Blockchain-Driven Refugee Case Management and Donation Transparency
Results
Minutes of refugee support meetings logged
Refugees registered on the platform
Physical donations tracked & traced
Big Picture
In 2023, over 117 million people were forcibly displaced by violence globally, with the majority coming from developing nations where aid is limited. Many spend years in refugee camps awaiting U.N. assignment, and before arrival in the U.S., refugees face additional vetting from several federal agencies. Utah welcomes around 1,800 refugees annually, many of whom initially settle in the Salt Lake Valley with government-funded aid lasting just 8 to 24 months.
Utah Valley Refugees (UVR) exists to address the critical need for long-term support, helping individuals and families relocate to Utah County and achieve self-reliance in their new community. Through holistic programs, they assist refugees in overcoming barriers to healthcare, education, employment, and cultural integration. To streamline case management and enhance the transparency of donations, UVR uses BanQu’s blockchain platform to track and report refugee data in a single, secure system.
Problem
To support long-term refugee integration in Utah County, the UVR team regularly meets with refugees to assess their cases and unique needs – but they struggled with streamlining meeting notes and documents. Refugee data and case notes were scattered across seven disparate systems, leading to inefficiencies and communication gaps.
Additionally, UVR lacked a comprehensive system to track donations (e.g., blankets, clothing, baby supplies, food, and funds) and link them to the recipient refugees, creating challenges in maintaining inventory and ensuring transparency for donors. Without clear oversight, it became difficult to assure donors that their contributions directly benefited their assigned refugee families.
These issues prompted UVR to seek a secure and transparent platform that could:
- Centralize refugee data and case management notes in one location - while keeping personal and confidential information safe and protected.
- Provide real-time reporting on inventory levels, case information, and refugee impact over time
- Track donations from donor to recipient to enhance donor confidence and ensure accountability
- Simplify new fundraising and grant application processes with easily accessible and verifiable impact data
Enter BanQu
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Solution
Sowing a Better Ecuador through Traceability and Transparency
UVR partnered with BanQu to streamline their refugee case management and donation tracking through a secure, transparent platform. This partnership not only improves organizational efficiency but also fosters greater trust with donors and increases support for refugee families. Since the project’s launch in March 2022, the platform has registered over 300 refugees, recorded 25,000 minutes of refugee meeting notes, and tracked 1,500 physical donations from donors to recipients.
UVR’s case managers use BanQu to record meeting notes with refugees in a single, user-friendly system. These notes are entered through configurable forms categorized by case type and are linked directly to refugee profiles. All personal and confidential information is protected by blockchain technology – ensuring it is tamper-proof and safe from unauthorized access and data breaches.
In addition to case management, the platform tracks donations in real time. When donations are received and recorded by case managers, the system automatically generates receipts for donors, who can log in to monitor the progress of their contributions. Case managers can add and track unlimited physical goods, confirming when refugees receive items and maintaining a full history of goods connected to each refugee profile.
Donors are given controlled access to the platform, where they can view whether their assigned refugee family has received their donations, creating a new level of transparency and trust. Meanwhile, UVR has access to real-time reports that allow them to effectively manage inventory, track case progress, and monitor the time spent on each case by employees and volunteers. By tracking both physical and monetary donations, UVR can assess the effectiveness of their programs and the ongoing impact on refugees.
This streamlined system has not only improved internal processes but also simplified the way UVR applies for new grants and funding by providing readily available, verifiable data on refugee support and impact. By leveraging BanQu’s blockchain technology, UVR has demonstrated a deep commitment to transforming refugee lives, with transparent reporting and measurable results to back their efforts.
Benefits
- Streamlined case management and refugee data by consolidating all information into a single, secure platform.
- Enhanced inventory management and donor transparency by tracking donations end-to-end, from sender to recipient.
- Real-time, configurable case management reporting dashboards, providing quick access to refugee demographics, case notes, meeting minutes by case type, donation tracking, etc.
The donation tracking system has improved transparency with donors by allowing them to view their donations and receive automatic digital donation confirmations upon date entry in the BanQu platform. Having a centralized platform for case notes has greatly simplified our internal processes and enabled us to better track client interactions and needs. This has improved our ability to help our clients effectively and streamlined time tracking for reporting purposes. BanQu has been great to work with. The team is very responsive and has tried to accommodate our BanQu platform to meet the specific needs for the niche work we do.
Program Director
Amanda Nelson