How Future for KIDS Uses SimpleTexting to Stay Connected with Parents

Since 1991, Future for KIDS has been helping at-risk youth in the Phoenix metro area build a brighter future. The Tempe-based nonprofit runs mentor-driven, out-of-school time programs centered on three pillars — academics, athletics, and ethics — for children in Title 1 elementary schools who’ve faced adverse childhood experiences.

For Marissa Anderson, Program Manager at Future for KIDS, keeping parents informed and engaged is core to the program’s success. But when her main line of communication was phone calls, too many of those calls were going unanswered.

The challenge: reaching parents who don’t pick up

Before SimpleTexting, Future for KIDS staff leaned on phone calls to reach parents with reminders and updates. The problem: calls kept going to voicemail, leaving both staff and families out of the loop. The team needed a way to reach parents that didn’t depend on someone picking up the phone.

The solution: an instant, user-friendly, nonprofit-friendly platform

Future for KIDS chose SimpleTexting because it let staff reach parents instantly, without a learning curve – and because SimpleTexting’s nonprofit discount made it an easy call for a mission-driven budget.

“We considered using SimpleTexting because we wanted to communicate better with parents, and SimpleTexting is instant. It’s user-friendly, and because we are a nonprofit, they also offered a nonprofit discount, which was extremely helpful and definitely impacted our choice in which platform we wanted to use.”

Marissa Anderson

Program Manager, Future for KIDS

Marissa also credits SimpleTexting’s support team for making the transition smooth, especially while integrating it alongside another system her team already used.

“The three words I would use to describe SimpleTexting is user-friendly, cost-effective, and helpful — because we were integrating SimpleTexting with another system, and whenever I needed help, the support team was there to help.”

Marissa Anderson

Program Manager, Future for KIDS

The results: easier conversations with parents, less time chasing voicemail

With SimpleTexting, Future for KIDS no longer has to hope a parent checks their voicemail. A text gets seen and answered.

“SimpleTexting has allowed us to communicate with parents a lot easier. Before, we would call and we would always be sent to voicemail, and it’s easier to just send a text message because it’s easier for a parent to respond.”

Marissa Anderson

Program Manager, Future for KIDS

The organization saw a clear return on their investment with SimpleTexting, as they immediately benefitted from:

• Fewer missed connections – Texts reach parents who weren’t answering or returning phone calls.
• Faster responses – Parents can reply to a text in the moment, instead of waiting to return a voicemail.
• A budget-friendly solution for nonprofits – SimpleTexting’s nonprofit discount made the platform an easy fit for Future for KIDS.

What’s next for Future for KIDS

With phone tag out of the way, Future for KIDS’ staff can spend less time chasing down parents and more time focused on mentoring the kids in their programs. Marissa’s advice to other organizations considering SimpleTexting: don’t be afraid to explore everything the platform offers.

“My advice would be to just keep messing around and digging through the website. I think there’s a lot of features in there that are extremely helpful for any organization.”