Seeding Justice is an Oregon-based nonprofit that has funded grassroots, social justice organizing in Oregon since 1976. Since 1976, their Grantmakers have delivered over 50 million dollars in grants into social, economic and environmental projects.
Like so often in the nonprofit sector, precious fundraising dollars are directed to delivering the organization’s mission, rather than its administration and infrastructure. Sandee Huang, Seeding Justice’s finance operations director, knew that to ensure future fundraising dollars, her HR and payroll team needed to eliminate time-consuming manual functions and improve their reporting capabilities without incurring significant expense.
To achieve this goal, Huang turned to Clark Nuber PS, a top 100 public accounting and consulting firm, headquartered in the Pacific Northwest, that specializes in working to improve nonprofit operations. Clark Nuber recommended ADP.
Before, it would take two hours to go between five or six spreadsheets to get the information I needed. Now, I can pull that data in real-time – all in under a minute - and I know it’s accurate!
Sandee Huang,
Finance and Operations Director
Seeding Justice
Challenges
- Funding agencies needed documentation showing where grant money was being spent
- Keeping track of where employees spend time across grants was manual and cumbersome
- A lack of financial software integration put future funding at risk
How ADP helped
- With the integration between ADP and Sage Intacct, Seeding Justice was able to combine their payroll and accounting processes. Manual tasks were also eliminated, and Seeding Justice was able to get a clear snapshot of how grants were being spent.
ADP Solutions
- ADP Workforce Now®
- ADP Timebank/Grant Allocation
Big goals for continuous improvement
From the start of Huang’s tenure at Seeding Justice, she recognized that significant change required executive sponsorship supported by expert analysis and insights. That’s where Cheryl Olson, director, solution strategies at Clark Nuber, came in. Through a series of in-depth assessments, Clark Nuber examined Seeding Justice’s cybersecurity risk, federal compliance and financial systems, which resulted in supporting their choice to bring accounting and payroll processes in-house, providing more control over their operations.
“When you’re dealing with state and federal money, you need to be precise and accurate. Otherwise, you run the risk of government agencies holding back or even canceling future funding. Spreadsheets leave too much room for human error, so implementing an integrated finance and HR system ensures peace-of-mind, not just for Seeding Justice, but also their funders.”
Finding a preferred vendor
Olson has a strict vetting process when it comes to recommending vendors. In searching for the right payroll provider for Seeding Justice, she recognized her client’s need for robust technology and top-notch customer service.
“For nonprofits to be successful, you need a team of passionate people with the right tools. ADP has those passionate people who are available whenever needed. They also have the tools and the detailed reporting funders want to see.”
Known for presenting ADP’s complete menu of services - everything from recruitment to retirement - Olson regards ADP as one of the most valuable resources in her nonprofit consulting toolkit.
