Earlier this year I joined Data for Good Edmonton as a volunteer. The idea is simple and it is the reason I signed up: people with data and technology skills give their time to local nonprofits who have real problems but rarely the resources to solve them. I was matched with a Data Infrastructure project for a food-access nonprofit, and it turned into some of the most rewarding work I have done all year.
The organization
New Grocery Movement (NGM) exists because the dominant food system does not work for most people. Sourcing food that is genuinely healthy for us and for the planet is often out of reach. NGM is working to change that. Like many mission-driven nonprofits, its energy goes into the mission, not into wrestling with spreadsheets, and that is exactly where a volunteer with a data background can help.
The challenge
NGM runs on volunteers, and managing volunteers was almost entirely manual. Sign-ups lived in different places, onboarding emails were sent by hand, newsletter subscribers had to be moved across tools, and volunteer callouts meant someone copying names between sheets and teams. It worked, but it ate hours every week and left too much room for things to slip through.
Before writing a single line of automation, I spent time understanding what the team actually needed day to day. The goal was never a shiny tool. It was fewer manual steps, cleaner data, and a system the team could run without me.
What I built
I designed and built a Volunteer Management System on top of tools NGM already trusted, so there was nothing new to buy and nothing new to learn. A single Google Sheet became the source of truth, and Google Apps Script did the heavy lifting around it:
- Automated onboarding emails. New volunteers receive the right welcome and next steps automatically, the moment they sign up.
- Newsletter subscriptions synced to Zeffy. Subscribers flow straight from the sheet into Zeffy, so nobody has to move contacts by hand.
- Volunteer callout management. Callouts and responses are captured and routed automatically to the right team pipelines, so the correct people get the correct information.
- Data validation and standards. I added validation and clear data standards so the information stays consistent, accurate, and easy to trust as it grows.
The impact
Reducing the manual load to about a tenth of what it was freed the team to spend their time on the mission instead of the paperwork. Volunteer information is now organized and dependable, onboarding and communication happen without someone chasing them, and data moves cleanly between teams. The solutions built through the project are now part of the NGM team's day-to-day operations, which is the outcome I care about most: something that keeps working after the project ends.
The stack
Deliberately lightweight and sustainable for a small nonprofit: Google Sheets as the hub, Google Apps Script for automation and validation, and Zeffy for newsletter and supporter management. No new licences, no lock-in, and a system the team owns.
A thank you
Projects like this are a team effort. My sincere thanks to Teshani for the guidance, support, and steady collaboration throughout, and to the wider Data for Good Edmonton leadership team for building a community where people can put their skills to work on problems that matter. Thank you as well to New Grocery Movement for the trust and for the work they do for our food system.
If you have data or technology skills and want to give back, follow Data for Good Edmonton and get involved. And if you are a nonprofit or business wrestling with scattered, manual processes, I would be glad to help, get in touch.
← Back to all articles