Industry: Nonprofit Social Services
Organization Size: Large nonprofit with multiple government contracts
Grant Volume: Multiple federal, state, and city contracts
Implementation Time: Rapid deployment with immediate compliance benefits
The Challenge: Complex Multi-Level Grant Management
Rising Ground, a prominent nonprofit social services organization, faced the complex challenge of managing multiple government contracts simultaneously – each with distinct compliance requirements, audit standards, and documentation needs.
The Pain Points
Manual Documentation Crisis
Rising Ground’s finance team was drowning in manual processes. When audit season arrived, particularly for federal contracts, staff would work around the clock gathering documentation, creating what Jordan Katon, their representative, described as “a lot of stress and a lot of urgent emails and I need backups of this. I need the three bids for that.”
Audit Anxiety Across Government Levels
The organization dealt with varying audit intensities. Federal audits created sleepless nights for accountants, while city contracts were less stringent. As Jordan explained, “When the federal government comes to audit us on our spending, that’s one that people stay up at night over… it rises to the level of our CFO.”
Compliance Complexity
Every dollar required accountability across seven-digit budget codes, with different requirements for federal versus state versus city funding sources. Staff needed to prove proper spending for each contract while maintaining detailed backup documentation including receipts, invoices, and purchase orders.
Resource Drain
Finance staff were functioning essentially as “billers,” manually pulling information from financial systems and uploading to various governmental platforms on a case-by-case basis. This antiquated process consumed valuable time that could have been spent on mission-critical activities.
The Solution: Procurement Express Implementation
Rising Ground implemented ProcurementExpress to create a centralized, automated grant management system that could handle their complex multi-contract environment.
Key Implementation Features
Project-Based Contract Management
Each government contract became a separate project within Procurement Express, allowing for isolated tracking and reporting per funding source.
Automated Documentation Assembly
The attachment report feature automatically compiled all purchase orders, quotations, and supporting documentation on a per-project basis, eliminating manual gathering during audit preparation.
Real-Time Budget Visibility
Dashboard functionality provided instant visibility into spending across all contracts, replacing the previous system of manual financial system queries.
Streamlined Approval Workflows
Built-in approval processes ensured compliance requirements were met before expenses were incurred, preventing violations rather than catching them after the fact.
The Results: From Stress to Success
Immediate Operational Impact
Audit Preparation Revolution
“If we did that on a per project basis and each project was one of their contracts, then they would find that massively useful… then they’d have all of the documentation that they needed for any audit based on any project that they were working on.”
Process Elevation
Jordan noted that Procurement Express had “brought us up like six or seven levels in the world of our processes,” transforming their approach to budget tracking and compliance management.
Dashboard Transformation
The team was “over the moon” about finally having dashboard visibility into their spending, with Jordan expressing amazement: “Oh my gosh, I can’t believe I can see a dashboard of what our spending is in procurement express.”
Honeymoon Phase Success
The implementation was so successful that “everyone’s still in the honeymoon phase” with the new system capabilities.
Measurable Benefits
Compliance Confidence
Automated compliance controls ensure every expense meets grant requirements before processing, eliminating the risk of violations.
Audit-Ready Documentation
All required backup documentation is automatically organized by contract/project, making audit preparation a simple matter of generating reports rather than manually gathering files.
Resource Reallocation
Staff previously dedicated to manual compliance tracking can now focus on program delivery and mission-critical activities.
Multi-Level Government Compatibility
Single system handles federal, state, and city contract requirements simultaneously, eliminating the need for multiple tracking systems.
The Technology: Built for Complex Grant Environments
Advanced Features Deployed
RFQ Management System
Rising Ground gained access to Procurement Express’s enhanced Request for Quotation functionality, including automated approval workflows and documentation requirements – critical for meeting government procurement regulations requiring multiple bids.
Integration Capabilities
Seamless connection with existing financial systems eliminates duplicate data entry while maintaining audit trails across platforms.
Mobile Accessibility
Field staff can initiate and approve purchases remotely, maintaining compliance even when working across multiple program locations.
Customizable Workflows
Approval processes adapt to each contract’s specific requirements while maintaining standardized documentation and reporting.
Industry Impact: Setting the Standard for Nonprofit Grant Management
Why This Matters for the Nonprofit Sector
Scalable Solution
Rising Ground’s success demonstrates how organizations managing multiple complex government contracts can achieve enterprise-level compliance without enterprise-level complexity or cost.
Risk Mitigation
By preventing compliance violations rather than just tracking them, ProcurementExpress protects organizations from the devastating impact of grant funding loss or penalties.
Mission Focus
When compliance becomes automated, nonprofits can redirect energy from administrative burden to program quality and community impact.
Lessons for Similar Organizations
Federal Contract Management
Organizations with federal contracts requiring strict audit compliance can implement similar project-based tracking for immediate risk reduction.
Multi-Source Funding
Nonprofits juggling foundation, government, and corporate grants benefit from centralized management that adapts to each funder’s unique requirements.
Growth Preparation
As Rising Ground expands their grant portfolio, ProcurementExpress scales with them, adding new contracts as additional projects without system changes.
Looking Forward: Innovation in Grant Management
Rising Ground’s success with ProcurementExpress represents the evolution of nonprofit financial management from reactive compliance to proactive governance. Their implementation showcases how the right technology transforms grant management from a source of stress into a competitive advantage.
The organization’s journey from manual tracking to automated compliance demonstrates that even the most complex grant environments can be simplified without compromising thoroughness or accuracy. As they continue expanding their use of advanced features like enhanced RFQ management, Rising Ground sets the standard for how modern nonprofits should approach grant compliance.
Ready to transform your grant management? Rising Ground’s success story shows how the right system eliminates audit anxiety while providing complete spending visibility. Organizations managing multiple government contracts can achieve similar results with ProcurementExpress’s proven approach to compliance automation.
This case study demonstrates Procurement Express’s capability to handle complex multi-contract environments while maintaining strict compliance standards. Results may vary based on organization size, grant complexity, and implementation approach.
