Aurora, Inc., a trusted homeless service provider in Evansville, Indiana, has spent decades helping families and individuals rebuild their lives. Each year, the organization supports more than 1,600 people, including children leaving unsafe situations, adults with disabilities, and those starting over after incarceration. For Aurora, helping everyone in the community have a place they can call home has been the heart of their mission since 1988.
As Aurora expanded its programs and partnerships, however, their board processes could no longer keep up with the nonprofit’s growth.
The Need: A Better Way to Manage Meetings and Materials
With a growing workload, the tight-knit team struggled to keep up with administrative tasks. The problem became more noticeable when document management and tracking started taking valuable time away from client services and community outreach.
Aurora’s current workflows needed an intervention. They needed a dependable way for the executives to coordinate without confusion, outdated versions, or missing attachments.
“[We were] looking for a more convenient way to get all necessary documents to board members while also having a space that would save the documents for each meeting with minimal effort,” a representative from the company shared.
At this point, the organization clearly recognized the need to reduce workflow friction and improve the management and sharing of documents.
The Search for a Smart, Simple, High-Speed Board Management Tool
The nonprofit first learned about the Convene board portal from someone who understood its challenges. They said, “We did not search for the product, as it was presented to us as an alternative to the software we were using by a person familiar with Convene.”
Aurora’s leadership attended a live demonstration, asked questions, and discussed the solution internally. Both the Executive Director and Board of Directors were involved from the start to make sure that whatever choice they made fit Aurora’s governance needs.
In the end, clarity was the deciding factor in Aurora’s decision to move forward with Convene.
“They made the final decision based on the features in Convene [that the nonprofit required], such as saving the documents easily,” the company representative shared.
Having found a platform that matched their requirements, Aurora was prepared to take the next step toward streamlining their board operations.
The Solution: Three Core Improvements That Changed Aurora’s Board Workflows
Aurora started using Convene in August 2023 and saw immediate results. Rather than adding temporary fixes, the board portal addressed the organization’s most important needs in three main areas:
A Central Hub for Board Documents
Now, the Executive Director and Marketing Officer can easily upload meeting documents and files to a single, secure location, simplifying the preparation for board meetings that guide Aurora’s programs and community work.
“It has improved the internal workflow to upload and send out agendas, reports, and documents,” they stated.
With all files stored in one centralized Document Library, the board no longer needs to search through emails or worry about using the wrong version during meetings. This speeds up preparation and supports better decision-making. Moreover, it enhances document confidentiality. Convene’s role-based access ensures that each board member only sees the documents relevant to their role, keeping sensitive information secure while streamlining collaboration.
Faster, More Flexible Decision-Making
As a nonprofit, Aurora’s board often faces pressing issues that cannot wait for monthly meetings. With Convene, the organization’s key users — the Executive Director, Marketing Officer, and Board of Directors — can vote and approve documents from anywhere, at any time.
“It allows the board members to vote on topics that are time-sensitive without having to call a full board meeting.”
Convene’s Review Rooms let administrators securely share documents for review and sign-off before meetings, while Resolutions streamline voting and approvals both during and outside meetings. These features have reduced delays and made it easier to respond quickly to urgent matters, which is especially important for an organization serving vulnerable people.
Reliable Support for a Small but Busy Team
Transitioning to a new system can be challenging for nonprofits with limited administrative resources. Fortunately for Aurora, the process was smooth from the beginning.
They said, “The support team has been available for all questions and training. The experience has been good.”
This support helped staff adopt the platform with confidence and avoid losing time on preventable issues.
Why Aurora Relies on Convene to Build a Stronger Future
Convene gives Aurora’s board simplicity, structure, and quick access to critical information when and where it matters most—all with minimal effort. In turn, the nonprofit can prioritize providing shelter and stability to those who need it most. This combination of efficiency and mission focus is why Aurora continues to count on Convene.
So, when asked whether they would recommend the board portal to others, the response was clear: “Yes, we would recommend Convene to other organizations,” they beamed. “Convene is a software system that helps to gather all necessary documents for board meetings in one convenient space.”
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