Since it began serving students in 2005 Hamilton Friends has focused chiefly on developing its programs and increasing the number of students served. In 2009, however, Hamilton Friends focused on improving its current programs and building enough operational capacity to sustain more program growth in the coming years.

Hamilton’s biggest move, literally, happened on January 1st, 2009 when Hamilton Friends relocated from its home office in Woodway, Washington to a new office in downtown Seattle. The new office is located in Seattle’s historic Pioneer Square in the newly renovated Grand Central Building.

“We chose the Grand Central building because it was cost effective, easy to get to and will allow us to hire more staff,” said George Cox, Hamilton Friends President.

Another development for Hamilton Friends was the implementation of SalesForce, a CRM database, which will help Hamilton Friends better track and organize their student information, donor information and staff communications.

“We decided to use SalesForce because it allows us to access and organize our data efficiently and effectively,” said Joslin Boroughs, Director of Operations. “With this system we can serve our students better and also improve communication with our donors and other constituents.”

Hamilton Friends has also increased its staff. In 2009, a part-time employee was hired to help with communications work and there was an increase in the use of paid interns, all of which were current Hamilton Scholars!

“As Hamilton Friends grows its programs we also need to grow our organizational capacity,” said Joslin Boroughs, Director of Operations. “The new office, increased staff and new database will allow us to serve more students in 2010.”