Outdated tools💾 pit clients (those looking for help) and caseworkers against each other👊🏽, forcing people to tell their story again and again while struggling to find help, stifling progress & burning out workers🔥.
Flourishing Systems Inc has spent the last four years conducting research🔍 into trauma-informed design. Through this work, they developed a client-centered💗 system, “Transform,” for intake, scheduling📆, case notes✍🏼, referrals🫱🏾🫲🏿, dynamic communication💬, & reporting📝 that prioritizes empathy❤️, streamlines workflows, automates reporting🤖 & advances data justice⚖️.
Currently in use by multiple agencies, Transform has demonstrated tangible improvements in efficiency and client satisfaction. It has freed up 30% of staff time, reduced burnout & made clients (+funders) happier.
The social services sector represents a substantial market, with over 10,000 agencies & total addressable market of $4.8 billion in North America alone. These organizations spend significant resources on outdated, funder-focused software, creating an opportunity for Transform to provide a more effective, client-centered alternative. Our market includes social service agencies, governments, and foundations seeking innovative solutions to enhance service delivery and impact measurement.
Flourishing Systems Inc competitive advantage lies in our deep sector knowledge, client-centric data model, and advanced AI capabilities, allowing us to deliver unparalleled insights and collaboration opportunities for social service organizations. We are seeking investment to scale our operations, support sector education, and positively change the foundations of social service delivery
Table of Contents
Disrupt systemic inequity⇢Executive SummaryOur MissionProblemSolutionTransform Advantages/ Key FeaturesWhat makes Transform different…Social Services: Status Quo vs TransformOppressive Data Collection & the Alternative…Feature ComparisonData Warehousing & TransformAdjacent Opportunities…The MarketMarket Needs & TrendsIdeal Customer ProfileGrowth & GoalsHow big/good can we be…Progress & ImpactTestimonialsProgressHow we’ll grow…What we need…How we’ll raise capital…Investment Share StructureFinancial ProjectionsAbout Us…We are a multi-product company…HistoryWho’s helped us…Why us…TeamTeam GrowthReferences🤝🏽 Connect
Frontline burnout is a design choice.
Flourishing Systems exist to unlock the superpowers of frontline workers & help the most vulnerable in our society. We improve access for people with multiple barriers, reduce administrative burden, deliver meaningful impact reporting & make the lives of frontline workers + those they serve better.
Flourishing Systems aims to be the leading solutions company for frontline workers & funders that is sought out for solutions to pernicious problems.
We do this through thoughtfully designed accessible tech. We do it for a sector that is forced to spend $100s of millions on sloppy, antagonistic & out of date software.
Flourishing Systems is a subsidiary of IslamicFamily, a social services charity.
Flourishing Systems’ first product is Transform.
Intake, assessment, case notes & reporting for social service agencies are extractive disconnected processes that are retroactive and funder focussed.
Data’s purpose is to secure funding. This causes frontline workers to burnout and people to face repeated hardship and retraumatization by having to tell their story again and again and again.
Learn what inspired us to transform frontline workers lives [Video]: Why Data Injustice is Crushing Social Work
8 minutes
Transform is a complete solution for intake, assessment, case notes, messaging, referrals, reporting & more. It uses compassionate design to reduce trauma, make data collection a win, motivate frontline workers, dramatically reduce reporting and open new pathways for service.
Transform is centred on clients (those looking for help), trauma-informed case management tool with a profound purpose. More than just software, Transform was developed to uplift social service agencies' ability to support clients with respect, empathy, and true efficiency.
Transform is in use today by multiple paying agencies. Transform comes out of five years of practical research & collaboration with some of the worlds best tech companies. Transform is designed by/for frontline workers, & built on Indigenous data justice principles. We’re ready to scale & looking for investment to expand our team & answer demand.
Bouncers ⇢ Guides
Transform Advantages/ Key Features
Flourishing Systems leverages over 30 years of non-profit expertise in the social services sector to offer an impactful, unparalleled solution designed to enhance organizational efficiency, effectiveness and impact. Here’s how Transform stands out:
- Best in Class User Experience: Our deep integration in the social services sector allows us to create empathic experiences that resonate with users. Unlike generic software tools, Transform is specifically designed around workers and those looking for help. This ensures that services are tailored to individual needs, enhancing both client and worker engagement/ satisfaction.
