Overview:

Anthony’s life changed when he was matched with Austin attorney Ben De Leon through Big Brothers Big Sisters of Central Texas (BBBS).  A second grader, the boy lived with his grandparents, and desperately needed a mentor.  Now the Big and Little Brother get together a few times a month, and share sports activities.  Ben helps with homework, and makes sure Anthony’s family has resources to give his Little Brother every opportunity to succeed.  “Ben is a best friend to Anthony,” says Cathy Carrillo, Anthony’s grandmother.  “I can always count on Ben for extra guidance, and to direct Anthony in the right direction.”

Sage MIP Fund Accounting

Big Brothers Big Sisters Mentor More Kids in Central Texas with Sage MIP Fund Accounting

Anthony’s life changed when he was matched with Austin attorney Ben De Leon through Big Brothers Big Sisters of Central Texas (BBBS). A second grader, the boy lived with his grandparents, and desperately needed a mentor. Now the Big and Little Brother get together a few times a month, and share sports activities. Ben helps with homework, and makes sure Anthony’s family has resources to give his Little Brother every opportunity to succeed. “Ben is a best friend to Anthony,” says Cathy Carrillo, Anthony’s grandmother. “I can always count on Ben for extra guidance, and to direct Anthony in the right direction.”

Three years later, the two are not only still matched; Ben was named national Big Brother of the Year, and was honored at BBBS’ national convention.

In 2008, Big Brothers Big Sisters of Central Texas provided more than 82,000 hours of mentoring to 1,662 children in six counties, as well as $48,000 in scholarship money to 69 Littles pursuing higher education. For 37 years, the agency has matched children aged 6 to 16 with supportive adult mentors, and is ranked in the top five nationally for match quality.

Sage Software – Or Else

Behind the scenes, BBBS works hard to manage money wisely. So its new vice president of finance and operations, Angie Adams, signed on with one condition – that they adopt Sage MIP Fund Accounting software. Although the agency has a budget of $2 million, it was still using QuickBooks and spreadsheets, which were very labor intensive and made reporting difficult.

“At first, they asked if I couldn’t just restructure QuickBooks to better meet their needs,” says Adams. “I explained that you can’t get blood out of a turnip. I knew from past experience what a difference Sage MIP would make. So I insisted on it, as I have at other non-profits where I’ve worked. Everyone here is very glad that I did.”

Fewer Staff Needed

BBBS now uses Sage MIP Fund Accounting to automate all of its finances, including the general ledger, budgeting, accounts payable and payroll. The software allocates expenses to grants whenever an invoice is entered, and generates sophisticated reports, including month-end and actual vs. budget reports.

“Prior to Sage MIP, we had a full-time accountant, office manager and vice president in finance. Now we are operating very comfortably with a VP and part-time office manager. In other words, the software cut our staffing needs in half while letting us handle the same amount of work,” says Adams.

Remarkable Reporting

Sage MIP Fund Accounting makes reporting fast and easy. Before, many detailed reports were impossible or too time-consuming to create. Today the software generates reports with the click of the mouse. “Instead of spending a full day a month per grant preparing monthly reports, I can create a report instantly, with absolutely no effort,” Adams notes.

“Today I met with my banker and our board, and they were very impressed at the way we can analyze data,” she continues. “It’s simple to compare actual to budget at many different levels, including department, specific grants or any of our five physical locations. Or we can view the big picture for the entire agency, all with up-to-the-minute data.”

Awesome Allocations

The real beauty of Sage MIP, according to Adams, comes in enhanced allocation abilities. “Once you have the logic set up the way you want it, the system assigns expenses and virtually takes care of itself. I created distribution codes for each staff person based on their workflow, and Sage MIP allocates their wages, taxes and benefits according to preset percentages. We do the same with other overhead costs. Things like electricity, for instance, are split between six different funding entities. Then when it’s time to reapply for grants, we can demonstrate exactly where every penny went.”

BBBS of Central Texas has a new CEO, Brent Fields, whose mission has been to streamline administrative and fundraising aspects of the agency. “He’s really happy with the positive results from Sage MIP, because it dovetails so closely with his vision for us,” explains Adams. “The software makes us a leaner organization, which means that we are better stewards of our donor’s resources – which reflects well on all of us.”

The bottom-line improvements are significant. “By transitioning to Sage MIP Fund Accounting, we are saving at least $30,000 a year,” says Adams. “This allows us to serve an additional 30 young people each year. In addition, the solution plays a key role in our agency reaching its aggressive long-term goal -- providing mentoring to 5,000 kids by the year 2015.”

Pull-out quote: “By transitioning to Sage MIP Fund Accounting, we are saving at least $30,000 a year. This allows us to serve an additional 30 young people each year.”