Case Study: Lutheran Service Puts Its Faith In ATS
When Lutheran Services in America learned its Association Management System (AMS) was sun setting, the organization decided to make the switch to iMIS: the premier e-business software solution for non-profits. A smart move, considering that iMIS supports member engagement, e-commerce, community development, business intelligence and more, all via a cloud-based solution that can be accessed from anywhere at anytime. And one made by many other highly satisfied associations before them.
In fact, as TJ Cantwell, Director of Membership Management with Lutheran Services, said,
“iMIS has a long standing history and a wealth of users in associations. It’s been tested, proven and vetted.”
As has Association Technology Solutions (ATS), the non-profit software experts with the genius iMIS IQ. So when it was time for Lutheran Services’ to find an Authorized iMIS Solutions Provider who could help make the transition to this new software as fast, cost-effective and pain-free as possible, they chose us.
Problems? Solved.
One of the first things to impress Lutheran Services was our fast response. Within a week of the initial contact, we were on site – probing, listening, and learning precisely what the organization required from their software. And from ATS.
Our findings? Among other things, Lutheran Services needed a way to:
- Efficiently and accurately move data from spreadsheets to the new database
- Create custom queries
- Design custom dashboards, records and tracking systems
- Flexibly handle the nuances specific to a 501c3 umbrella organization offering support to other faith-based associations – such as improving contact management by linking individual member records with organizations to which they belong, and those organizations to larger entities, etc.
- Communicate with members via automated, personalized email.
- Offer user-friendly, online accessibility to staff – and eventually, members
- Provide a path to additional functions in the future, including accounts receivable, online donations, communities and more
- Train its small team – many of whom have multiple roles and limited technical expertise – with as little disruption to their day-to-day responsibilities as possible
And to their delight, that’s exactly what we delivered – implementing iMIS on time, on budget and on the organization’s own terms.
“ATS wasn’t only capable, they were flexible,” said TJ. “They were very good about finding times that worked for us and doing virtual training, if need be – providing specific trainings to each group in bite-size pieces. This made it possible to do more, and do it more effectively and inexpensively.”
Follow Their Lead
Our implementation of the new software solution was an unquestionable success. And the efficiencies iMIS now brings to the organization are likewise undisputed. So it’s no wonder Lutheran Services believes other faith-based groups could also benefit by making the move to iMIS with ATS.
What’s more, with the help of ATS, faith-based organizations can also reap the benefits of iMIS features not yet implemented by Lutheran Services, including:
- Secure online giving via the iMIS Give Now and Auto Pay options
- Optimized event management – including online registration, email reminders, name badge creation and more – through the iMIS community feature
- Online, personalized member dashboards, including giving history, group rosters and additional individualized data.
And as Lutheran Services attests, the rewards are well worth the effort of making the change.
“Knowing what members do, how they interact with the association, what they want, and having all that information in one place leads to incredible efficiencies,” said TJ. “It can be daunting to move to a new AMS, but with a flexible database like iMIS and a partner like ATS, the benefits far outweigh the time and cost of getting things up and running.”