FIELD STORY: MOTT PARK
How Mott Park Went from Email Chains to a Self-Service Booking System
A volunteer-run neighborhood association in Flint is using Civic OS to keep up with growing demand for their clubhouse; handling reservations, payments, and scheduling so volunteers can focus on what actually matters.
ORGANIZATION
Mott Park Recreation Association
LOCATION
Flint, Michigan
TYPE
501(c)(3) Nonprofit
BUILT FOR
Facility Booking & Payments
The Mott Park Clubhouse started hosting community events in the summer of 2022. Birthday parties, baby showers, open houses; even a small wedding. By early 2026, every Saturday in June and July was already booked. The demand is real. The systems behind it were not: Google Forms, Google Docs, and a lot of emails between volunteers.
None of those tools were failing. They got the job done when things were small. But as bookings grew, the cracks showed in ways that are familiar to any volunteer-run organization: fielding the same questions over and over, manually checking for scheduling conflicts, and hoping no one double-booked a Saturday.
The inflection point
Mott Park didn’t need an enterprise platform. They needed their existing workflow; take a request, check availability, confirm, collect payment; to work without requiring a volunteer to be in the middle of every step.
That’s what Civic OS has become for them. The MPRA board sat down with Daniel Kurin, a Mott Park neighbor and Civic OS founder, to talk through what they actually need. Three things rose to the top: an integrated booking platform, a public-facing calendar, and electronic payments. Civic OS was built to deliver exactly that.
What changed
Two months in, the workflow looks completely different. When someone asks about renting the clubhouse, MPRA sends a link. The renter can see available dates, submit a request, and pay; all without a volunteer acting as a go-between. The calendar is a single source of truth, which means double-bookings simply can’t happen.
When bugs come up (and they do; this is early-stage software built with real partners), the MPRA board can call or text Daniel directly. Issues are typically addressed within minutes. For an all-volunteer organization, that kind of relationship matters more than a polished support portal.
Chad Schlosser from the MPRA board put it well. What he highlighted wasn’t the features; it was the relationship:
“That level of ongoing service and connection is what we have wanted and needed. We strongly recommend Dan Kurin and Civic OS for other similar nonprofit organizations and local government uses.”
Chad Schlosser, Board Member — Mott Park Recreation Association
A platform, not a product
The Mott Park Clubhouse needs a booking system. That’s what Civic OS is for them. But the same platform is being built for very different needs with other partners; a staff portal for a youth literacy summer program, and a constituent tracking system for a community organization.
The underlying building blocks are the same: forms, calendars, permissions, notifications, payments, and data management. What changes is how they’re assembled. Each organization gets a system shaped around the way they actually work; not a one-size-fits-all product that forces them to adapt.
Why Civic OS works differently
Most technology vendors sell a fixed product. Civic OS is a configurable platform built from modular components; forms, calendars, permissions, payments, notifications; that can be assembled to fit the way your organization actually works.
As an L3C (low-profit limited liability company), Civic OS prioritizes mission over profit. Your data belongs to you. There’s no vendor lock-in. And the pricing is designed for organizations that measure their budgets in thousands, not millions.
More field stories coming
1
Mott Park Recreation Association
LIVE
Facility booking, public calendar, and electronic payments for a volunteer-run clubhouse.
2
Youth Literacy Summer Program
LAUNCHING
A staff portal to coordinate programming, schedules, and daily operations.
3
Community Organization
PENDING
Constituent tracking to manage relationships, outreach, and follow-ups.
Is your organization hitting a growth edge?
If your current tools work internally but you need external access, better coordination, or more formal reporting, we should talk.