Customers > Case Studies

Case Study: Community Foundation
of the Great River Bend

The Customer Challenge
Since 1964, the Community Foundation of the Great River Bend (CFGRB) has been a philanthropic pace-setter – helping donors make planned gifts to the community, managing donations from individuals and families, managing funds from non-profits and businesses, and addressing community needs through grants and scholarships. In 1993, CFGRB had one fund and $1 million in assets. Today, it has more than 600 funds, 11 affiliate foundations and around $65 million in assets.

During this period of growth, the organization worked tirelessly to enhance the lives of people throughout the region, leaving little time to focus on the infrastructure within their own organization.

In March of 2010, CFGRB was using an outdated server that allowed file/print storage and was also used for the organization’s line of business application called FIMS. Hannah Morrell, Director of Business Operations at CFGRB, knew it was time for an update.

“The server was incredibly basic,” said Morrell. “When we got it we only had 3 employees. But since then we have grown into a 12-member organization. We needed something that was smaller, quicker, more reliable and a lot more professional – something that could take us into the future.”

She turned to RK Dixon, a market leader when it comes to computer networks and IT solutions, copiers and printers.

The RK Dixon Solution
RK Dixon’s IT Solutions Group routinely works with businesses to proactively manage their IT needs and make sure they stay ahead of the ever-changing world of technology.

When Katie Spain, account executive with RK Dixon, first met with Morrell and her team to discuss their business needs, she quickly realized the organization could benefit tremendously from an upgraded server.

“We discovered that they were using POP mail, that they were not able to share calendars internally and that they were unable to access the network from outside the office,” said Spain. “A new server would really help them become much more efficient.”

As one of the technical cornerstones of the CFGRB operation, it was critical for Morrell and her team that FIMS work flawlessly on any new server. To address this concern, Spain and RK Dixon Lead Engineer, Anthony Marranca, reviewed the application’s technical requirements
to determine what server technology would work best.

With a thorough understanding of the non-profit’s needs, RK Dixon recommended CFGRB install a Microsoft Small Business Server to simplify their daily job tasks and increase efficiencies.

To facilitate the installation of the server, CFGRB closed operations for one day. During this time, RK Dixon set up the server and worked directly with FIMS provider MicroEdge to install the appropriate patches on the Microsoft server and move data.

“Anthony set up some of our computers, and to help us save money he provided a training sheet that let us set up the rest of our computers ourselves,” said Morrell.

The Results
With the new Microsoft Small Business Server, CFGRB has been able to share calendars, enhance security, increase the speed and reliability of the FIMS application and host email on their own server, which has eliminated the need for them to “pay” for their email.

RK Dixon also encouraged CFGRB to install a Cisco firewall that enables virtual private network (VPN) capabilities and gives all employees with laptops the ability to work offsite.

“The new server has sped us up and made us a lot more efficient, and the new Outlook Exchange piece has really helped us in terms of calendars and scheduling,” said Morrell.

Morrell and her team were also pleased with the overall service they received from the RK Dixon team.

“I would, and have, recommended them. A project like this can be very intimidating, and Katie and Anthony were always very helpful and patient. They spent a lot of time making sure we were getting what we actually needed, and I never felt like they were trying to upsell us,” said Morrell. “The best thing is that when you come to them with a problem, they will work and work and work to figure out what’s wrong. They don’t give up.”

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