Microsoft Dynamics 365 offers Educating Students Together (EST) a beacon of hope in technological growth

The founders’ vision 

86% of Americans cannot afford to attend the colleges they get admitted to as high school seniors, and less than 1% of high school students receive offers for full-ride scholarships. Since 1987, Gregory and Dr. Yasmin Delahoussaye have dedicated their work to rewriting these daunting statistics. In planning out the best ways to provide support to former fostered and low-income youth, the pair began a college tour program, accompanying high school students to various institutions, providing students insights on all their educational options. Over time, these efforts expanded and the creation of their nonprofit, ‘Educating Students Together’ (EST) was brought to fruition. 

“In our organization, we’re committed to changing this statistic by ensuring that all students, regardless of background, race, and financial status, have access to higher education,” said Dr. Delahoussaye.

The EST Access Program provides an array of services, such as college counseling, mentoring, networking support, and financial coaching to underserved students in the Los Angeles community. These programs allow the students proper resources to achieve a smoother transition from high school to college.

Everything from personalized check-ins and college advisement, graduate school assistance, campus support services, alumni mentorships, and much more allow the EST program to support their students through every stage of their educational journey. Their work in partnering with local schools/organizations to identify overlooked students set a clear intention of EST’s mission: ensuring every child is advocated for. 

Overcoming technical challenges

However, as EST grew and expanded its reach toward more students, their reliance on a singular system for data management proved to be a major issue. The organization could not keep up with all their student records efficiently.

"When you're talking to potential funders who want to support your program, you've got to have data at your fingertips,” said Delahoussaye.

The nonprofit needed an upgraded system: one that could solve issues of managing personal, demographic, financial, and academic information all at once.

“We were almost ready to close our doors down during the pandemic. We weren't attracting corporate funding and foundation funding,” said Gregory Delahoussaye.  “That all changed once we got in the Nonprofit Tech Acceleration (NTA) program.”  

Dynamics 365 implementation

EST began collaborating with the NTA program in 2021, during the COVID-19 pandemic, a time where the need for resources and support was even more crucial. The nonprofit’s struggle with limited technology expertise, a tight budget, and disorganized data allowed Microsoft to connect the organization with Gryphon Consulting, a Microsoft Solutions partner.

“EST is a great example of a nonprofit doing amazing “feel good” work, but was hampered due to no use of technology,” said Microsoft Corporate Affairs Specialist, Darrell Booker.  “I truly believe with the grants and technology provided, coupled with a great partner, such as Gryphon, we will continue to position them to realize and march towards even greater impact.”

Gryphon Consulting specializes in helping nonprofits select the right tools for growth, reporting, fundraising, and collaboration. In partnering with Gryphon, EST was introduced to the updated technical system they needed: Dynamics 365, a suite of intelligent business applications that improves operational efficiency and customer experiences.

Through the Dynamics 365 suite, Gryphon created a Customer Relations Management (CRM) database system that allowed EST to streamline access to information for potential donors, track grants, and maintain a photo database of students and their associated social workers and foster parents.

“I was readily able to answer questions that potential funders asked because I had the information at my fingertips,” said Delahoussaye.

Positive outcomes & future growth

Due to the success of this collaboration, 96% of the EST students are now on track to graduate, and 60% of the previous class received full-ride scholarships from universities/colleges. The EST organization has been able to award over $17 million in scholarships to their students over the years, ensuring every child has an educational opportunity.

EST has since received 254 student applications and is steadily increasing over time. With Microsoft's help, the Delahoussaye’s are confident the organization can secure enough funding to accommodate all interested students.

“We’re hoping to double and then triple the number of students in the program and continue being stable financially and growing so that we can serve more students,” said Dr. Delahoussaye.

Annual student intake has since doubled, from serving 38 students a year to serving about 66 students. Delahoussaye is optimistic about further growth through the NTA partnership.

Empowering nonprofits with technology

 Ultimately, the technical assistance provided from the Microsoft NTA Program has empowered EST to continue enhancing their community efforts. Delahoussaye’s advocate for all nonprofits to consult the Microsoft NTA team to see what resources they could acquire to increase their efficiency.

“Think about a person who has a flip phone versus someone who has a smart phone,” said Delahoussaye. “If you are an organization currently using a flip phone, and you want to use smartphone, then jump on board because this is going to change your organization.”