- Reduced trauma for those looking for help
- Less burnout for workers
- Client Centric Data Model: Almost all of the products on the market are based on funder centric data models that focus on program reporting rather than improving client interaction. Our work is grounded is data justice & OCAP principles. (OCAP is the First Nations principles of ownership, control, access, and possession –it asserts that First Nations have control over data collection processes, and that they own and control how this information can be used).
- Data mobility for clients
- Enhanced collaboration
- Real-Time Analytics
- Unparalleled Insights & Reporting: Client centric data model allows for aggregation across multiple services leading to new insights that allow for better collaboration and service delivery.
- Faster, more meaningful reporting
- Advanced Artificial Intelligence (AI) Capabilities
- Collaboration & Communication
- Multi-lingual, multi-platform communication: connect with clients in their language, over voice or text, and on the platform that’s best for them – all from one place
- Work as a team: share notes and information across teams and organzations based on clients customized consent
- Interoperability, Customization & Security
- Connect with existing systems
- Easy to customize
- Best in class data security, compliance with leading industry standards
Oppressive | Enhancing |
Retroactive Tells you what happened months ago. | Interactive Actively helps staff work with clients & dynamically identify tailored choices. |
Siloed / Repetitive Data about an individual resides in multiple disconnected places. ex A case worker has to ask for a birthday for Funder A & date of birth for Funder B. | Connected Data follows a person between programs/agencies - becoming richer and more meaningful, while reducing steps for frontline workers. This requires consent based data gathering and shared measurement standards. |
Clunky Built using tools designed to sell widgets (ex Salesforce or Microsoft). High error rate, high training cost, cheap to start but expensive to maintain (by design). Made for corporate. | Elegant Designed to delight and motivate a frontline worker. Recognizes that exceptions are the norm when serving vulnerable populations. Made for social work. |
Results in data collection being frustrating, disconnected, repetitive & traumatizing for workers and clients. | Strengthens collaboration, reduces time spent collecting data, provides realtime sector trends, opens up opportunities for longitudinal data. |
Feature Comparison
Toggle to see feature comparison chart
The table below shows a detailed overview of how Transform compares against software competitors in the social services space. This was developed through desk-based research, & talking to users of the platforms.
Transform offers a unique blend of features and benefits that set it apart from other tools. Here’s how Transform delivers unmatched value:
Transform offers a unique blend of features and benefits that set it apart from other tools. Here’s how Transform delivers unmatched value:
Features | Transform | ETO | Apricot | Custom Salesforce | Custom Microsoft | Podio | Helpseeker |
Easy Customization | ✓ | ㅤ | ㅤ | ㅤ | ㅤ | ㅤ | ㅤ |
Workflow Automation | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
Static Reporting | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
User Management | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
Scheduling & Appts | ✓ | ㅤ | ㅤ | ㅤ | ㅤ | ㅤ | ㅤ |
Data portability | ✓ | ㅤ | ㅤ | ㅤ | ㅤ | ㅤ | ㅤ |
Omni-channel communication | ㅤ | ㅤ | ㅤ | ㅤ | ㅤ | ㅤ | ㅤ |
Communicate on WhatsApp & SMS | ✓ | ㅤ | ㅤ | ㅤ | ㅤ | ㅤ | ㅤ |
Send msgs in multiple languages back and forth | ✓ | ㅤ | ㅤ | ㅤ | ㅤ | ㅤ | ㅤ |
Communicate in multiple languages translated back and forth | ✓ | ㅤ | ㅤ | ㅤ | ㅤ | ㅤ | ㅤ |
Artificial Intelligence (AI) | ㅤ | ㅤ | ㅤ | ㅤ | ㅤ | ㅤ | ㅤ |
Run complex queries via chatbot | ✓ | ㅤ | ㅤ | ㅤ | ㅤ | ㅤ | ✓ |
Trend & sentiment analysis | ✓ | ㅤ | ㅤ | ㅤ | ㅤ | ㅤ | ㅤ |
Predictive LLM modelling | ✓ | ㅤ | ㅤ | ㅤ | ㅤ | ㅤ | ㅤ |
Privacy | ㅤ | ㅤ | ㅤ | ㅤ | ㅤ | ㅤ | ㅤ |
OCAP Guided | ✓ | ㅤ | ㅤ | ㅤ | ㅤ | ㅤ | ㅤ |
GDPR Compliance | 80%* | ㅤ | ㅤ | ㅤ | ㅤ | ㅤ | ㅤ |
