Client background

The Miracle League of Dane County is a not-for-profit organization located in the Madison, Wisconsin area that makes baseball accessible for children with physical and cognitive disabilities.

The business challenge

Each player in the league is paired with a dedicated “buddy” volunteer for the season, who provides support when their player hits the ball and runs the bases. However, as the Miracle League experienced rapid growth, the increasing number of players has created a heightened demand for volunteers. The surge in registrants made it increasingly challenging for volunteer coordinators to match players with buddies.

Strategy and solution

To address this challenge, Baker Tilly developed a tailored application that efficiently matches volunteers with players by considering factors such as age, gender and skill level. This flexible application has evolved over time, incorporating new features based on feedback from the organization, ensuring it remains a versatile solution for the league.

Baker Tilly worked closely with the Miracle League to make necessary adjustments and successfully delivered a fully operational application just in time for the 2023 summer league registration. The new system significantly streamlines the matching process, saving the coordinators a considerable amount of time.

Since implementing the application, the league has nearly doubled its player registrations. The tool integrates seamlessly with their existing registration system, allowing both players and volunteers to sign up easily.

The application, built using Anvil, seamlessly ingests data from the registration system, allowing both players and volunteers to register within a unified platform. This data feeds into Anvil, which generates comprehensive lists of teams, players and available buddies that meet specified criteria. Volunteer coordinators can simply check a box to finalize pairings, with the selections automatically linking back to the registration system for easy management.

This innovative solution not only helps the Miracle League scale efficiently, but also enables them to focus on expanding their reach and enhancing the overall player experience.