New free digital platform helps nonprofits continue to offer social services
The quarantine in place to contain the spread of the COVID-19 virus in Puerto Rico has left many community and nonprofit organizations with a limited ability to offer social services — which are essential for the island’s vulnerable populations.
To remedy that, Puerto Rican company Propulsa, LLC has created Sociants, a free digital platform that allows organizations to close the gap between need, resource, and attention.
“We know that people’s needs cannot wait, and collaboration between community providers is essential for a resilient society. That is why we have developed Sociants,” said founder Diego Loinaz.
Sociants.com offers nonprofit organizations, community providers, government agencies and local and international foundations, digital tools to identify the needs of individuals in Puerto Rico, based on 13 social determinants that impact their health.
To achieve this, the platform provides visualization tools such as interactive maps, demographic data, evaluation filters and wellness censuses, he said.
Organizations can use the platform to match the needs of people with more than 1,000 local organizations in Sociants’ directory of community providers that offer social services.
“This way, an organization can identify the needs of an individual, and instantly assign one of their resources to help them. If there are needs that this organization cannot meet, the platform allows it to refer the case to another community provider that is part of the Sociants network,” said co-founder Javier Torres.
Torres explained that community organizations also need to measure the results of their work to attract and connect with funds directed to their programs. So, Sociants allows organizations to document their case management and the services they provide to the community.
The platform is free for community and nonprofit organizations that register in Sociants, said Torres, adding “We want to help nonprofits fulfill their mission, that’s why our platform is free for them.”
Organizations interested in registering should visit the sitio web.
“These organizations can count on us to help them continue coordinating their social services for the people who need it most,” added Loinaz.