Client level privacy controls | ✓ | ㅤ | ㅤ | ㅤ | ㅤ | ㅤ | ㅤ |
Measurement Standards | ㅤ | ㅤ | ㅤ | ㅤ | ㅤ | ㅤ | ㅤ |
Common Approach | ✓ | ㅤ | ㅤ | ㅤ | ㅤ | ㅤ | ㅤ |
Lifeworks SSM | ✓ | ㅤ | ㅤ | ㅤ | ㅤ | ㅤ | ㅤ |
Community Info Exchange | ✓ | ㅤ | ㅤ | ㅤ | ㅤ | ㅤ | ㅤ |
Pricing | ㅤ | ㅤ | ㅤ | ㅤ | ㅤ | ㅤ | ㅤ |
Implementation | $20-40k | $30k up | $30k up | $80-150k | $80-150k | <$10k | x |
Annual | $15/user | ㅤ | ㅤ | ㅤ | ㅤ | $5/user | $41-100/user |
* Full GDPR compliance would require moving to a dedicated server, third-party auditing, and a policy review.
A “Data Warehouse” is like the Dewey Decimal System, “Transform” is like your local library where you can take out books. A Data Warehouse is a concept and set of principles about where and how to store data. Transform is a product – that's in use – that’s helped shape the principles and ideas for a social service data warehouse. Transform is focussed on how to collect data in a trauma informed, client-centered way – it has the ability to store data in multiple ways.
Adjacent Opportunities…
- Public health messaging: Transform is uniquely positioned to support the effective delivery of public health messaging to highly vulnerable populations
- Service expansion: Flourishing Systems Inc has developed products to make refugee sponsorship dramatically more efficient – freeing up 50% of the staff time needed, and use hyper-local digital currency to connect community and reduce income insecurity.
- Insights & intelligence: Transform’s data model sets us up in a unique way to identify patterns, and create learning opportunities.
The Market
The social services sector represents a significant and critical component of global welfare, encompassing a wide range of services aimed at improving the quality of life for individuals and communities. This sector includes various subfields such as healthcare, housing, education, and welfare, all of which require efficient management and innovative solutions to address complex challenges.
Flourishing Systems’ market is…
Social Service Agencies
10,000+ in North America
Typically spend $40k+/a on reporting related work & tools
10,000+ in North America
Typically spend $40k+/a on reporting related work & tools
Looking to improve services, better retention, increase collaboration & strengthen reporting
Governments/ Foundations
200+ viable prospects in North America
Typically spend $200k+ on reporting related expenses
Looking for meaningful impact data, better insights, improved outcomes
200+ viable prospects in North America
Typically spend $200k+ on reporting related expenses
Looking for meaningful impact data, better insights, improved outcomes
Serviceable Available Market (Total # of social workers in North America): 847K
Total Addressable Market: $4.8B
Status quo vs Transform
Big changes in society & tech make Transform necessary…
- Demographics: Populations are diversifying, spoken languages, literacy, and communication have changed.
- Tech adoption: Average service user, even if they are illiterate, likely uses a smart phone regularly.
- Data Security, Data Sovereignty, & Data Justice: Culture is changing, increasingly society, the sector, funders and those looking for help are demanding clarity on where/how data is stored, the right to see/use that data, and for that data to benefit them and their community in direct ways.
- Data Management: Social services organizations increasingly require robust data management systems to handle large volumes of client data, ensure compliance with regulations, and improve service delivery.
- Client Management: Effective client management solutions are essential for tracking client progress, customizing services, and optimizing resource allocation.
- Analytics & Reporting: Advanced analytics and reporting tools are crucial for measuring impact, identifying trends, and making data-driven decisions to enhance program effectiveness.
Ideal Customer Profile
Our Ideal Customer Profile (ICP) encompasses entities that are dedicated to improving community welfare through effective service delivery, data management, and client support. This section outlines the key characteristics of our target customers and the specific needs Transform addresses for them.
