From the category archives:

Grant Funded

11 Reasons You’ll Love Sage Grant Management

October 21, 2011

If your organization relies heavily on grant funding, you need an automated system that addresses every stage of the grant life cycle, from application to final reporting.  Using spreadsheets is frustrating, time-consuming, and prone to data entry errors or incomplete reports.

Here are 11 reasons we think you’d love Sage Grant Management:

  1. It has built in success measures and Key Performance Indicators (KPIs)
  2. There are intelligence dashboards that provide instant visibility into performance for any program or grant
  3. It has easy to use reporting tools with grant-specific reports for success measures, performance, and budgets
  4. You can streamline project management and encourage greater collaboration
  5. You’ll enjoy organization-wide document sharing, including document tracking and version control
  6. Advanced budgeting capabilities are available to you, including multiple budget templates, line-item budgeting, and pro-forma budgeting for grant application
  7. Workflow management to improve productivity and efficiency across the organization
  8. Access to contact and communication management to build donor relationships
  9. Ability to track grant applications, including data tracking and reminders to help you manage your entire grant pipeline
  10. Internal controls to ensure the highest levels of accountability and security
  11. Seamless integration with Sage Fund Accounting providing up to the minute program and grant balance tracking, indicators, and financial oversight

By effectively managing the grant pipeline, Sage Grant Management can help ensure your organization applies for enough grants to fund its mission and to provide a stable cash flow.  It also enables executives to review organizational performance at-a-glance and make informed decisions about programs, grants, and future plans.

Have additional questions?  Want to get started using this powerful application immediately?  Give us a call we’re happy to help – 1-888-368-2463.

Increase Your Organization’s Financial Health with Sage Grant Management

September 19, 2011

On Monday, September 26 from 2:00 – 3:00e we will be having a live webcast on how you can improve your grant management with Sage Grant Management a comprehensive and collaborative tool that will save your team time and repetitious input while streamlining the grant management workflow.

Ditch the spreadsheets and move into a streamlined, collaborative, and secure solution while providing transparency and seamless reporting with Sage Grant Management.

If you are the Finance Director, Grant Manager, Executive Director or Program Manager – don’t miss another grant opportunity due to antiquated systems.

Why Sage Grant Management?

  • Strengthen your organization’s financial health by increasing grant funding and proactively managing the grants in process
  • Easily keep track of all projects, programs, grants and contacts through an integrated relationship-based system, eliminating the errors and inefficiencies of disparate manual systems and spreadsheets
  • Collaborate with other associates to build better grant applications, keep track of deadlines, create budgets and better manage the grant pipeline
  • Track success measures in a sustainable and credible way so that funders see your true impact, which will also help to maximize your organization’s funding potential

Please join us for this exciting and complimentary webcast that we’ll present on:

September 26, 2011  from 3:00 – 4:00e – registration information here – the webcast is free, but you must register.

Working Together to Achieve Your Mission

March 24, 2011

An article from CEO and founder Jacqueline M. Tiso:

One of my favorite things is having the time to have face-to-face meetings with clients, spending time to hear how they are doing, what is working (or not working) in their non-profit office, and seeing what we can do to help.  When I first started JMT, I was in front of clients everyday and had the privilege of knowing every client personally.  As JMT has grown, as you can probably imagine, I am not able to spend as much time as I would like with our clients and that is unfortunate.  But I still make a point of doing so as much as I can and I am always so glad when I do.

While we survey our clients, there is nothing like a face-to-face meeting.  My goal in most meetings is a simple one…is JMT living up to our non-profit client’s expectations and delivering service at the high level we strive for.  Most of the time I am proud to say the answer is a resounding “yes”, rarely do I hear a “no”.  But those “no” responses are exactly why I am there.  In order for any firm to be the best it can be, we need to have honest, constructive feedback and performance indicators on how we are doing, and that is as true for JMT as for any other firm, including non-profits.

If you are unfamiliar with non-profits, you might wonder how this translates.  Funders and contributors want to ensure that their funds are being used effectively.   Every organization needs to be able to demonstrate the positive impact it is having through the delivery of its services (its performance indicators).  Often, this is not even optional, but a matter of funding compliance.  The better an organization is in capturing and reporting on its impact, the more successful an organization will be in capturing funding or getting repeat funding.  The more successful it is in capturing funds, the more successful it will be in achieving its mission.

