The Challenge
Main Stay Therapeutic Farm, a nonprofit organization providing adaptive horseback riding and animal-assisted learning, relied on paper forms and spreadsheets to manage its 100+ regular volunteers. As the organization delivered over 60 weekly riding lessons and tracked more than 8,000 annual volunteer hours, the lack of centralized data and efficient scheduling tools created administrative bottlenecks. Managing volunteer qualifications for safety-critical roles was particularly complex, and generating reports for compliance and impact measurement became a time-intensive process. Staff found themselves spending more time on paperwork than engaging with volunteers or focusing on program quality.
The Solution
Seeking a solution, Main Stay Therapeutic Farm adopted Better Impact's volunteer management software. Initially, the platform was used primarily for time tracking, with volunteers entering hours via printed badges. However, the organization soon recognized the potential for broader impact—moving from a basic database to a comprehensive management tool. As Monica, Volunteer Manager, shared, “At first, we only used Better Impact to track time. Volunteers would use printed badges to input hours. It was technically set up for scheduling, but it didn’t work for us due to safety requirements—people can’t just fill open spots randomly. So, it functioned mostly as a timekeeping database.” With the support of Better Impact’s responsive customer service and chat support—"Better Impact’s chat support and customer service have been amazing."—Main Stay expanded their use of the software. They began centralizing volunteer profiles, tracking qualifications, and using reporting features to streamline daily operations. "I’m sure there’s more I could do with Better Impact, but I haven’t explored everything yet," Monica noted, highlighting the platform’s depth and flexibility.
The Results
The shift to Better Impact delivered measurable improvements for Main Stay Therapeutic Farm. With over 8,000 annual volunteer hours and 60 riding lessons each week, staff were able to efficiently match over 100 regular volunteers to qualified roles, reducing administrative workload and improving safety compliance. Data centralization and efficient reporting enabled accurate tracking of volunteer contributions, which supported both compliance and fundraising efforts. Monica reflected on the impact: "Better Impact makes managing our volunteers so much easier. I print out lists to see who’s qualified for each role, which makes filling shifts faster, and because I’m not entering data by hand anymore, I finally have time to focus on the people—not just the paperwork." The ability to streamline volunteer management allowed Main Stay’s seven to eight full-time employees to devote more energy to volunteer relationships and program growth, directly benefiting their mission to serve individuals with physical, developmental, emotional, and social challenges.