Early Adopter Traits | Company Size Attributes | Company’s Customers | User Title/Role | Title of Economic Buyer |
-No database or uses legacy database -Experiencing pain points with the following: - Issues with staff data entry - Issues with managing walk in clients - Time consuming to pull reporting data for funders (manual/Excel based) - Not able to pull specific information related to getting new grants | -$500K-6M SMEs in Annual Funding/Revenue -ED can make decision on software purchase without board approval | -Clients in poor socioeconomic situation -Clients facing food insecurity, mental health and/or addiction issues | -Counsellor -Social Worker -Coordinator -Program Managers -Outreach Worker | -Executive Director -Program Manager/Director |
Growth & Goals
How big/good can we be…
As a for-benefit business we measure success through both financial sustainability & social impact.
❤️ We measure impact by improvements to frontline service…
- Improvements to client and frontline worker satisfaction
- Hours reallocated from repetitive administration to frontline service
- Improvements to frontline service outcomes measured through quantitative improvements to clients lives as measured by the Lifeworks Self-Sufficiency Matrix and progressive sentiment analysis of client communication
💵 We measure sustainability & financial success by…
- Product adoption & usage
Organizational uptake: Goal is 10-15% annual growth
Cluster uptake: Goal is to have 2-3 municipalities/funders invest per year
- Return to shareholders & reinvestment into sector R&D
Goal is to offer shareholders returns that are competitive with the social impact sector
Progress & Impact
Testimonials
Transform is easy to navigate & more efficient.
—Samantha Vaux RSW, Clinical Team Lead
The City of Edmonton is an early investor in Transform because we're committed to supporting innovative, sector-based solutions for client-focused outcomes measurement.
—Mayor Sohi, City of Edmonton
It’s the first time that the tools i use aligned with the trauma informed approach i learned about in school.
—Nuha Dhooma, Case Worker
Transform is super simple to use.
–Said Abdalla RSW, Case Worker
Progress
- Presently in-use by 6 agencies: Creating Hope Society, Operation Friendship Seniors Society, Ummah Society, Amity House, Candora Society, & IslamicFamily
Waiting List: YWCA, CMHA, MyEncompass, ARC, and more
- Average of 40% decrease in amount of time organizations spend on reporting, 20% decrease in time to complete an intake
- Frontline satisfaction score of 80%
- Direct sales generated through outbound sales, word of mouth
- Funder supported adoption - where cities/foundations support local agencies to purchase
Future spending will be directed towards…
💡 Sector Education
Increase digital literacy, data justice awareness & capacity in the social service sector.
Need ~2 new hires
Increase digital literacy, data justice awareness & capacity in the social service sector.
Need ~2 new hires
👩🏽💻 Developers
Hiring developers, security experts & designers.
Need ~3-4 new hires
Hiring developers, security experts & designers.
Need ~3-4 new hires
🫶🏼 Customer Support
Providing excellent onboarding & ongoing support.
Need ~2 new hires
Providing excellent onboarding & ongoing support.
Need ~2 new hires
How we’ll raise capital…
Thus far we’ve grown through bootstrapping, grants, and in-kind contributions. Our customers have come to us organically through word of mouth. We now have additional organizations who want to use our product but onboarding them would require additional upfront development expenditures. This is a critical moment for us where we need to invest in growing our team so that we can continue our momentum and satisfy demand.
Investment Share Structure
Flourishing Systems Inc offers investors three classes of shares…
🎁 Gift Shares
Provide capital that allows us to accelerate our work, and offer more agencies to access innovation. Maximizes social impact.
Provide capital that allows us to accelerate our work, and offer more agencies to access innovation. Maximizes social impact.
❤️ Impact Shares
Provide returnable fixed-term, no-interest, investment that allows us to build. Strong social impact, with returnable capital.
Provide returnable fixed-term, no-interest, investment that allows us to build. Strong social impact, with returnable capital.
💵 Balanced Shares
Provide capital in return for modest dividends and positive social impact. Reasonable returns and social impact.
Provide capital in return for modest dividends and positive social impact. Reasonable returns and social impact.
Financial Projections
Based on current growth/projections we aim to be sustainable by 2028.
