July 2005 Update

<<	Back to TSC Updates

July 2005 Update

Resolution with MicroEdge

The Technology Steering Committee and MicroEdge/NPO Solutions Jointly Announce New Strategic Relationship

MicroEdge and the Technology Steering Committee jointly announced that existing contractual agreements between the two organizations will be mutually terminated to clear the way for a new working relationship. The two organizations have agreed to establish a collaborative approach that will better serve both organizations and their community foundation constituents.

This strategic relationship will allow MicroEdge to open a new dialog with the Technology Steering Committee (TSC) and willingly discuss the company's future technology development plans. Accordingly, the TSC will have direct access to the planning process at MicroEdge and the ability to present the collective requirements of the TSC's community foundation members.

MicroEdge Agrees to Participate in Comparative Analysis Commissioned by TSC

In order to ensure that TSC investors have the benefit of a comprehensive "consumer report" on both existing and emerging integrated solutions, MicroEdge has formally agreed to include FIMS and Foundation Power in the comparative analysis being conducted by Barrington Partners on behalf of the TSC. (Integrated solutions are those that include comprehensive requirements for financial control systems, CRM, workflow processing, grant management and management reporting.)

According to Kathryn Merchant, chair of the Integrated Solutions Subcommittee, "MicroEdge clearly appreciates the inherent value of research like this for the field."

In addition to FIMS and Foundation Power, the comparative analysis will also include reviews of three systems selected as finalists from an RFI issued by the TSC Integrated Solutions Subcommittee in May. These include integrated offerings from Kintera's Sphere/ FundWare, Blackbaud's Financial Edge/ Raiser's Edge and Stellar's NorthStar 500.

The final report will be released and discussed at the TSC Meeting to be held at the COF Fall Conference from 9 a.m. -12 p.m. on Sunday, September 18. It will also be available at the CFA booth to TSC investors via e-communications.

TSC Solution Summit Rescheduled for November

The third and final TSC Solution Summit, which was originally scheduled for July 27-28, has been rescheduled for November 2-3 at the Chicago Hyatt. It will feature new content and demos which focuse on integrated solution offerings that are being vetted by Barrington Partners and the TSC Integrated Solutions Subcommittee, as well as new information on the API's you need to open your legacy system to TSC offerings.

*The Technology Steering Committee (TSC) is co-sponsored by the Community Foundations Leadership Team of the Council on Foundations and Community Foundations of America. The Technology Initiative is a series of integrated and prioritized development activities to build community foundation technology readiness, capacity and infrastructure over the next three years.

These updates are part of a communications effort to keep colleagues in the field informed about the TSC's work. Information in these documents may be freely distributed by TSC members providing that: 1) precise language in the updates is used (for clarity and consistency); 2) the TSC attribution language (provided to the left) is included; and 3) readers are referred to source documents on the COF or CFA Web sites.