Background

McKenna HealthLink is New Braunfels’ community link to a healthier lifestyle and offers a variety of resources to meet most every need. From fitness, nutrition and diabetes education to physician presentations, health screenings and more, McKenna HealthLink’s vision is to achieve optimal community health where people live, work and play.

One division of the McKenna HealthLink is New BraunFit, a community resource center that offers health-focused programs, classes and activities for everyone from tots to seniors, all with the goal of giving back to the community. With memberships offered at up to $15 annually, and facilities like a gymnasium, event center for weddings and meetings, and a children’s museum, New BraunFit is built around educating and helping the community meet their health and wellness goals. The dozens of classes offered at New BraunFit include FitCheck for Seniors, Tots ‘n’ Motion, cooking classes for kids, Mind and Body classes for adults, nutrition counseling and so much more.

Challenge

New BraunFit memberships and program registrations were initially managed by the city’s Parks and Recreation department. But when it came time for New BraunFit to take over the logistics, the organization knew it needed an easy‑to‑use software program that would help staff manage membership information and reporting. As a community resource center committed to impacting the community, the McKenna HealthLink Board of Directors needed reports that demonstrated New BraunFit was positively impacting the community.

Kelly Bonewald, Program Coordinator and Center Manager for New BraunFit, was tasked with finding viable software systems that would meet the center’s goals. Kelly was already familiar with a company called Active Network, as she had used its software in the past as an event coordinator of the Schlitterbahn Kids’ Triathlon. Kelly looked into Active Network’s other software solutions, talked to Parks and Recreation staff members, collected information on other software packages, and narrowed the selection down to four membership management software options to present to New BraunFit’s CEO.

Solution

Following a series of demonstrations and after evaluating each of the software packages, New BraunFit ultimately determined that Active Network’s software best aligned with its needs. The community center chose the company’s hosted, Web-based member management software, ActiveNet, to alleviate any upfront costs and additional investments in servers or other IT equipment, making the software selection and implementation extremely affordable.

“In addition to the robust reporting features, we also really liked that the software is completely scalable,” explains Bonewald. “We chose to implement only the modules we would need right away, but we have the option to add on additional modules whenever we’re ready. The software essentially grows with us.”

Implementation

In June 2008, New BraunFit installed the Membership Management and Activity Registration modules. The staff participated in just a few days of training to become proficient using the modules and Bonewald notes that the feedback from training was all very positive. “The software is extremely easy to use so the training went smoothly for us. Plus, Active provides a step-by-step guide to using the software, which makes everyone feel even more at ease.”

Bonewald also praises Active ‘s customer support services for its responsiveness. “Even when I’m gone, staff members know they can simply call Active Network team with any questions on the software and they will get the answer they need right away.”

As new staff members join the New BraunFit team, Bonewald is able to train them herself on the software with help from the software’s built-in trainer site.

Results

Today, New BraunFit is seamlessly managing memberships and payments from over 1,000 community members, as well as the registration of dozens of programs each quarter.

“The software has been really easy to use,” says Bonewald. “Reports are essential to our Board, the payment transactions are simple, and our staff feels very confident using the software on a daily basis.”

As for next steps, Bonewald notes that New BraunFit has future plans of developing a website and once that’s completed, the center might consider exploring additional ActiveNet modules. The center is also keeping the accessibility of Active’s eMarketing Center in mind for future email blasts, flyer templates and brochure designs. “I like that all of the marketing tools and resources are readily available to us as Active Network customers. It’s a great benefit.”

When asked what advice she might offer other organizations considering new membership management software, Bonewald recommends selecting the software packages that are most beneficial to a specific organization and avoid purchasing more than is needed. She also emphasizes the importance of customer support and the ability to have someone to call even after implementation and training is complete. “It’s nice to know that an Active Network software expert is just a phone call away, any time of day.”

“In addition to the robust reporting features, we also really liked that the software is completely scalable.”

Kelly Bonewald
Program Coordinator and Center Manager, New BraunFit