The app we built will give you insight into the next step anyone is taking after they’ve decided to become a Support Friend or Foster parent. This means anyone who has attended a Vision Cast, Interest meeting, or other way of engaging with FTC, but has not hopped on the app yet, will need to be cared for and guided to their next step. This is what Airtable does! You can view Airtable as a replacement to the church folders. 

The app is where churches do the ministry – Foster Family and Support Friends go through their onboarding process, send/accept requests to help sustain Foster parents and more. And Airtable is where Advocates see the ministry – who is interested in getting involved, which Support Friends need to be trained, etc. 

The first time logging in to Airtable will be through an invite email that will come directly from Airtable. 

For continued logging in to Airtable, you’ll go  directly to their website https://airtable.com/ This webpage is also linked on the Advocate Resources landing page which can be accessed through the app as well! 

The good news is that while this is changing some of the processes and systems at FTC, it’s removing a lot of the steps that have caused confusion or uncertainty and will help create simplicity in taking each step. We’ll provide training and share exactly how at the Town Halls and your Advocate Coach will help you too. 

This App is not replacing or shifting the FTC model, but is simply a tool. This tool will not replace the in-person or relational component of any church’s Foster the City ministry, but will be used to enhance it. Our app will provide greater visibility, clarity, and support to every role in the FTC community and will strengthen relationships and communication between Foster Families, Support Friends, and Advocates. 

There are a few important steps for you to facilitate as the Advocate. 

1. Creating Teams – You have the ability to create the Foster Family and Support Friend micro communities within the app. This will trigger the background check process for Support Friends automatically. Foster Families and Support Friend teams cannot be created without an Advocate. Your role and responsiveness here is vital! 

2. You will be able to check in on the health and activity of the FF/SF teams within your church. As an Advocate you’ll be able to see all requests sent, accepted, and any that are outstanding. You’ll also be able to see any prayer requests 🙏 this information will help you as you connect with your Team Leads.

Currently this is not possible with the same login. We are hopeful to have role switching as a feature sometime in the near future! However, we can create a secondary login for you with either a Support Friend role or Foster Parent role. Just reach out to your Program Director or you can email support@fosterthecity.org

We know every team operates different when it comes to the Team Lead role and we wanted to provide some flexibility. While there isn’t a way to assign a Team Lead, we definitely want to see this role filled! When you create your team, you’ll want to introduce the Team Lead in the group chat. 

You can see the entire onramp process for each role, Advocate, Support Friend, and Foster Family in the links below. Please note each state has a slightly different process so there are two documents to reference: California and Nevada

For existing Support Friends and Foster Families: Foster the City will email and update Support Friends and Foster Families about the app the end of January. If you want to start getting your SF and FF on now, you can reference this text and email template

For new Support Friends and Foster Families:

Support Friends will download the FTC App at a Support Friend Orientation. This will be how they commit to the role and begin the process of becoming a Support Friend. 

Foster Families will download the FTC app at a Launch Meeting.