Formerly from Blackbaud and based on the former MicroEdge FIMS product, FIMS is a software solution used to manage requests, approvals, and declinations for grantmaking and scholarships.
N/A
The Cayuse Suite
Score 8.6 out of 10
N/A
Cayuse (replacing the former SmartGrant) is a research grant proposal submission software designed to help users increase proposal success and funding, from the company of the same name (formerly known as eRA Software) in Portland.
It is really a matter of priority. I can see situations where GIFTS Classic is a very strong option! Once an organization determines its priorities then it should definitely consider GIFTS to see how well it compares with mission critical functionality.
MicroEdge was chosen for the foundation before I arrived. It had caused many problems and headaches since it was first implemented. Our Executive Director hated the software and spent five years convincing the Board of Directors to allow her to change it. Upon my departure, the …
Cayuse (SmartGrant) has been in place at our institution for a while and we wouldn’t examine using anything else because it has been easy to work with, access, and stay organized with. Cayuse (SmartGrant) is also used for our office of research and is separate from our …
I believe a company starting out with a whole new database may take advantage of MicroEdge GIFTS. However, GIFTS would not work well for an organization which is transferring their old data onto the platform. GIFTS does not update well as time passes and data would most likely be lost and/or corrupted. I have not worked with the newest GIFTS online, so I do not know if that process would be smooth or not, but from what my coworkers told me upon hire, it seems GIFTS was very difficult to customize online. When attempting to use GIFTS online, our organization was told that we'd have to pay an invoice of several thousand dollars to change three words in a paragraph on the online system. Lastly, and most importantly, we found MicroEdge's customer service to be nearly impossible to reach, rude, and never helpful when help was sought out. Organizations which would need help with the program should not expect to be serviced in a timely or helpful manner.
Cayuse (SmartGrant) is well suited for institutions who have multiple grants and projects that need to be organized, tracked, and followed up with. The closing and sorting of projects is also helpful when using this software. Multiple signers also have access to approvals electronically which makes the process more simplified and accessible for all parties involved.
GIFTS Classics does a very good job of processing transactions. You can track workflow and enter/change important information along the lifecycle.
My favorite feature is the ability to select almost any field within the database and organize how it will be viewed, either within the system or when exported to Excel. You can relabel the column headers, sort, switch the order, stack fields, and capture all the information that will help in both processing and decision making.
I find the ability to create a wide range of templates that can then be generated and stored through the document manager tool to provide great efficiency and reduce opportunity for error.
I typically receive a response to an inquiry within an hour or two, if not sooner. Most tech support people are knowledgeable about our problems, and if not, they will escalate to the proper person.
It is really a matter of priority. I can see situations where GIFTS Classic is a very strong option! Once an organization determines its priorities then it should definitely consider GIFTS to see how well it compares with mission critical functionality.
Cayuse (SmartGrant) has been in place at our institution for a while and we wouldn’t examine using anything else because it has been easy to work with, access, and stay organized with. Cayuse (SmartGrant) is also used for our office of research and is separate from our development software to keep everyone organized.
