Ulrikke has the best job in the world. She runs Terapiponni.
She uses American miniature horses (think of a horse, but smaller and fluffier!) to help children and adults dealing with anxiety, trauma, or tough days. It is magical, gentle work.
But just like our friends at the Ullandhaug Økologiske Gård, Ulrikke had a problem. She was spending too much time organising people via Facebook messenger and not enough time changing lives with her non-profit.
Different animals, different rules
Ulrikke saw what we built for Ullandhaug Gård and asked if she could have the same thing.
"Sure!" we said. "We will just copy-and-paste it."
We were wrong. It turns out that organising horses is very different from organising a farm with vegetables and animals.
At Ullandhaug Gård, the chickens, pigs, turkeys, rabbits, and ducks all need feeding, but they're happy with a flexible schedule. Ponies are pickier. They need breakfast in the morning and dinner in the evening... and mucking out twice a day 💩. Farm animals don't mind if 20 people show up to help. Ponies get stressed if the stable is too crowded.
The simple farm schedule wasn't enough. We needed to build something smarter.
Enter "TPTid"
We rolled up our sleeves and built a new tool called TPTid.
It looks friendly (and colourful), but underneath, it's a digital workhorse. Here is how we tailored it for the wonderful pony people:
- Morning and Evening: The day is split into clear shifts. Morning crew feeds the cats; afternoon crew handles the grooming.
- The Velvet Rope: Because working with the ponies is such a treat, everyone wants to come! But the system automatically closes the shift when enough people have signed up. It keeps the stable calm and the ponies happy.
- Checklists: There are lots of little jobs to remember. Did the water buckets get filled? Did the stable cats get fed? We added tick-boxes so nothing is forgotten.
“Jeg har brukt appen i forbindelse med frivillig arbeid, og den gjør det enkelt å holde oversikt. Jeg får raskt opp informasjon om vaktene mine og en tydelig huskeliste over oppgaver som skal gjøres. Appen er lett å bruke og oversiktlig, og kommentarfeltet gjør det enkelt å gi tilbakemeldinger. En praktisk og velfungerende app!” Terapiponni Volunteer
A friendly nudge
Volunteers are busy people. They have jobs, families, and hobbies. Sometimes, they forget things.
TPTid acts like a personal assistant. It sends calendar invites straight to their phones. It sends email reminders. It can even send a little "ping" to their pocket to say, "Hey, the ponies are excited to see you tomorrow!"
Ready for anything
Sometimes, Terapiponni goes on tour! They visit hospitals or go to village fairs.
We made the schedule flexible. Ulrikke can create special one-off shifts for these events in seconds. Whether it is a Tuesday morning feed or a Saturday show, it is all in one place.
From a "quick fix" to something bigger
What started as a fix for Ulrikke has grown into something bigger.
We realised that lots of non-profits in Stavanger have these exact same problems. They need privacy, they need checklists, and they need a system that works even when the Wi-Fi breaks.
So, we have polished TPTid up, and turned it into a tool others can use. We call it Vaktbok. It is secure, it protects volunteer data, and (best of all) it is ready for others to use.
“The new system gives me peace of mind. I know the ponies are covered, and I know my volunteers are happy.” Ulrikke, Terapiponni
Do you need a "Vaktbok"?
Are you running a soup kitchen, a cat shelter, or a festival in Stavanger? Are you drowning in WhatsApp messages?
We would love Vaktbok to help you, it is free for local non-profits. Email us and we will help make sure it works for you and your volunteers.