Non-profits know this and it seems most of my conversations with clients lately are about measurement and assessment tools.  The importance of this topic has been further reinforced recently by the number of attendees to our grant management webinars, which continue to grow.  The ability to automate this process has been a long time coming, but it is here now and those non-profits who are unable to easily measure and report on the positive impact of their programs may find themselves behind the eight ball when it comes to funding. Today it is about accountability and measurable effectiveness.

Maximize Your Funding: Increase Your Organization’s Financial Health with Sage Grant Management

March 10, 2011

Due to popular demand we’ve added an additional session on April 14!

Ditch the spreadsheets and move into a streamlined, collaborative, and secure solution while providing transparency and seamless reporting with Sage Grant Management.

If you are the Finance Director, Grant Manager, Executive Director or Program Manager – don’t miss another grant opportunity due to antiquated systems.

Why Sage Grant Management?

  • Strengthen your organization’s financial health by increasing grant funding and proactively managing the grants in process
  • Easily keep track of all projects, programs, grants and contacts through an integrated relationship-based system, eliminating the errors and inefficiencies of disparate manual systems and spreadsheets
  • Collaborate with other associates to build better grant applications, keep track of deadlines, create budgets and better manage the grant pipeline
  • Track success measures in a sustainable and credible way so that funders see your true impact, which will also help to maximize your organization’s funding potential

Please join us for this exciting and complimentary webcast that we’ll present on:

April 14, 2011 from 3:00 – 4:00e – registration information here.

Reporting Remedies for Community Healthcare Organizations

March 9, 2011

Healthcare is in the spotlight and with new opportunities come a variety of new responsibilities.  Do any of the following reflect what is going on with your nonprofit community healthcare organization:

  • Are you a Federally Qualified Community Health Center or in the process of becoming one?
  • Do you rely heavily on manual processes such as spreadsheets for financial reporting?
  • Would you like to simplify the production of UDS Reports, Section 330 Grant Reports, Medicaid and Medicare Cost Reports?
  • Do you have ARRA or stimulus funds that you must produce reports for?
  • Have you or will you soon complete EHR/EMR conversion and will want to integrate these systems with your General Ledger?
  • Have you outgrown Quickbooks or Peachtree and are looking for better grant reporting and a higher degree of automation of allocations, cost categorization and reporting?

If you’ve answered “yes” to any of the above questions and your productivity is dragging under the weight of the reporting, we may have relief.  Please join us at our upcoming webinar:  Reporting Remedies for Community Healthcare Organizations

April 21 click here

May 19 click here

During this webcast we will cover:

  • Identifying the right financial management system for your CHC
  • Automating the production of FQHC-required financial reports
  • Integrating your EHR/EMR systems with your General Ledger

This is a free event and hosted by us, so if you are the Finance Director, Executive Director, Controller or Audit Committee Board Member of a grant-funded healthcare organization, you are cordially invited to attend.

Registration information here or contact Noelle Hasser at nhasser@jmtconsulting.com or call 888-368-2463.

Do You Know Where You Are Making an Impact?

March 3, 2011

JMT Consulting Group’s CEO Jacqueline M. Tiso sent this thought-provoking article today following a conference session she attended.  She is a frequent speaker and writer on technology, accounting, best practices and nonprofits.  If you would like to have her speak to your group please contact lmurphy@jmtconsulting.com

As I only work with non-profits, whenever I attend any type of business or professional development event for business, even though it may be directed at the attendees of for-profit businesses, I always find myself turning around what I am hearing to also think about how it might apply relative to the non-profit organization.

I recently attended a seminar on marketing and the need to understand your clients and one of the topics was the concept of determining who you want to do business with.  This struck me forcefully as the average non-profit doesn’t have the right of saying who you do or do not want to work with.

The nature of a non-profit is that you are delivering a needed and vital service that isn’t about any individual being the “type” you want to work with.  But…let’s think outside the box and ask the question anyway because it is relevant.

