Most of us take the phone for granted. In fact, we take it wherever we go. It is hard to imagine not being able to receive a call from an employer or a friend, or to make a call to your health provider or your family. But for the homeless, the destitute, runaway youths, migrant workers, victims of domestic violence, recently released prisoners, and other people in crisis or in transition, access to phone service can mean the difference between being engaged in society or becoming socially invisible.
Community Voice Mail (CVM) is an organization that empowers people by providing free, personalized telecommunications to those who need it. CVM has a measurable impact on people’s ability to emerge from sometimes desperate situations by providing a critical link to human services and other human beings. Clients use their voicemail numbers as a reliable and confidential way to communicate with prospective employers, landlords, doctors and dentists, case managers, social service staff, and family members. After using CVM for an average of seven months, nearly 70 percent of clients achieve at least one of their goals of finding a job, housing, or healthcare.
An Award-Winning Partnership
CVM was nominated by Cisco and received the prestigious Committee Encouraging Corporate Philanthropy (CECP) Directors Nonprofit Award for 2008. CECP honored CVM for creating a meaningful solution to an often-overlooked fundamental obstacle for the poor and homeless. The award noted that Cisco has had a transformative impact on the success and scope of this critical service organization.
“CVM is a practical tool that makes the difference between a job lead and a job interview, knowledge of free vaccinations for children and missed appointments, escaping domestic violence with support or simply landing on the street, isolated.”
—U. S. Senator Patty Murray, State of Washington
How Cisco Is Making a Difference
Since the partnership began in 2003, more than 165,000 individuals have benefited from CVM services, and more than 2100 nonprofit agencies have distributed CVM contact numbers to their clients.
The partnership between Cisco and CVM involves one of the most significant investments of corporate resources (people, products, and cash) ever extended by Cisco to a nonprofit organization. Cisco has donated more than $8.5 million in hardware, software, and licensing fees to CVM, helping the organization create an enterprise-level server network with a current capacity of 30,000 simultaneous subscribers.
The first Cisco Foundation cash grant, $2.5 million over five years beginning in 2003, helped CVM enhance service capabilities, centralize the voicemail system, and reduce operational costs. The centralized voicemail system, which registered 3 million voicemail messages in 2007, has yielded operational efficiencies that have resulted in a 22-percent savings in administrative and technical costs, or approximately $500,000 annually. The time necessary to install new sites has been cut in half.
With a new Cisco Foundation three-year grant of $1.95 million awarded in April 2008, CVM will be able to significantly expand. The organization has established sites in eight U.S. cities since the Cisco partnership began, with new sites in Ft. Lauderdale, Florida, and Albuquerque, New Mexico, launched in August 2008. The program inspired a similar service at The Big Issue in Melbourne, Australia, sponsored directly by Cisco employees. (The Big Issue produces an entertainment and current affairs magazine, which is written by professional journalists and sold on the streets by homeless people.) There has been additional interest from Cisco employees in France and Scotland.
Cisco donates office space to the 10-person CVM national staff located in Seattle, Washington, allowing CVM to direct more funds to program-related activities. On average, 40 Cisco volunteers devote time and expertise each year toward product development and implementation of new technologies, as well as administrative, management, and strategic planning tasks.
Using broadcast messaging, email integration, and the auto reply features of Cisco telephony technology, CVM has educated clients in several U.S. cities about the availability of free tax preparation services, as well as Earned Income Tax Credit eligibility. Seattle experienced a 32-percent response rate from clients seeking tax assistance. This represents more than 3 percent of the total tax returns that were prepared in Seattle and adjoining King County in the 2007 tax season.
How CVM Works
A CVM provider gives the client an instruction card and a touch-tone phone, so they can call into the system and enroll. Enrollment takes only about three minutes. The client simply dials in, records a simple greeting, and creates a secure password.
Once the new phone number is active, anyone can call it and leave a message. Clients can retrieve their messages from anywhere that works for them, whether from a pay phone, a social service agency phone, or the home phone or cell phone of a friend or family member. To callers the CVM number looks like any other phone number, creating an impression of stability and credibility.
CVM phone numbers are distributed based on demonstrated financial need, lack of reliable phone service, or pursuit of a specific goal such as work, housing, healthcare, or safety from violence. After the goal has been achieved, the number is recycled to another client, thereby conserving numbers and voicemail resources.
“Within the first weeks of having my CVM number, I made every appointment I had. The number has opened the door for so many things in my life. Thank you for helping me start my life all over.”
—Tyra, a CVM client
