, whether it be a backpack for a child going back to school or art supplies for children attending the youth camp.
The platform database would be created, followed by a mobile app branded for Passage Home, that would enable anyone with a smartphone to see what is needed for a particular time of year, then select the item or items that they desired to invest in most. The mobile app component would also enable Passage Home to push messages out to those with the app to alert them of urgent needs to help.
This would help Passage Home three-fold by:
1. Gathering more needed items, thereby serving more people in need in Wake County.
2. Avoid having to spend budget on necessary items and invest more in non-tangibles, like housing, perishables, etc.
3. Free up considerable amounts of time to focus on other components of their mission by automating a currently manual system.
Care to Volunteer?
The use of this app could go beyond physical items to include volunteer needs, both standing and one time events. Further enhancements of the app could include the ability for end-users to see who is already signed up for volunteering so others would be encouraged to because of the social opportunities.
The benefits of a tool like this for most any nonprofit are easy to see. If Passage Home won the mobile grant, it would be built with the ability to adapt depending on which nonprofit would be using it. Potential licensing models have been discussed – stay tuned for more details!