GroundWork group is in the end stages of building a new Student Information Management System to benefit the students, faculty, staff and families of Oakstone Academy.  The system will serve as a central data repository for all student-related information for all three Oakstone campuses.  With the old system, which consisted of separate spreadsheets that were not coordinated, managing the data was very difficult.  Instituting the use of an advanced Information Management System will allow Oakstone to manage the data on students from every location with ease and to integrate the data on a common system to make the overall management of the school’s information more secure and more easily accessible.  The new system will collect and store the following critical data for Oakstone’s operations:

Student Information: Name, Nickname, Address, Phone, Email and County of Residence
Student Status Information: Classroom, Teacher, Grade, Funding Source and District of Residence
Student Demographics: Birth Date, Age, Gender and Ethnicity
Student Services: IEP, Speech Therapy, Psychology Therapy, Occupational Therapy and Summer Programs
Releases and Forms: Code of Conduct, Drop Off/Pick Up, FERPA, Permission to Photo, Apply Sunscreen, Emergency Medical Information, Medical Authorization and Allergies & Alerts
Parent Information: Email and Cell Phones
Other student file information: Absences, Tardies and Special Education Related Information

The system also ties into the parent records for each student and tracks other donors as well, including foundations and businesses.

GroundWork group CEO John Hrusovsky was selected as one of the 2010 winners of the Rea & Associates Nonprofit Executive Director of the Year awards.  John is being honored for his “efforts as head of GroundWork group” and for being “a tribute to this region.”

The Nonprofit Executive Director of the Year award is one of several Medical Mutual Pillar Awards for Community Service.  The Pillar Awards are presented by Smart Business and demonstrate the tie between the for-profit and nonprofit sectors.  The awards honor organizations of all types and sizes that make outstanding contributions to their community and individuals whose impact on nonprofit organizations strengthens the ability of nonprofits to accomplish their missions.  All 2010 Pillar Award winners and their service will be featured in the January edition of Smart Business Columbus and will be honored at the January 21, 2010 Pillar Awards recognition event.

Effective Spring 2010, GroundWork group will proudly introduce the Hrusovsky Family/GroundWork group Internship Fund at the Max M. Fisher College of Business at The Ohio State University.  The endowed fund will allow us to support internship opportunities for college students to work with GroundWork group, our member organizations, or other nonprofit organizations based in and serving Central Ohio.

A key aspect of the mission of GWg is to look for opportunities to educate college students on the value of technology in the nonprofit community.  What better way to do this than by providing internship opportunities so students can experience firsthand how to apply technology solutions within nonprofit organizations.

If you are interested, there are many ways to get involved.  Consider making a donation to the fund; consider getting your nonprofit organization on our list of Interested Nonprofits in the program; or, consider identifying a college student that would be interested.

Our hope is that over time, we can create a unique program that will allow many college students the opportunity to learn how to make technology a strategic aspect of the nonprofit business community. Come join us!!!

Bill Wehmer, President of North Star Consulting, LLC, was integral in the development of GroundWork group’s new offering: Merger & Acquisitions Technology Services.  GroundWork group appreciates the pro bono services provided by North Star Consulting, LLC to help us craft a service line that addresses the growing trend among nonprofits to combine operations in order to consolidate expenses and stay in business to fulfill their missions to serve the community.

North Star Consulting, LLC helped GroundWork group establish the following services now available to nonprofits from GroundWork group:

• IT Due Diligence – assessing the technology and management of IT and analyzing the “fit” of the  organizations
• Integration Planning – developing the strategy, cost and plans to integrate the organizations
• Integration Execution – executing the integration plan to successful conclusion
• Prerequisite Development and Analysis – guiding the development of the critical prerequisites or providing an independent assessment  of  what has already been developed

Serving for-profits and nonprofits, North Star Consulting, LLC offers a wide range of Information Technology management services, adding value to the work of your organization:

• Interim IT Management
• IT Assessment and Strategic Planning
• Merger and Acquisition Support
• Vendor and Contract Management
• Portfolio Management
• IT Process Improvement

With over 30 years of experience in strategic and tactical roles across all functional areas of IT, North Star Consulting, LLC has achieved impressive results:

• IT operational cost improvements of over 20%
• Cost reductions for new business start-ups of over 30%
• Measurable improvement in the value of IT to the business
• Reduced risk and cost for M&A, IT projects and regulatory requirements
• Innovative use of technology that increases revenue and improves cost of goods sold

For more information on how North Star Consulting, LLC can help your organization, contact Bill Wehmer, 614-580-2809, Bill.Wehmer@NorthStar-llc.com.

