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This blog is about how Traust created an Oracle APEX app for the House of Charity nonprofit.  It is also about how other nonprofits could benefit from affordable technological solutions with Oracle APEX.

History

Traust’s CEO Mark Peterson and team Traust has had an ongoing relationship with the House of Charity (HOC) as a member of their board and volunteer since 1990.  Toward the end of 2019, Mark took interest in helping the House of Charity convert their paper forms.

As part of this continued effort, Traust has helped the House of Charity develop an application to manage their room and bed availability as well as the clients they serve using Oracle Application Express (APEX).

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APEX Developers

I sat down with Traust’s APEX developers responsible for the creation of the app, Luke Rohde and Andrew Schultz.  When asked to provide a summary of the project, Luke shared, “We became aware, through Mark, that their computer system needed to be replaced by January 1, 2020.  Luke continued, “When they asked us about potential solutions, we knew right away that APEX was a potential candidate.

Oracle APEX is a web-based software development tool that is included for free with any Oracle Database.  It allows the creation of a user-friendly application in a short period of time.  The application Luke and Andrew built for House of Charity took only two weeks to build.

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Future Expansion

I asked Luke and Andrew about next steps for House of Charity with regard to the application.  Andrew shared that the House of Charity has two properties with beds that need to be managed.  Additionally, the House of Charity has some clients staying on properties that they do not own.  Right now, the application includes the beds for the owned properties.  Eventually, they may want to add the beds for the other properties as well.  Luke added that he hopes to see other nonprofits and small businesses take advantage of APEX.

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Working with the House of Charity

Next, I asked Luke and Andrew what their favorite part about the HOC project was.  Luke, being fairly new to Traust, said it was a great learning experience for him.  “Deb Moses, Executive Director and CEO of House of Charity and Geoff Meyer, Housing Services Director are excellent leaders and really great to work with,” Luke reflected.  Both Luke and Andrew agreed that the opportunity to do meaningful work for a nonprofit like HOC, that helps a highly underserved population was extremely rewarding.

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Opportunity and Options for Other Nonprofits

Finally, I asked how other organizations similar to House of Charity could benefit from an APEX application like this.  “HOC and other similar nonprofits tend to operate in a tech-desert.  They don’t exist to generate money but to serve people which creates inherent challenges in attaining and retaining funding for customized tools like this.”  The great thing about APEX is that an application like the one built for House of Charity, doesn’t have to cost very much to be really useful.

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Learn More

If you’re a non-profit or small business and interested in learning more, contact us today for a demo.

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