Are there those in your constituency that you would determine you should not do business with?   This question will certainly raise a lot of eyebrows, but it is really not about the who, but rather about the what.

What are the most impactful programs your organization is delivering?

I find one of our client’s greatest challenges is being able to answer this question with real ongoing, trend data. We work with our clients to determine what are the specific, defined metrics and outcome measurements.  And then look at how to utilize the back-office tools they use to measure and report on them so they have the information needed for their strategic decision making.

Understanding the best use of your vital, and possibly limited, funds is imperative and every program’s results should be quantified.

If you’re using one of the many fund accounting solutions out there and only generating financial statements with it, find out about its statistical reporting functionality (or if it even has this functionality).  Understanding the best use of your vital, and possibly limited, funds is imperative and both financial and statistical metrics on every program must be quantified for the ongoing success of your organization and who you serve.

Contact us cam@jmtconsulting.com to learn how.

Expense Management Seminar – NYC March 30

March 3, 2011

We’re going into the City to host a seminar on Expense Management highlighting RestEasy Expense.  We use RestEasy Expense internally for expense report reimbursement – it’s web-based and very easy to use.

If you are on a trip, you can take a photo of your receipts with a smart phone save it to your expense report (just like attaching a word doc or spreadsheet to an email), fill out a few lines of expense description, click on the correct expense type from a drop down menu and click a button to send it off.  Having spent years doing expense reports manually – printing out online receipts, taping paper receipts to a piece of paper, filling out a spreadsheet template, looking up GL codes – believe me RestEasy Expense is simply wonderful to use.

Expense reimbursement is where a lot of organizations lose time and money.  Automating the function can save a tremendous amount of time and money for your nonprofit.

RestEasy Expense Seminar

  • When:  Wednesday, March 30, 2011
  • Time:  9:45 – 11:30am (a light breakfast will be served)
  • Where:  Support Center for Nonprofit Management, 305 Seventh Ave., 11th Floor Conference Room
  • Cost:  Free

If you’re interested in attending, please let one of our Customer Account Reps know – either email at cam@jmtconsulting.com or call (888) 368-2463.

p.s. RestEasy is new to Twitter so give them a follow @RestEasyExpMgt and if you’re not follow JMT on twitter, please do: @jmtconsulting

130+13+7+7+2+1 = One Great Experience INNOVATE 2011

March 1, 2011

“INNOVATE 2010 was a great experience and I learned a lot.  It was my first time attending and I’m looking forward to coming next year.”  Alyssa Mulllen, RCAP Solutions

Join roughly 130 professionals from a variety of nonprofit organizations who are part of the JMT family for INNOVATE 2011.  In the past we’ve typically had between 100 and 150 committed nonprofit professionals attend INNOVATE to learn more about Sage Fund Accounting, Sage Fundraising 50, complementary solutions and technology.  It’s also a wonderful opportunity to learn from one another.

Choose from 13 different sessions on Sage Fund Accounting, including Financial Formats, Reporting, Cost Allocations, Data Imports, Payroll Processing and more.

There will be an entire track dedicated to Sage Fundraising 50 on both days with a total of 7 sessions.

We have 7 spotlight sessions on some solutions that have impressed us and open the door on exciting new opportunities for nonprofits to achieve their mission.

Back by popular demand, our computer lab will be open for 2 full days to give you an opportunity to meet 1:1 with our consultants.

All of this under 1 welcoming roof of Mohegan Sun hotel and casino which features shopping, restaurants and entertainment.

Early bird registration ends March 28, so please register now.  We hope to see you there!

“JMT Consulting Group is a valuable partner for us at the Central Wyoming College Foundation.  The opportunities for support and training are easily accessible and (most importantly) cost effective.  This is the 5th INNOVATE conference I’ve attended and I always come away with new ideas and knowledge to improve my workflow and efficiency.  This year when we went to our board for permission and funds to attend, we had already decided to offer to pay a portion of our cost of attendance due to the current budget constraints.  Our board was impressed that we were that committed to attendance and the quality of training.  Thank you for another solid learning experience.”  Lynette Jeffres, Central Wyoming College Foundation

Easing the Reporting Process for Head Start Organizations

February 28, 2011

These are uncertain times for Head Start organizations.  Whether funding becomes available or proposed budget cuts take place, you’ll want to make sure that you have the systems in place to best protect your funding and continue to support early childhood education and health.

