ECMC Foundation was founded in 2002, but the foundation took a substantial change in direction in late 2014 to rebuild itself as a grantmaking foundation focused on improving the educational outcomes of underserved populations through evidenced-based innovation.
“While our strategy and direction are new and our grantmaking initiatives are in their infancy, we look forward to engaging with grantees that share our desire to take risks that might have outsized impact on the lives of young people throughout the nation,” according to ECMC President, Peter Taylor.
Being new to the grantmaking world, it was incredibly important that ECMC do things right the first time – and grants management is a large part of “doing things right.”
“We wanted to make sure it was a smooth transition to grantmaking,” says Libby Considine, the grant administrative manager at ECMC. “We really wanted to get out in front of any problems, so we could keep everything managed and linked with our finance system, to make a smoothest transition possible.”
Since going live only three months ago, Considine and the ECMC team have already experienced the benefits of the Fluxx platform. Now, everyone at ECMC has tailored access to the information they need to do their jobs better. “I like how everyone can see different things in the system. Everyone has different access permissions based their role,” Considine says.
For example, the finance team can access the system for payouts, and directors can monitor the entire process from a high-level view. All updates are made in real time, and all the information is stored in one place.
“But my favorite thing is that all the information is linked,” Considine explains. “When I have a new grant to add, I can add the organization and it will automatically link with a contact, the grant, and a project. I don’t have to worry about how I’m going to organize all this on an Excel document. It’s all done for me.”
Download the complete ECMN Foundation success story here.