An in-person meeting of all TSC subcommittee chairs will take place in Louisville, KY on March 15. This meeting is worth mentioning because of the important coordination that will take place among the teams these chairs represent Critical issues related the intersection of business needs of the various committees that are now completing their research (such as accountability, web presence and remaining activities of CRM) will be aired, discussed and negotiated. This meeting will also be used to reassess what's possible and to set a high level direction for commitment of the remaining $1 million. This meeting is also notable because the meeting is face-to-face—an unusual occurrence for these high-tech team members who work mostly by phone, fax and internet!

Seamless Processing
Chair: Kit Conroy, NY Community Trust

This committee has undergone a second RFI process, inviting four companies to review the seamless processing business needs, determine if they can meet them and to submit proposals. The subcommittee met on February 26 in New York to hear presentations from vendors, including American Stock Transfer Company (purchaser of Security Trust). It is anticipated that a recommendation will be completed at that meeting, then forwarded shortly to the TSC Executive Committee. As all candidates have readily-available solutions for this technology component, extensive development will not be required, speeding delivery to the field considerably.

Customer Relationship Management (CRM)
Chair: Deborah Whitehurst, The Arizona Foundation

With a new chair in place this subcommittee is revving up for the challenges ahead and will hold a meeting in Chicago in March to review CRM solutions being proposed by MicroEdge/NPO.

Research and Education
Chair: Bill Solomon, The Dallas Foundation

Accountability and Searchable Nonprofit Database
Chair: Teri Hansen, Gulf Coast Foundation of Venice

The Accountability Subcommittee has determined a three-part approach to undertaking its work. First, they are beginning an analysis of the field's accountability business processes. Areas of overlap with Customer Relationship Management (CRM) will be defined during this step and results will guide decision making about focus areas for development and to create a useful blueprint for tools needed to meet requirements. Second, the subcommittee will catalyze development and delivery of appropriate tools. Third, the subcommittee will develop, approve and communicate standards and protocols that should drive local accountability efforts so that they can eventually be linked nationally.

Web Presence
Chair: Tom Hay, Pittsburgh Foundation

The subcommittee hosted a series of three webcasts in February which were open to the field. These sessions provided background on the tasks before the Web Presence Subcommittee and presented specific examples of the five areas the committee determined to research. Input was sought from participants. This information will be tabulated and assembled into a report to the subcommittee for use in their decision making. Neulogic Media, which participated in each session, was also asked to make recommendations to the committee, using their expertise and insights gained in the online meetings.