Austin, Texas (June 28, 2002) -- Best Software has acquired JSI Fundraising Systems, a developer of fundraising management software for nonprofit organizations, and will market those systems with nonprofit accounting software by Micro Information Products, another Best holding.
The combination should increase MIP's competitiveness with Blackbaud, the only other nonprofit industry accounting software vendor that also develops fundraising software. JSI has been placed in Best's Nonprofit and Government group, which also includes MIP, based here. Terms of the deal were not released.
JSI's products, Millennium and Paradigm. will also be made available for MIP's 100-plus resellers to deliver to their clients; Williamsburg, Va.-based JSI had been selling directly. Providing MIP resellers with the products "will enable them to broaden their offerings within our installed customer, a key priority across all of our operating companies," said Best chief executive Ron Verni.
MIP users or resellers have been linking that accounting software with a variety of third party fundraising management systems, including JSI products, to satisfy needs in that area. . MIP marketing vice president
Dawn Westerberg said there would be no restriction against linking to other third-party applications, but she is hopeful that JSI products will be the prominent fundraising tool used.
Westerburg also said the JSI acquisition is a positive byproduct of being owned by Best Software, noting that MIP could not have afforded the deal on its own. Best, the U.S. arm of publicly-traded multi-national Sage plc of England., acquired MIP last October when Best was known as Sage Software.
--John M. Covaleski
