Aug. 2018 - NYC AUG (thoughts welcome !)

[Kdpalmer]

Hi All - Had a great time with those who came out to the happy hour last week.  We are thinking of having our next session in early august.  Potential topics to include: 1) format and reporting  and 2) deep dive on one of alteryx's tech alliances.  These are by no means set in stone! Please let us know if you have a great idea or are willing to present.

Kate

[smoskowitz]

@LaurenU, @Kdpalmer -

I totally forgot the I already reach out to Quyen. Below is her response to me:

Hi Seth,

Thank you for reaching out. I manage the AFG program! Happy to help answer your inquiry on how to go about spreading Alteryx for Good.

1. NPOs are eligible for the free Alteryx Designer license so long as they are a registered NPO (they must have an EIN #) and they must fall under $10M USD in terms of operating income.
2. The best way to find NPOs that qualify is to use Guidestar – it’s free. You can filter by region/state and see their operating income.
3. After you’ve found an NPO that qualifies, you can either volunteer physically (this helps with the introduction) or reach out to their team to see if you could volunteer technically/analytically

We can discuss the steps after that but here’s where to start. Happy to help/jump on a call. Let me know.

Thanks,

Quyen Tien | 657-900-5499
University Relations & Alteryx for Good

[Kdpalmer]

Hi @smoskowitz Hi @LaurenU - Very cool.  I agree that AFG is good to do first, since there are proven resources to support that journey and will help further cohesion in our city's user group.  This foundation will help us parlay the camaraderie into a great lean mean BATTLE MACHINE after the fact.  I am talking to Michael W. from NJ on the idea but referenced that we would hold on any further update until after next session. 

I skimmed Deanna's article and there are some great lessons learned that we can build a roadmap around.  This is definitely going to be a bigger lift than a session, happy hour, or generic involvement campaign as there are several pieces here to consider beyond selecting a NGO and getting user group buy in. @smoskowitz Let me forward the call some of us are having on Friday to you so we can talk through some checkpoints and bounce ideas off Lauren.

@LaurenU - SOmewhat unrelated, but,  we have a consolidated User Group Email list that is rolling? I only have some addresses here and there from the sessions I have hosted and feel there could be gaps given who did/didn't sign up for any given event due to conflicts.  We can also discuss Friday.

Go Team!

KP

[Deanna]

Hi, @smoskowitz, @Kdpalmer and everyone!  This is wonderful that you would like to start an Alteryx For Good program with the NYC Alteryx User Group!  I would be very glad to help; as @LaurenU mentioned, I have been co-leading the Dallas Alteryx User Group for about 5 years, and I lead our volunteers' work with Alteryx For Good.  I actually know a non-profit that I have been talking with in the New York area, and they are VERY interested in having a local Alteryx user group assist them with an AFG license!  They are the Westchester Children's Association; I was referred to them through our contact at The Commit Partnership in Dallas, who is our Dallas AFG recipient (and who is featured in my write-up on the Community about Alteryx For Good 2018 at this link ). 

It turns out that I posted in our Alteryx User Group Leaders' forum a few months ago, looking for anyone in the New York area who may be interested in starting an Alteryx For Good project with Westchester, so you have perfect timing!  Here is the website for Westchester:  http://wca4kids.org/  .  I would be very glad to connect you with the contact person there, and I know they would be very excited to have your user group's assistance!

Starting an AFG project is actually easier than it sounds; you simply need at least one volunteer, and a point of contact person to be the go-between for your user group volunteer(s) and the non-profit.  Then, set up a time to meet with the non-profit and let them know how amazing Alteryx is, and what it can do for them.  As Lauren mentioned, some non-profits at first find it hard to believe that a group of people will come together, implement a high-tech software, and then provide consulting and instruction for them - all for free!  I have found it works well to start with one small project with the non-profit, such as converting their Excel files and embedded formulae into Alteryx, and then the non-profit and your volunteers together can discover many more ideas for ways to use the software, and ways you can help!

I would also be glad to join on a WebEx and present about Alteryx For Good during one of your upcoming user group meetings.  I was happy to do this with @QuyenT, Manager at Alteryx For Good, a few months ago for the San Diego Alteryx User Group, and they are now working with their own non-profit on an AFG project!  One aspect that I have found to be very beneficial is to allow your volunteers to donate their time and talents on a basis that works well for them; whether it be just an hour, a day, ongoing, etc.  Please see my post above that talks about how your volunteers can give their time virtually, by WebEx and via Dropbox, at any time - lunch hours, nights, weekends, onsite during the day, etc.

In addition, I can forward to you a list of questions that I send to non-profits prior to the first meeting, in order to learn their current state of data analytics, and start to prepare ways to assist them.  Please feel free to reach out to me any time; I am very happy to help, and it is great to see the NYC user group get started with Alteryx For Good!

@Deanna

cc:  @ToriA, @TuvyL

[Kdpalmer]

Hey Deanna -- This is great, thank you for your thorough response.  That's great that there is already a group in the area interested.  Agree on the approach of "starting small" as well, and good to know there are already workarounds for any concerns about time flexibility (particularly given that westchester is a bit north of the city)

Guess I have to check the leader board more often :) Happy to do so!

KP

[smoskowitz]

@Deanna -

Thank you for your response. I think we would benefit from seeing the list of questions you send out to non-profits. It would at least give us a great place to start our journey. I have also read through your posts and they indeed have given me insight into the process. I will speak with @Kdpalmer and @LaurenU as a call with you would be beneficial as well as a Webex presentation to the group.

Thank you again for taking the time to provide some advice and insight.

Kind Regards,

Seth