Background
The Fig Tree Children (TFTC) is a social enterprise dedicated to supporting orphaned and vulnerable children and youth in Sierra Leone, a country still grappling with the social and economic repercussions of civil war. The organization currently provides care, life supplies, education, and healthcare to 85 children through sponsorships and donations.
A core element of TFTC’s mission is to provide long-term support, including educational fees, school materials, transport costs, and monthly allowances for caregivers to cover food, clothing, and healthcare needs.
Challenges
Despite the crucial role TFTC plays in the lives of these children, managing the impact and efficiency of their funds and supply distribution has been a challenge. Specifically:
- The Business Manager does not have full visibility into how funds are transferred and utilized by the Sierra Leone team, making it difficult to ensure optimal impact.
- The Fund Manager needs more transparency in cost versus impact analysis to ensure that resources are being allocated effectively.
- TFTC aims to develop a standardized yet flexible distribution model that can cater to the changing needs of children based on age and circumstances.
How StratDA Helps
StratDA enables non-technical business managers to drive decision-making with confidence, ensuring transparency and alignment between operations and organizational goals. Specifically, StratDA helps TFTC by:
- Enabling Business Experts to Drive the Solution: StratDA allows TFTC’s business strategist to define key impact measures, produce proof-of-concept solutions, and identify data gaps without requiring technical knowledge or hiring data specialists.
- Aligning Impact Metrics with Business Needs: By supporting business strategist to define the required insights, StratDA ensures that impact measures are tailored to meet TFTC-specific operational and beneficiary needs. This flexibility supports better planning and resource distribution.
- Reducing Cost and Risk in Data Adoption: Instead of investing heavily in data analytics expertise upfront, StratDA enables TFTC to develop proof-of-concept impact models at minimal cost, helping the organization identify and close data gaps before committing to full-scale implementations.
- Ensuring Transparency in Fund Allocation: StratDA provides visibility into how funds and resources are distributed, allowing business managers to ensure that every dollar spent delivers measurable impact. This transparency strengthens donor trust and enhances reporting capabilities.
- Streamlining Decision-Making for Leadership: By presenting clear and actionable insights, StratDA empowers TFTC’s leadership to make informed strategic decisions, optimize fund usage, and maximize the impact of donations.
Results and Impact
By adopting StratDA, TFTC has gained:
- An accessible and cost-effective solution for evaluating impact without the need for technical expertise or large financial investments.
- Impact measures that quantify the outcome of the donations and support, demonstrating the value of its operations.
- Improved operational insights, leading to more effective allocation of funds.
- A structured, standardized distribution model that adapts to the changing needs of children.
- Data-backed reporting, giving donors and stakeholders clear visibility into the impact of their contributions.
StratDA has empowered TFTC to maximize the effectiveness of their limited resources, ensuring that orphaned and vulnerable children in Sierra Leone receive the best possible support for a brighter future.
