Last month we all were given the official news that Sage Nonprofit Solutions was being sold to Accel-KKR, a private equity firm.  This week, that sale was finalized and Sage Nonprofit Solutions is legally an independent company, no longer a part of Sage North America.  Congratulations to our colleagues at the new company!

As we noted a couple of weeks ago, there are a quite a few advantages to this new ownership configuration for users of Sage 100 Fund Accounting, Sage Fundraising 50, Sage Fundraising Online, Millennium and the other products that are part of the Nonprofit Solutions family.  Most importantly, the organization will be able to be singularly focused on delivering value for the nonprofit and local government clients it has served for over 30 years (through previous ownership transitions).  Look for a new brand to emerge that emphasizes this exclusive connection to the nonprofit and public sectors.

Here are a few things that we have learned that are worthy of noting:

• As of today, a new company name and brand have not been finalized.  This is expected to come together in coming weeks.  Be on the lookout for communications announcing the new company name.  JMT is contributing input to Nonprofit Solutions and their agency to help formulate this new brand strategy.
• Since “Sage” is integrated into all of the product names as part of Sage North America’s master branding strategy, you can expect all of the product names to change to varying degrees.  One change that has been informally confirmed is that Sage 100 Fund Accounting will be renamed and include the traditional brand name “MIP” in some way.  This is good news for those of us who could never stop calling it MIP anyway.
• Over time, you can expect updates to your software to include changes to remove references to the Sage brand.  Further, some of the features that were motivated by common Sage initiatives may be deemphasized or phased out over time.
• Krista Endsley, previously SVP & GM of Sage Nonprofit Solutions, is continuing as CEO of the new company and will be guiding the company during the transition and onward through its aggressive growth strategy.  Further, all key members of the Nonprofit Solutions management team are remaining in place at the new company.  This means that you can continue to expect the consistent, high quality execution that you have grown to expect in all phases of the business.
• Nonprofit Solutions, as an independent company, is in the process of transitioning systems (finance, CRM, etc.) away from the shared Sage infrastructure to systems of their own.  This is being done carefully, but it would be prudent to expect some bumps in the road as this occurs.  If, at any time, you encounter something strange or are struggling reaching the appropriate point of contact at Nonprofit Solutions for any issue, please contact your JMT CAM.

JMT Consulting Group, as Nonprofit Solutions’ largest business partner, is working very closely with our colleagues at the new company and will continue to share information as it becomes available.  We will continue to update you on the status of the transition through this blog and encourage you to contact us at any time if you have any questions or concerns about the transition.