The Algos Center: Information Systems in a Small Non-Profit Organization

Abstract

Two systems faculty from a university was contracted to perform an analysis of information systems at the Algos Center, a small non-profit charitable organization which provides support for children and their families facing losses. The Center specifically requested help in integrating its fundraising and accounting software packages or exploring alternative software solutions. It also needed to generate reports required by the Board of Directors and United Way. Finally, the Center requested help in designing a family database to capture and track statistics about the families receiving services. As the team analyzed the Center, they discovered many under lying issues that would form part of their recommendations to the staff. This case makes two contributions. First, it reveals many problems facing small non-profit organizations, which primarily expend their resources on mission-critical activities, and allows readers to supply possible courses of action. Second, it provides an opportunity to evaluate how a consulting experience was handled and to make recommendations to ensure successful project implementation.