Carving $1.5 million for IT out of a $10-million budget is par for the course among for-profit companies, Adam Roth says. For non-profits, where administrative costs are closely monitored, it's a red flag.
That's why so many non-profits have struggled to keep up with leading-edge technology that could help them better manage internal affairs, board business and programs, he says. And it's why Roth created
StreamLink Software, a Cleveland firm that has developed two products to help non-profits.
Since StreamLink's first product launch in July of 2008 -- a solution called BoardMax -- the company has attracted more than 100 customers, including Ronald McDonald House, the Boys and Girls Club of Cleveland, and the American Heart Association.
Roth, the company's CEO and former chief operating officer for Cleveland's West Side Ecumenical Ministry, began exploring the software landscape in 2006 after being frustrated by a lack of good, economical software programs for non-profits. At the same time, the development of web-based software was growing, giving entities a way to avoid the high infrastructure costs of internal IT programs.
Thus, BoardMax -- a web-based product designed to increase board engagement and organizational compliance with regulations and standards.
"Our tool really helps internal management manage the organization as well as helping board members connect with the organization," he says.
AmpliFund, released earlier this year, "focuses on the whole grant cycle," Roth says. "Everything from trying to understand what opportunities are out there, to creating and personalizing those opportunities for each organization, building a plan, a solicitation strategy around each opportunity, tracking and managing an organization-wide plan that can allow you to create projections throughout the year."
After a program is implemented, the software becomes a management tool to capture data related to performance and expenditure of funds.
Along the way, StreamLink has had help from North Coast Angel Fund ($200,000), the
Lorain County Community College Innovation Fund ($100,000) and $400,000 in private investments.
Roth says the company employed two a year ago; today, it employs eight and plans to grow.
Source: Adam Roth, StreamLink
Writer: Gene Monteith