In March 2020, just as Covid-19 was rapidly taking hold of the world, it was clear that the people of Northwest Arkansas were going to need help. The region already had more than its share of hardships and poverty. But now a global pandemic was already beginning to trigger an economic downturn that would cast more and more people into health and financial crises. More parents would be laid off from jobs; more children would be shut out of school and in need of supervision and food. More families were going to need aid just to keep a roof over their heads.
That’s when a group of local nonprofits convened an emergency conference call to figure out how best to provide that help.
On the call, various leaders took turns laying out what their respective parties had to offer. Meanwhile representatives of two organizations — the United Way of Northwest Arkansas and Excellerate Foundation — had the same idea. They understood immediately that more and more people were going to need the UW’s lifeline phone number to call and get connected to short-term help keeping the lights on and putting food on the family dinner table. They also knew this pandemic wasn’t going to be a short affair and that many of these same people were going to need the in-depth, long-term care and planning that only Excellerate was able to provide.
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It was also perfect timing. The United Way of Northwest Arkansas was just starting to expand its vaunted Arkansas 211 call center statewide, and in the process, they wanted to find a way to implement a holistic community care model that would offer callers more than just a Band-aid to get them through the short-term. They wanted to drill further into the social determinants behind each individual crisis and treat the root(s) of the problem. “We are the immediate help for resources. If you need food for tonight, somewhere to stay, or help with something right now, we are going to connect you with the available resources in the community today,” says Dallas Mudd, Executive Director of Arkansas 211 at the United Way of Northwest Arkansas. “But if a client is calling for consistent issues or because they can’t pay the light bill, you can be pretty sure something else is going on in their life. Now I can send them over to the Hark team and allow them to get a deeper insight into what is going on and offer solutions to change their life.”
At the same time, the Excellerate Foundation was rolling out a revolutionary business model called Hark, built off the foundation’s business, philanthropic, and social service capabilities. Managed as a business, Hark is a platform that starts with the most extensive map of regional resources ever compiled in Northwest Arkansas. When a client calls in, they speak to a Hark Connector, who is very much like a highly trained social worker. The Connector pinpoints the caller’s immediate needs and then consults the map to find the best fit.
But that’s just the beginning. Once in the system, a client is followed by Hark’s Connectors. These Community Connectors use the extensive map of resources, artificial intelligence and pattern recognition supports inherent in the proprietary technology to build individualized “client plans,” connecting individuals and families with all the resources — food, housing, healthcare, utilities, transportation, and more — they need to regain their footing and independence. And more importantly, they ensure individuals are actually connected to these resources rather than just referred. Business tools track the Hark team on a vast array of metrics to ensure top performance, while financial tools overlay the system to manage the cost of connection. The external facing community data collected on needs, referrals, connection rate, provider gaps and other insights, is then used by both Excellerate and other non-profits to access State & Federal funding and prioritize investments by Excellerate.
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From Excellerate’s perspective, the foundation not only gets access to an extensive, ready-built Arkansas 211 call center, but they can also tap into the United Way’s well-known brand and well-earned reputation of integrity, innovation, and partnerships to build awareness and broaden Hark’s reach in the community.
And perhaps most important for both organizations, they help more Arkansans find the assistance they need, both in the short-term and the long-term due to the shared devotion to making sure the people they serve maintain their sense of self-worth. After all, life happens to everyone.
“Life can happen to any of us,” says Josh Hall, Executive Director of Hark. "It’s important that the people calling this center know that it’s OK to need help. When it’s all said and done, we want to hear back from them that they not only got the help they needed, but that they were treated with dignity and respect That’s a commonality for both of us, a value we share as companies — we meet people where they are and help in every way we can."
By StoryStudio on December 1, 2022 9:00 AM
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That’s why both Arkansas 211/United Way and Hark keep clients’ personal information strictly confidential.
