Press Release
New Program Expected To Save Charities Millions
Atlanta, GA - 12/20/2005 -
Results from a pilot study show that a new program by the Georgia Center for Nonprofits (Center) and IBM could save Georgia’s nonprofit sector millions of dollars annually.
Nonprofit Marketplace uses improved sourcing and aggregated buying to give nonprofit customers first-time access to deep volume discounts on the products and services they purchase most. It also enables users to save on operating costs and to easily manage, track, and report their spending—key benefits for public-serving organizations, which are required to account for how they use their resources.
The pilot study, completed in November, analyzed the spending (over one year) of six Atlanta-area nonprofits. Researchers then examined how using the system—which taps into IBM’s own purchasing power—would have affected subjects’ bottom lines.
“The findings from the spend-analysis were astounding,” says Karen Beavor, president and CEO of the Georgia Center for Nonprofits. “Had the six pilot agencies been able to use Nonprofit Marketplace for the purchases we examined, they would have saved a combined $1.6 million in one year alone.”
Strength in Numbers
The study found that, overall, users could expect to save an average of 20 percent on their biggest areas of expense—office supplies, printing, and maintenance repair and operations (MRO).
“These dramatically lowered rates are typically reserved for high-volume purchasers,” says Beavor. “And since nonprofits are generally very small ‘businesses’, they simply don’t purchase in volumes high enough to earn them great discounts. Our program aggregates their buying, though, and takes advantage of IBM-negotiated contracts, which can dramatically reduce their spending.”
The collaboration-based model also gives customers affordable access to IBM’s world-class online procurement platform, says Beavor. “Alone, most nonprofits simply couldn’t afford this type of system. But by sharing the load, they’ll find it very affordable.”
Costs for the subscription-based program are based on a sliding scale, depending on organization budget.
The Center conceived Nonprofit Marketplace as a program for nonprofits in Georgia. But, says Beavor, when it became clear that the program benefits increased with the number of users, she decided to make it available nationally. “We can actually better meet our mission—which is strengthening organizations in Georgia—by extending this service outside of our traditional service area,” she says. “It’s a fantastic opportunity to invest in our own state and, at the same time, strengthen the national nonprofit sector.”
For more information about Nonprofit Marketplace, contact Heather Rocker, program manager, at 678-916-3008.
About the Georgia Center for Nonprofits
An all-in-one resource for and about Georgia’s nonprofit sector, the Georgia Center for Nonprofits works to serve, strengthen and support nonprofit, charitable organizations statewide. The center provides nonprofits with the resources and tools they need to be most effective; promotes partnerships between nonprofits and foundations, businesses and government to meet critical needs; and helps state and local policy-makers and the public understand and support the work of nonprofits.
###
Media Contact
Nancy Longacre
678-916-3030
nl@gcn.org