Technology Working in Favor of Nonprofits

Have you ever postponed investing in a new accounting system for your nonprofit because of the cost to buy or add new servers?

Or maybe your organization doesn’t have a large (any) IT department to support replacing or upgrading to a better accounting solution and so you’ve made due with the system that you have (inadequate as it may be).

You’re not alone.  But here’s some good news:  new options are available to nonprofits that take advantage of hosting and Cloud Computing and Software as a Service (SaaS).

In addition to traditional, powerful, on-premise fund accounting like Sage MIP Fund Accounting, JMT Consulting Group has added two more options for nonprofits.

Hosted Solutions – Sage MIP Fund Accounting is housed on servers on your behalf.  You access the applications via your desktop but there is no “backroom” in your office housing a stack of servers that would need to be purchased, maintained, upgraded, etc.  Because your solution is hosted, it’s pretty much ready to go – deployment is far less complication.  Likewise, you do not have to worry about the manpower and associated costs and hassles of upgrading the software each time there is patch, fix, of new version released.

Cloud Computing/SaaS – JMT Consulting Group added Intacct to our portfolio of solutions because we know just how beneficial and economical Cloud Computing would be for nonprofits.  Cloud computing offers all the same benefits of a hosted solution – rapid deployment, eliminating the need for IT with regards to upgrading and managing the solution, diminished costs associated with servers and new hardware, and accessible anywhere you have access to the internet.

The best part is that you don’t sacrifice any features or functionality with these solutions.

We like it when technological advances help nonprofits worry less about infrastructure, hardware and software and allow you to achieve your mission.

For more information, Tech Soup has a great article: Why Should Nonprofits Care About Cloud Computing?

Or give us a call at 888- 368-2463 or click here for more information.

INNOVATE 2011 Solution Spotlight Will Feature Hosting, Cloud Computing, Web-based Applications for Nonprofit Organizations

JMT Consulting Group announced today a special Solution Spotlight track for nonprofit organizations attending JMT’s annual conference INNOVATE 2011.

One of the Solution Spotlight sessions will be “Saving Money for Nonprofits Through Hosted Solutions” and will be presented by Stanley Kania, CEO of Software Link, Inc.  In addition to the insights shared at the session, INNOVATE attendees have the opportunity to access Sage MIP Fund Accounting in a hosted environment during the conference.

“Software Link and JMT will offer INNOVATE attendees a chance to work with hosted software while at the conference,” explains JMT Consulting Group CEO and Founder Jacqueline M. Tiso.  “The software used during the Sage MIP Fund Accounting training sessions at INNOVATE will be hosted and available for attendees to access via their laptops.”

The INNOVATE Solution Spotlight track includes:

• Web-based Expense Management with RestEasy
• Saving Money for Nonprofits Through Hosted Solutions
• Maximize Funding with Sage Grant Management
• Increased Giving, Participation and Support with Sage Fundraising Online
• Build and Manage Benefits and Deduction with Sage Human Resources Module
• Strategic Insight Into Your Business Planning with Sage Active Planner

The 7^th annual INNOVATE conference will be at Mohegan Sun in Connecticut April 27-28. INNOVATE  is a two-day conference for nonprofit and public sector organizations interested in improving their working knowledge of popular software Sage MIP Fund Accounting and Sage Fundraising 50.

Things to do in Chicago

Here are some fun things to do in Chicago…and yes I snuck in a couple events that JMT will be hosting in Chicago this month.  Where are your favorite places to go and your favorite restaurants and activities to enjoy in the Windy City?

Lincoln Park Zoo

Lincoln Park Zoo is a world class zoological institution located in Chicago’s historic Lincoln Park district. Founded in 1868, the zoo is rich with architectural treasures as well as award-winning progressively designed animal habitats. A conservation haven nestled in the heart of Chicago, the zoo operates one of the country’s largest zoo-based conservation and science programs. Committed to saving species locally and globally the zoo employs highly specialized experts in veterinary medicine, landscape ecology, cognitive and behavioral research, endocrinology, epidemiology and population biology. The not-for-profit Lincoln Park Zoo attracts an estimated 3 million visitors per year and is one of America’s last remaining free admission zoos.

The Black Ensemble Theater

The mission of the Black Ensemble Theater is to eradicate racism and its damaging effects upon our society through the utilization of theater arts. BE achieves its mission through productions and programs that perpetuate the history of the African American people, while reaching out to a cross-cultural audience and serving disenfranchised communities.

