The Community Foundation of NCW has received a $50,000 grant from the M.J. Murdock Charitable Trust that will fund a new financial and account management system. The software, purchased from Blackbaud, Inc. (a renowned nonprofit software company with 27,000 customers worldwide), will provide significant upgrades to streamline processes and increase donor services for the foundation.

“We are extremely excited for this opportunity to enhance our donors’ and fundholders’ ability to access and manage their funds,” said Beth Stipe, executive director. “This new system will also make many of our operating procedures much more efficient.”

Staff at the foundation are currently being trained on the new system and plan to go live with the software in mid-August. Once the implementation is complete, all grants and scholarship applications will be exclusively online. “We will be eliminating hundreds of pounds of paper and many hours of staff time moving to an online only process” said Stipe. “Applying for grants and scholarships is going to be so much easier for our nonprofits and students.”

The M.J. Murdock Charitable Trust provides grant opportunities to Pacific Northwest nonprofit organizations that seek to strengthen the region. To receive a grant, agencies must first submit a Letter of Inquiry and if accepted, are then given an invitation to apply. Between 2007-2011, Washington State received $16.6 million in grants – 10% of the total grant distribution by the trust.

“We are so grateful to the M.J. Murdock Charitable Trust for this opportunity” added Stipe. “It’s going to shape our internal infrastructure to support our growth long term.”