Health Information Privacy and Security: Regulatory, Management and Technology Overview
Tuesday, December 1 – Registration 8:30 a.m., Workshop 9 – 11:30 a.m.
United Way of Central Ohio, 360 S. Third St., Columbus, 43215.  Parking at City Center Parking Garage (not included in registration fee).

Join GroundWork group in a half-day workshop with Anthony D. Shaffer of Schottenstein, Zox & Dunn Co., LPA and Douglas Davidson of Jacadis to hear the details and ask questions regarding HITECH (Health Information Technology for Economic and Clinical Health Act), the new Federal Regulations governing your data.
Questions your organization needs to consider regarding HITECH:

• Does your organization collect, process or store client health information?
• Are you aware of the new HITECH provisions passed into law with the stimulus package?
• Are you aware that some of those provisions include increased civil and criminal penalties for neglecting your responsibilities to properly protect information?
• Do these changes apply to your nonprofit?
• How should you respond?

Cost per person: $30 for Full Members; $40 for Associate Members; $50 for Non-Members. Registration fee includes continental breakfast.  Please RSVP by Monday, November 30 to Brenda Grosse: bgrosse@groundworkgroup.org or 614-884-7780, ext. 101 or click here to register online.

Business Productivity Classes – Microsoft Office
Monday, December 14
Platform Lab, 1275 Kinnear Rd., Columbus, 43212
8:30 - 11:30 a.m. Excel 2007, Introduction Level
12:30 - 3:30 p.m. Excel 2007, Intermediate Level

Excel 2007, Introduction Level
Does using Excel give you butterflies?  Not anymore.  Our beginner Microsoft Excel 2007 course is a simple, hands-on approach to learning all the Excel basics.  Learn how to manipulate worksheets; work with data; create simple formulas; format worksheets; use relative, absolute, mixed and 3D references; sort data effectively; create basic charts; and, save and print Excel workbooks.

Excel 2007, Intermediate Level
You now have a need to streamline repetitive tasks and display spreadsheet data in more visually effective ways.  In this course, you will use Microsoft Excel 2007 to streamline and enhance your spreadsheets with templates, charts, graphics and formulas.  The target students for this course are those who desire to gain the skills necessary to create templates, sort and filter data, import and export data, analyze data and work with Excel on the Web.  Students should already have knowledge of the basics of Excel, including how to create, edit, format and print basic worksheets.

Cost per person for each session: $30 for Full Members; $40 for Associate Members; $50 for Non-Members.  Please RSVP by Friday, December 11 to Brenda Grosse: bgrosse@groundworkgroup.org or 614-884-7780, ext. 101.

Nonprofit IT Forum – Roundtable Discussion Reflecting on the HITECH Workshop, Security and Other IT Issues
Tuesday, December 15 – Noon to 1:30 p.m.
Jewish Family Services, 1070 College Ave., Columbus, 43209

The discussion will center around The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 which includes the Health Information Technology for Economic and Clinical Health Act (HITECH) which alters HIPAA privacy & security. 

There is no cost to attend the Nonprofit IT Forum, and lunch will be provided courtesy of the Tony R. Wells Foundation.  Please RSVP by Friday, December 11, to Brenda Grosse: bgrosse@groundworkgroup.org or 614-884-7780, ext. 101.

Continuing Education at Franklin University
Franklin University’s Center for Professional Training & Development (CPTD) offers classes, most of them for free, to help you boost your career and capabilities.  Follow this link for more information: http://www.franklin.edu/continuing-education/upcoming-events/