“Helping people build self-sufficiency is big for us and for Excellerate,” says Hancock. “I’ve heard hundreds and hundreds of stories about people we’ve helped who eventually are back working, have a permanent home, and are back on their feet. I’ve lost count of the number of people we’ve funneled to Hark — it’s in the thousands.”
It's just the people in Northwest Arkansas — for now. Webster and Hall see this collaboration as a chance to show the world what their revolutionary business model can really do. Mudd agrees, and says he is taking every opportunity to rave about the Hark approach to his United Way counterparts across the country.
“They’re already jealous,” says Mudd. “I’ve started to leak the info that we are thinking through how to do this statewide. That gets them excited. That’s my goal. Roll this out statewide in Arkansas and then let’s start talking at a national level, because it works.”
There are a lot of pieces to put in place to make this whole thing happen. With the right set of partners, this approach to helping could be taken across the country.
“We were already getting the people who called into Arkansas 211 for resources,” says Mudd. “We knew that if we could get those people into the Hark system, with that extra level of care, they could get those expanded services they needed. If they couldn’t pay their light bill because of COVID, the folks at Hark could drill down to find out what got them to this point — and track them six months down the road. We didn’t have that capability, but that’s right in Hark’s wheelhouse.”
Indeed, Hark’s map of regional resources covers 10 social determinants of health and 50 individual areas of need. Through this technology, more than 12,000 Arkansans (just in Northwest Arkansas) have been linked with help and services, presenting more than 50,000 needs. The result has been more than 130,000 referrals made through a confidential process, free of charge to anyone who reaches out, while the community data has been instrumental in netting millions in State and Federal grants.
As a result of the partnership, Excellerate and the United Way came together to build a bridge between the two entities — a co-branded landing page. Now when Arkansas 211 gets a call in Northwest Arkansas, as the United Way expert is conducting the initial assessment, the information is automatically populated onto a page that is connected to the Hark data queue. A Hark Community Liaison can then follow up with more extensive services and solutions, usually within 24 hours of the initial call.
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Hark Client
"I don't qualify for unemployment but I am not getting enough hours. I just want to make sure my daughter has clothes, food, and a secure roof over her head."
United Way/Arkansas 211 Client
"211 saved my life. It was below freezing and I had nowhere to sleep. They helped me find a place to stay and create a plan to get my life back."
Hark Client
"Just having someone who cares and to guide me is huge."
United Way/Arkansas 211 Client
"This phone call has given me more hope than I ever thought possible. Just talking with you meant even more than all the resources ever could."
Hark Client
"You gave me a chance and worked hard to get me a place to live. I recently upgraded to a two bedroom apartment and got married. I am a testimony that Hark works!"
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Almost simultaneously, both the representatives from United Way of Northwest Arkansas and Excellerate Foundation realized that they were uniquely positioned to supplement each other’s mission and make a real impact on the region.
“I don’t remember who called who first,” says Jeff Webster, CEO of Excellerate Foundation. “As we talked it through, we realized that combining our backend with their front end would make the delivery to the community so much stronger. Within two phone calls, we had a partnership solidified.”
What started as a handshake deal to help get families and individuals through the pandemic has now solidified into a formal five-year agreement between Excellerate and the United Way of Northwest Arkansas to keep this unique symbiotic partnership going.
“There was already a lot of mutual respect,” adds Jackie Hancock, president and CEO of the United Way of Northwest Arkansas. “That doesn’t always happen in the nonprofit world. We both knew the need. We both complemented each other. It was the perfect relationship.”
referrals made from Hark to service organizations since March 2020
130,000+
needs assessed across ten social determinants of health
50,000+
inbound Hark requests since March 2020
27,000+
By the Numbers
Through its partnership
with United Way/Arkansas 211, Hark is showing the world how its approach can help
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Arkansas 211 referrals to Hark in Northwest Arkansas since October 2020
3,550+
Through its partnership with
United Way/Arkansas 211, Hark is showing the world how its approach can help
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