Is your Head Start organization challenged with any of the problems listed below:

  • As you prepare for the next quarterly ARRA report, besides completing the report, are there long hours ahead of you to collect the needed information for the report?
  • Once you finish with the quarterly reports, are facing you GABI report?
  • Are you struggling for a way to track Federal share and Non-Federal share?
  • Once that’s complete, are you trying to unravel allocation of labor costs across departments, cost centers and other areas of the organization?

If your accounting system is not providing you with the data you need to complete the reporting, it may be time to look for a new system.  If you are overwhelmed with spread sheets (manual, time-consuming and prone to error), there are better tools that can assist you with your accounting.

Join us on April 21 at 11:00e for a free, online webcast “Easing the Reporting Process for Head Start Organizations.”  Register here.

A repeat session will be held May 19 at 11:00e.  Register here.

For information on the sessions or if you have difficulty registering contact nhasser@jmtconsulting.com .

 

 

INNOVATE 2011 is Right Around the Corner

February 5, 2011

We’re busy getting ready for INNOVATE 2011 – working with the hotel, updating the website, pulling together four tracks worth of sessions to make this a great conference.

INNOVATE 2011 is for nonprofits using Sage Fund Accounting and Sage FR 50.  We hold the conference twice a year in the spring and the fall.  Coming up in April the conference will be hosted at Mohegan Sun – a popular location and a site we’ve used in the past.  In the fall, we will be hosting the conference in Las Vegas.

We’re ready to accept your registration and additional information on conference tracks will be added to our website as they are finalized.

We love INNOVATE mostly because we get to see you in person and renew friendship, but we also enjoy bringing information that will make you more effective in managing your nonprofit.  In addition to a variety of subject matter, we will have a variety of learning formats both presentation and hands on labs.  You may want to think about bringing your laptop and so that you may review and learn with your own set up and data.

We hope to see you there!

“INNOVATE is the best seminar ever! The training is excellent and very informational. I like the instructors, their knowledge is great. The lab one-on-one time is the best. This really helps! Thank you so much!”
-Codelia Young, Myrtle Hilliard Davis Comprehensive Health Centers

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 [...]

Charter Schools Financial Reporting: It’s Time to Graduate from Spreadsheets

Charter Schools have many challenges in the course of the academic year; worrying about audits and grant reporting shouldn’t be one of them.  But if your school relies on spreadsheets to manage grants, or information must be consolidated from multiple school locations, there is a large margin for error – errors that, if severe enough, [...]

Community Healthcare Centers: A Specific Look at How Sage MIP Fund Accounting Can Work for CHCs

Sage MIP Fund Accounting is a powerful option for Community Healthcare Centers that need to report to multiple funders: Federal, State, Private Foundation and other sources.  Join us on December 7 for a brief on how Sage MIP Fund Accounting could serve your Community Healthcare organization address the complex reporting required for all stakeholders. We’ll [...]

Commercial or Fund Accounting Software: Which is Best Suited for Your Nonprofit?

It’s the ultimate in convenience, or so it seems at first.  Buying commercial accounting software can seem like the perfect solution since it is used by so many for profit organizations. However, numerous nonprofits find themselves in need of features that commercial software cannot offer.  Because nonprofits can have extremely specific accounting and reporting needs [...]

Lightning Strikes for Mental Health Association of Connecticut and JMT Consulting

You could say that symbolically it was a case of lightning striking – Mental Health Association of Connecticut (MHAC) finding the perfect fund accounting solution and a great solution provider in JMT Consulting.  But it was also, literally, a case of lightning striking. “We had purchased the software, installed it, tested it and were planning [...]

Grantseekers need to work smarter

Have you received grants from foundations in the past? Are you looking to foundations to apply for new grants? With less funds to give and greater competition for those funds, grantseekers need to step up their game.  Do your homework so that y can target the right foundation with the right request.  Be cognizant of [...]