By the end of this year, The Contingent and it’s initiative Every Child will have expanded to two new states.

Every Child, an initiative created by The Contingent, has been recruiting foster parents in Oregon for ten years. Starting in 2013, the Every Child model set out to welcome the community into engaging with children and families affected by foster care. The Contingent was soon asked to expand the Every Child initiative to the entire state.

In the past 10 years, Every Child has brought a record number of people inquiring to be foster parents. Across the country, most states have had three years of declining inquiries, while Oregon’s numbers have increased. In 2020, 2021, and 2022, over 2,000 people a year have said they were ready to become foster parents.

The Contingent’s success in Oregon earned the attention of the federal government. In 2020, a delegation reviewed Every Child and said they would like to see this model scaled nation wide.

Partnership with Microsoft

The Contingent’s success is due in part through our tremendous investment in technology. Through a partnership with Mircosoft, The Contingent has been able to pair technological solutions to community engagement. You can read more about this partnership and how The Contingent has been able to use Microsoft Cloud for Nonprofit to overcome unique challenges in expanding to new states.

We believe we have a scalable solution; thanks to the tools we developed in partnership with Microsoft and Wipfli. Were it not for our investment in Microsoft’s Cloud for Nonprofit, including Dynamics 365, Azure, Power Pages, and Power BI, we would not have been able to do what we did during the pandemic. 

Ben Sand: CEO

Engaging with the Community – KGW Story

In February, The Contingent launched it’s branch office and Every Child Arkansas. This fall The Contingent will open a branch in Indiana.

In both states, we have scaled and adapted the Every Child model to best fit the local organizations doing the work to train, certify, and support foster parents. Every Child brings the latest technology in digital marketing to engage members of the community and ask them to get involved in some way. Through storytelling and education, Every Child spreads awareness of the need and amplifies the voices of those impacted by foster care.

This digital marketing, along with customer service, connects with local organizations to create a streamlined, guided experience.

One of the parents Every Child has recruited is Holly Hampton, who said: “When I started googling what foster care was, I found Every Child. And that’s how I got connected, learned more about it, and ultimately, how I started.”

Watch the story by KGW below: