Accountability

The process of ‘rendering an account’ for charitable investments made by a community foundation. It involves gathering information about the performance of funded organizations, analyzing reports and communicating results. A broad purpose of accountability is to see if programs really did make a difference in the lives of people.

Advisor Xpress

Product available to NPO clients to provide donor/advisors with on-line access to current fund balances and activity, plus fund statements in PDF format.

Enables clients to integrate their core systems with other software and database-driven Web pages. Allows remote, read/write access to the store of data. (NPO also refers to this as Open Access). API supports the development of custom, specialized applications that make use of FIMS/FP data and functions. API also offers a path for the development of applications, such as an online event management system, that will present a common interface for FIMS and FoundationPower systems.

Architectural Guidelines

• Have open architecture, SQL or Oracle database (or comparable)
• Be Internet-based (Web applications)
• Exhibit better version control, seamless modules (enhancements universally employed)

Advent Trusted Network (ATN)

Software owned by Advent, MicroEdge’s parent that provides data aggregated from hundreds of entities such as custodians.

Core System

The internal system used by a community foundation to manage its donor and prospect information, accounting (recordkeeping, transactions, fund accounting, disbursements, expenses, etc) and grants processing. It is the engine and the data and the functionality that drives how community foundations do their work every day.

Customer Relationship Management (CRM)

CRM is the alignment of business processes with customer service strategies to build customer loyalty and to increase business over time. CRM ‘bundles’ customer strategy and processes, then support them with appropriate software in order to improve loyalty and enhance business.

Funding Syndicate

A group of lead contributing partners who support implementation of the Community Foundation Technology Initiative

IGAM (Internet Grant Application Module)

An NPO online grant application service with many advanced features: easy Web form design, qualifying quiz, one or two stage applications, attachments, and more. The forms and completed online applications are hosted by MicroEdge. After preliminary reviews, the downloaded applications automatically create applications in FIMS or FoundationPower.

Infrastructure

The backbone of a company’s operating capacity; the foundation required to build, run and manage core business processes electronically. It ranges from cell phone to servers, from a customer database to back-up storage capacity. It includes all the ‘stuff’ people never see (software, routers, data lines, security features) as well as the computers and phones on each staff person’s desk and, increasingly PDAs and laptops working remotely.

Internet Interfaces

Applications that connect data in a community foundation’s core system to authorized constituents seeking to use that data. (Example: Advisor Xpress linking donors to information on their charitable fund.) Also includes workflow applications that allow foundation employees easier access to information, better information tracking mechanisms and links to other office productivity applications such as the Internet, email, Microsoft applications, and phone systems.

Specialized computer systems, well into their ‘middle age,’ that continue to perform critical if not vital tasks. Such a system may have been ‘inherited’ by their current support staffs and various pieces may be ‘patchworked’ together, and often unable to communicate efficiently with other applications.

Software built on an open database structure (ODBC compliant) allowing other applications to access data from the application and send data to the applications efficiently.

Next Generation System Software

Completely new core systems technology platform being developed by NPO Solutions/MicroEdge. FIMS and FoundationPower will be re-written, along with MicroEdge’s GIFTS product, to create one modularized, Internet-based platform.

Project Management

A structured process for achieving a specific and unique outcome. Effective project management provides a set of practices, policies and procedures for the selection,  management and control of projects within an organization.

Technology Steering Committee

A field-wide representative group of community foundation professionals, co-sponsored and supported by Community Foundations of America and the Community Foundations Leadership Team of the Council on Foundations

Seamless Processing

1. the ability to provide donors with daily investment information;
2. intra-month unit pricing of investment pools; and
3. automated bank account reconciliation
4. automated scanning of brokerage accounts to locate the deposit of gifted securities

NPO product created to supplement Advisor Xpress; enables advisors to enter grant suggestions on-line, which can be downloaded for review before auto-creating grants in FIMS or FoundationPower.

Technology Initiative

The specific development projects being funded through the Funding Syndicate

Technology Roadmap

Defines the comprehensive functional requirements for a competitive community foundation infrastructure and management information system. It outlines five technology components considered important to competitive functioning: Core system, Internet interfaces, Web presence, Seamless processing and Accountability tools. (See Appendix B)

Web Presence

Delivers the interfaces, branding, dynamic content, and interactivity to key constituents via the community foundation’s Web site

Workflow Applications

Workflow is a description of how work moves among workers and the operations required to process that information as it moves. Workflow applications (or software) can automate processes that were once manual, monitor progress of work, help identify and eliminate bottlenecks. There are four types of workflow automation: document flow, process automation, task automation, and workgroup tools.