TouchStone is an affordable web-based management tool that allows organizations to build the infrastructure, processes and controls they need. It will help managers, employees and volunteers stay focused and aligned and lead to predictable and consistent results within all critical systems and processes.
Developed by Business Design Corporation (BDC) for small to mid-sized businesses, TouchStone is a complete business development tool. In 2009, Partners for Change developed and began distributing “TouchStone for Nonprofits”. This modified version has all of the same capabilities as the original TouchStone application. But it also includes an enhanced, proprietary library developed specifically for nonprofits. This library contains sample processes and process tools for typical business processes but also includes processes specific to nonprofits - volunteer administration, development, governance, and programs and services delivery - all of which are completely customizable to suit an organization’s specific needs.
In TouchStone for Nonprofits, all of an organization’s processes, procedures and tools are documented, organized, and assigned within four key functions:
GUIDING the organization = leadership, governance, management and strategic systems
SUPPORTING the organization = marketing, development, and volunteer administration systems
DELIVERING programs and services = program and service development and delivery
RUNNING the organization = financial, HR and other administrative systems
Each of these key functions has associated processes, sample workplans, and process tools housed in a systems library. As an organization builds their customized TouchStone application, they can use this library to assist them with building new processes or optimizing existing ones. Plus, they can capture and document their successful strategies, tactics, processes and programs and institutionalize them within the TouchStone application.
All of these processes are then linked to a customized organization chart that creates individual job descriptions. The entire organization will have clarity around roles & responsibilities. Everyone understands what their job is and how to get it done.
TouchStone doesn’t replace your existing systems and external applications. But it will allow you to link them into one integrated system and create, build & document all of the processes and activities to maximize their functionality. |
