JFCS Arizona keeps its senior classes running smoothly

About JFCS Arizona

Jewish Family & Children's Service (JFCS) of Arizona provides behavioral health services and programs for older adults, serving people of all faiths and backgrounds. At JFCS, Jennifer Brauner, Director of the Center for Senior Enrichment, runs a program of classes for older adults, both online and in person.

The program is based in Arizona, but it reaches much further. About 90% of Jennifer's classes are online, so older adults from across the country can join.

Jennifer runs the whole thing herself, from setting up classes and handling sign-ups to keeping in touch with participants and checking how the program is doing. Having one system that keeps all those pieces organized has become essential.

I'm a one-man shop. The ability to have something available to me that's going to allow me to be most efficient with my time is most important to me.

Moving beyond Zoom registration

Before Occasion, JFCS tried several booking systems but never found one that stuck. Jennifer mostly used Zoom's built-in registration forms to collect participant details for her online classes. It worked, but it didn't give her the one place to run everything that she needed.

Occasion really changed my life as far as the whole process of registrations and managing the overall program.

With Occasion, JFCS got a system that also handles rosters, reminders, participant messages, and reports. Instead of stitching together separate tools, Jennifer had one place to run the program.

Keeping the workload manageable

For Jennifer, Occasion has made her workload lighter. A lot of the time saved comes from cutting out small, repeat jobs that quickly add up. Setting up recurring classes is one example. Instead of building each new listing from scratch, Jennifer copies an existing one and changes the dates, price, or description as needed.

Having a template available to me speeds everything up. It allows me to be more efficient with my time.

Helping participants remember and return

For a program serving older adults, staying in touch really matters. Jennifer says the automatic reminders have become one of the Occasion features she likes most.

People get so busy that even if they sign up for something, they may not remember when it occurs or that they even registered. Having those features available to my participants is huge.

Jennifer also uses Occasion to reach out to current participants about upcoming classes, helping turn today's attendees into next month's sign-ups.

I utilize that quite a bit to send out communications to let people know about upcoming programs.

The updated Occasion calendar has made that easier too. Jennifer can scroll through upcoming classes, message individual rosters, and edit notes before they go out, all without clicking in and out of the calendar.

Seeing the bigger picture

Beyond bookings and messages, Occasion gives Jennifer a clearer view of how the program is doing over time. She often uses sales and registration data to see how well her outreach is working.

I can do a snapshot of my weekly, monthly, annual numbers that allow me to see if things are moving in an upward direction or if things need to change. It just helps me evaluate the program as a whole.

For JFCS, that clear view really helps, because the goal isn't just to sell more seats. It's to see how many people are taking part and whether the classes are landing with the older adults JFCS serves. Having the registration data on hand gives Jennifer one more way to tell what's working and where to make changes.

Support when plans change

Even with good systems in place, class calendars change. Jennifer saw that firsthand when she recently had to pull a large number of classes and then quickly put them back. That's where Occasion's customer support really helped.

Jennifer works often with Gabriella from the Occasion team, who walked her through it and got the classes back up quickly.

She's remarkable! She's always been very attentive to my needs. Everyone else that I've spoken to has been very helpful as well.

The result: a more manageable way to serve a growing community

For Jennifer, Occasion gives her the structure that keeps her job manageable. It's one place to set up classes, keep in touch with participants, keep an eye on sign-ups, and see how the program is doing, while automatic reminders make things easier for the older adults she serves.

And when asked what she would tell another organization considering Occasion, Jennifer didn't hesitate.

I would tell them to use it, to go for it! It's really going to make a difference for their business needs. It's going to allow them to manage the entire process more efficiently, and there's no reason to even question it.