About Us…
Flourishing Systems is a an innovation company focussed on positive impact and combatting systemic inequity through thoughtfully designed tech. We sell software as a service (SAAS) & offer consulting to social service agencies & government.
Transform, our flagship product, is rethinking of social work tools that is focussed on clients and social workers. It reduced the trauma of repetition, opens new pathways for communication, simplifies reporting & much much more.
Amplify, a local digital currency, that keeps wealth circulating in a community, while addressing food insecurity.
Embark, an automation system for refugee sponsorship that completes tedious work in half the time. It saves on average a 1000+ hours of admin time per year.
We have been a part of spectacular failures & incredible growth. Flourishing Systems was spun out of a multi-award winning social services charity in 2022, to enable the work to stand on its own, and attract investment not possible within a charitable structure.
Our innovation was born out of earlier failures, helping build SROI (Social Return on Investment) Alberta, a system that aimed to do for the charities what ROI does for business – provide an objective measure to compare organizations. SROI failed because it was retroactive, funder-focussed and didn’t tackle the underlying problem of antagonistic data collection. Our drive to build better tools arose from the unmet promise for meaningful measurement and our drive to improve the day to day lives of frontline workers and the people they serve.
Our journey has included validating our assumptions through over 200 interviews with social workers, executive directors, and funders. We’ve co-built our product with leaders in UX (Metalab.co), telephony (Twillio.org) and AI (AMII).
The parent, IslamicFamily, is an Imagine Canada & Great Places to Work™ accredited charity, the winner of the Government of Alberta’s Inspiration Award for its work combating domestic violence (2020), the Canadian Mental Health Associations Professional Service Award (2020), Justice Innovation Award (2022) for work related to the Justice system, APPI (Alberta Professional Planners Institute) Award for affordable housing research (2024), & YEG Startup Community Award (2022) for tech innovation.
- Government & Foundations: City of Edmonton, United Way, Muttart Foundation, Stollery Foundation, ECF (via CFC)
Provided guidance, expertise and financial support.
- Frontline Workers
200+ interviews with Executive Directors, 5000+ hours of engagement/co-design with social workers
- Social Researchers: University of Alberta, NorQuest, Dialogue in Action
Experts in evaluation, and engagement. Helped design and support our first long-term client study that led to Transform.
- Tech Companies: Metalab & Twillio
The designers of Slack, Facebook Messenger & Coinbase. Accepted us as their first Community Investment. Supported user research, and interface design.
The backbone provider for programmable communication - SMS, voice, email, etc. Twilio provided capital and consulting support to help build out our messaging and translation features.
- Accelerators: CSW + AlchemistX & GrowthX
Top accelerators for social impact ideas worth scaling.
Our lived experience, as children of immigrants, and workers in tech + social services has allowed us to imagine and build new ways of working - to reimagine social work through our own worldviews, what we would want to experience and what we know is possible.
- Deep Sector Knowledge: With a rich history in the non-profit social services sector, Transform brings unparalleled insights and understanding of the unique challenges and needs faced by organizations. This deep-rooted experience informs every aspect of our platform, ensuring it is truly tailored to the sector.
- Proven Track Record & Reputation: Our long-standing presence in the sector demonstrates a proven track record of driving meaningful change and delivering high-quality services. Transform builds on this legacy to provide a reliable and effective solution.
- Mission-Driven Approach: Transform retains the mission-driven ethos of our non-profit origins, ensuring that our technology remains focused on maximizing social impact rather than just profits. This alignment with social goals resonates strongly with organizations in the sector.
Omar Yaqub ICD.D DSL MBA BSc: Non-profit sector leader, University professor & 10+ yrs management consultant.
Shaista Ali: ML & Product Advisor. PM Director of 5+ in the AI/ML space.
Raj Rajakumar: Previously co-founded a VC-backed startup backed by Mark Cuban & Jeff Holmes. App Store's Top 40.
Pedro Duarte: 20+ years in developing software and having sold startups.
We use a global approach to growing our team and finding talent. We apply B Corp principles to hiring. To fulfill existing demand we need to double the amount of developers, and bring in 1-2 onboarding specialist. We also need to hire staff for outbound sales.
References
Get in touch…
flourishing.systems - AI Health Sciences Scale Up
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