The SmartSimple Blog

At this point, you’ve probably heard the widespread chatter about the upcoming impact of GDPR, and for good reason. While this new regulation has been enacted by the EU, it will affect how organizations engage with data on a global level. GDPR is a looming presence in large part because of the prohibitive fines for non-compliance (see below). With only a few weeks before it takes effect, many organizations are left trying to understand the legislation, its scope, and how to prepare for it. We want to help you not only understand the nuances of the GDPR legislation but be confidently compliant with it. This is why we’ve broken down the different elements of the new law in our latest GDPR Workbook. The guide is structured around a set of self-assessment questions designed to help you evaluate your preparedness for compliance with the law.  DOWNLOAD OUR GDPR SELF-ASSESSMENT WORKBOOK To get you started, here are 10 important things you need to know about GDPR 1. Wha...

Within the foundation world, grantmaking and fund development roles are often treated like opposite sides of a coin. However, in reality, these two functions share a uniquely symbiotic relationship. While both roles are important within a community foundation, there are ways this shared relationship can be further improved. In a community foundation, staff members charged with fund development assist donors with leaving lasting legacies by making contributions to the foundation’s engagement. Grantmaking staff are then tasked with the responsibility of working with local nonprofit organizations to provide them with grant dollars to fund the work they are doing to improve the community. The challenge with donor flexibility and grantmaking restrictions Community foundations are often faced with a wide array of challenges when it comes to creating synergy between the fundraising and grantmaking sides of the foundation. This tension is often caused by a discrepancy in goals between bot...

Real technical support from a real human, at any hour. We’re launching round-the-clock technical support 24 hours a day, 5 days a week. From Sunday at 4pm Eastern Time to Friday 9pm Eastern Time, our clients will have access to live support. GMT: 9 pm Sunday to 2 am Saturday EST: 4 pm Sunday to 9 pm Friday PST: 1 pm Sunday to 6 pm Friday AEST: 8 am Monday to 1 pm Saturday “When you have to burn the midnight oil to get your job done it’s important to know you won’t have to wait till the morning to get answers. You can call us up and talk to a real human being any time of the week, day or night”.   — Mike Reid, Co-Founder of SmartSimple We take support seriously, which is why we’re pioneering this model as the first in our industry. We’re in the empowerment business, and as such, it’s part of our responsibility to help our clients to get the most out of the SmartSimple platform every step of the way. We at SmartSimple take pride in our delivery of excellent service ...

For this month’s upgrade, we focused on making system configuration more efficient, more streamlined and more intuitive to make it easier for you to apply changes. Below is a summary of these exciting updates.  Watch the video below to review the highlights from the February Upgrade.

Photo courtesy of Loic Djim Round the clock technical support starting on March 4 As we’ve grown our international footprint with clients to support across every continent on the planet, we know that time doesn’t stop when we go to sleep. That’s why we’ve ramped up our technical support to assist our clients with any technical needs they have, at any hour. Beginning March 4, we’re launching round-the-clock technical support 24 hours a day, 5 days a week.  O ur clients will have access to live support during the following hours: GMT: 9 pm Sunday  to 2  am Saturday EST: 4 pm Sunday to 9 pm Friday PST: 1 pm Sunday to 6 pm Friday AEST: 8 am Monday to 1  pm Saturday  “When you have to burn the midnight oil to get your job done it’s important to know you won’t have to wait till the morning to get answers. You can call us up and talk to a real human being any time of the week, day or night”.   — Mike Reid, Co-Founder of Sm...

Photo courtesy of Raw Pixel Introducing: SmartSimple Business Strategy Service Get your answers and solutions faster We want to make sure you’re maximizing the powerful functionality of your SmartSimple software, which is why we’re launching our complimentary SmartSimple Business Strategy services — for those times you have questions that require more than just technical troubleshooting. Thinking of adding a component to your platform that sends out automatic notifications alerting and updating your grantees where they are in the grant application process? Want to impress your boss by improving your foundation’s impact reports at your next presentation? We can help you every step of the way. Think of this like our white glove concierge service to your platform’s needs. We’ll help you get the resources you need to make sure your platform is future-proof and scalable to your new technological advancements. “The SmartSimple Business Strategy service is like an operator of sort...

We’re excited to announce our partnership with CAF America, a global leader in domestic and cross-border grantmaking, to provide a full service, end-to-end solution for SmartSimple’s corporate enterprise and community foundation clients. Our collaboration joins SmartSimple’s leading-edge workplace giving and grants management software with CAF America’s expertise in charity vetting and advisory services. Together, this solution creates a completely integrated client platform and experience. From workplace giving, campaign management, charity vetting, to donation and grant payment processing, this partnership offers a one-stop shop service that handles every backend function of your foundation. Now, here’s a breakdown of the benefits What SmartSimple clients will get from this partnership: SmartSimple Donor Advised Funds hosted by CAF America Tax receipt at the time the donation is made CAF America’s enhanced Anti-Money Laundering and Counter-Terrorist Financing (AML ...