The Black Ensemble Theater’s theatrical productions and educational outreach programs have been featured in the New York Times, The New York Post, Crain’s Chicago Business, Jet and Ebony, just to name a few. Some of our most popular productions include “The Jackie Wilson Story”, “The Other Cinderella” and “Don’t Make Me Over: In Tribute to Dionne Warwick”.

1/13/11 JMT Consulting Group Sage MIP Fund Accounting Users Group

If you use Sage MIP Fund Accounting we cordially invite you to an upcoming User Group meeting we’re hosting on Thursday January 13 at the Chicago Hilton Garden Inn Downtown.

We will be looking at administrative functions and reporting tips that will help you prepare for your audit. We will be sharing a lot of helpful information about the software that you can benefit from but this is also an opportunity to grow your network and meet others who are putting the power of Sage MIP Fund Accounting to work for their nonprofit.

To register click here or contact Lyndsey Murphy, Marketing Coordinator
845.319.7610 lmurphy@jmtconsulting.com

The Children’s Discovery Museum

The mission of the Children’s Discovery Museum is to inspire the love of learning through the power of play.

The Children’s Discovery Museum is a different kind of museum — where touching the exhibits is actually encouraged. The exhibits are designed for kids of any age to touch, climb on, climb into, and even take apart and put back together. It’s a liberty kids are seldom afforded in a museum — or anywhere else!

1/13/11 A CFO’s Guide to Nonprofit Financials

Join us at Phil Stefani’s 437 Rush for lunch and a discussion on knowing when your organization is ready to change financial systems.  We’ll discuss how to determine the ROI of any system change, whether or not your current system is the cause of inefficiencies, what options are there for a nonprofit interested in hosting system in the cloud environment, and much more.

To register: Email nhasser@jmtconsulting.com or call 888.368.2463.

Victory Gardens Theater

From its founding in 1974 through the present day, Victory Gardens Theater has dedicated itself to playwrights and their works as well as emphasizing the development of an ethnically and culturally diverse community of artists. Recipient of the 2001 Tony Award® for Outstanding Regional Theatre, Victory Gardens continues to expand on its new works initiative through its 14-member Playwrights Ensemble, as well as work from playwrights who are changing theater in the United States and abroad. Victory Gardens has produced more world premieres than any other Chicago theater.

Considering new fund accounting software? Some things to think about as you explore.

It’s sort of a mantra of ours that the decision you make regarding your accounting software is one of the most critical choices you can make for your nonprofit organization.  Look no further than the amount of time your accounting and finance team spend on creating monthly, quarterly, and program-specific reports, just to name a few.  Reporting is the key to effective use of the funds you’ve been awarded as well as additional funds you hope to gain.

The solution that works wonderfully for one nonprofit may not be a good fit for another nonprofit.   It’s part of the reason that we represent a number of different fund accounting solutions.  When counseling a nonprofit on software selection, we don’t walk in with a preconceived notion of selling a particular solution.  We want to learn about your organization first and understand the challenges that you face.

There is so much more than just software to consider.  While features and functions are important, there may be other factors that need to be weighed in your decision.  Are you staffed to support a system internally?  Do you have the necessary systems and infrastructure (or the means to invest in them) to host your systems?

Most of the time, there are human and technical resources available to support an in-house system.  But more and more, due to limited budgets and internal resources, we’re being asked about Software As A Service (SAAS) and Cloud Computing.  We believe that this is more than a fad and that it will continue to be a consideration on the list of choices available to nonprofits.  As a result, we’ve recently added Intacct to our product portfolio in order to better respond to the different requirements of nonprofits seeking our help.

If you have questions regarding the various fund accounting solutions on the market, we’d be happy to answer them.  Use the comments section here on the blog or give us a call.  Also, we routinely host free webinars on the various solutions in order for you to learn more about them.  You can see the webinar topics here.

With so many good solutions available to relieve you of tedious, time-consuming, cumbersome manual processes – you should look to a solution that can automate those routines and give you more time to analyze the data – and we’d be happy to help you explore the options in order to find the perfect fit for you.

 

Considering Software Hosting for your Nonprofit?

Join JMT Consulting Group on this half hour webinar if you are experiencing any of the issues below:

• Is your existing infrastructure costing you more and more to maintain?
• Are you currently evaluating whether to purchase new hardware?
• Is server downtime costing your organization valuable productivity?

If so, consider hosting your software applications through JMT Consulting. By hosting your applications you and your staff have access to your systems from anywhere any time, never have to worry about maintaining back end hardware or managing backups.

Thursday, September 23, 2010

3:00 – 3:30p ET

https://www1.gotomeeting.com/register/285749608