Grace Foundation offers accommodation, rehabilitation and support for people exiting prison who often have nowhere else to go. It’s grown into Aotearoa’s largest residential bail provider, but its antiquated systems were making it tough to keep up. Tech partner Delta Insights stepped in with a built-for-purpose Microsoft Dynamics platform that’s set the organisation up to help many more prisoners in need, with much less hassle.
For nearly two decades, Grace Foundation has provided something rare for prisoners – a place to rebuild. Founded by the Letele whānau, the organisation is committed to comprehensive pathways for individuals exiting prison to find healing, structure and dignity.
Grace Foundation currently has 450 residents in care and another 700 on the waitlist. To handle this, the team was managing and tracking everything from referrals and placements to funding and reporting using unfit software, paper forms and spreadsheets. These methods limited what the organisation required and compromised the opportunity for growth.
“Grace has always led with heart,” says director Ulalei Letele. “But when you’re fielding hundreds of referrals and managing placements across multiple sites, heart alone doesn’t cut it. We needed better visibility, accountability, and ultimately, we needed to free up our people to focus on providing care, not admin.”
Recognising the need for a scalable solution, the Grace Foundation team worked with Microsoft to connect with Delta Insights and was recommended their community-focused solution, developing a plan to update and digitise the core operations.
A tailored system in record time
Delta Insights conceived the perfect Customer Relationship Management (CRM) system using Delta Reach, built on Microsoft Dynamics 365 and powered by Microsoft Azure, designed with the unique needs of Grace Foundation in mind. The Delta Reach product is a pre-built solution based on Microsoft Dynamics 365, tailored for not-for-profit, social services, and wellness organisations.
Through a series of intensive working sessions with Grace Foundation’s team, Delta Insights was able to identify exactly what they needed.
“This was a partnership at every stage,” says Delta Insights Co-Founder and Managing Director Dalia Raphael. “Grace Foundation was involved in every step of the build, from shaping how the referral system should work, to setting up programme pathways and housing flows. It was a genuinely collaborative design process.”
Four wāhine from Grace Foundation, all without previous tech backgrounds, joined the project team. For many, it was their first step into technology, something Delta actively encourages and supports.
“Our job is to build tools that communities can actually own,” says Raphael. “We’re not here to deliver a black box. We want clients to understand it, run it, adapt it. And Grace has done that with absolute clarity and commitment.”
“We are the enabler, allowing the Foundation to focus on providing the care and support for those in need.”
In just 12 weeks, “Gracie” the CRM was up and running.
Enabling vital mahi without the admin
The system allows Grace Foundation to handle referrals, allocate placements, manage housing stock, and generate reports for funders – all in one place, with AI automation embedded throughout. But it also does something less tangible, by creating confidence for the team to get their vital mahi done without wrangling data.
“Before Gracie, we were tied up in processes. We had software and spreadsheets, but no live visibility. We didn’t know how many rooms were free at a glance. We couldn’t report on outcomes easily. Now, we can. It’s changing how we operate,” says Letele.
With Gracie, there is an estimated $54,600 in admin time saved annually through centralised data reporting. This is critical for securing sustainable public funding, given Grace Foundation’s close work with government agencies and social services. That time savings is built into the solution itself.
The embedded Copilot AI helps frontline staff by auto-generating records for new enquiries, directing each case to the right programme coordinator, and recommending support options based on real-time data from Gracie’s operations. This means faster triage, less manual admin, and stronger reporting outcomes baked into every referral.
“Our people can spend more time with residents, provide more up-to-date reports, and keep the wheels turning,” says Letele.
“Funders want to see what’s working, and now we can show them. We’ve got real-time reporting, we’re not double-handling information, and we can respond quickly to what the data’s telling us.”
The road ahead
It doesn’t end there. Delta Insights is continuing to evolve the platform, with Grace Foundation exploring how Gracie could scale to support additional programmes as the organisation grows.
For Microsoft, the project is a powerful example of what technology can unlock when delivered through its partner ecosystem, for organisations of all sizes and across all sectors, including not for profits.
“Digital transformation is only meaningful when it leads to real-world impact,” says Vanessa Sorenson, Managing Director of Microsoft New Zealand. “Grace Foundation is changing lives every day. Our role is to support that, using the right tools, the right people, and the right partnerships.”
“Everyone deserves the belief and support of others – and that’s exactly what Grace Foundation offers to its people: aroha, awhi, and the chance to start again.”
Letele says he doesn’t know exactly what the future looks like.
“But we know Gracie will grow with us. That gives us comfort, the confidence to take the next step, and the capacity to grow our heart every day.”