Teaching a (Nonprofit) Dog New Tricks: Two NetSuite Employees Provide Pro Bono Consulting to Animal Rescue Nonprofit

When Tricia Fitzgerald joined NetSuite as a curriculum developer earlier this year, she was eager to jump into her new role developing training for nonprofit organizations and get the lay of the land. Her manager suggested she participate in the SuiteVolunteers pro bono program, which matches the needs of the nonprofits using NetSuite with the professional skills of NetSuite employees, as a way to immerse herself in the ways nonprofits are using NetSuite to run their back-office operations.  

For Nick Meyer, a Solutions Consultant at NetSuite, most of his time at work is spent in the pre-sales process, helping a wide range of companies understand how NetSuite can help their business. When the opportunity to take part in a SuiteVolunteers pro bono project presented itself, he saw it as a chance to use his deep knowledge of the system to benefit an organization that was already up and running on NetSuite.

Found Animals Foundation (FAF) , a Los-Angeles based nonprofit, is dedicated to saving pets’ lives through adoption, microchip, and spay and neuter programs. Part of our SuiteDonation program, the NetSuite.org initiative that offers free and discounted software to qualified nonprofits and social enterprises, FAF is using NetSuite to manage its finances and scale its microchip program.

Most recently, FAF signed up for a SuiteVolunteer pro bono project to better leverage NetSuite to streamline accounts payable. With Fitzgerald’s background in training and Meyer’s in-depth knowledge of NetSuite, they were the perfect duo to take on this project with FAF.  

To determine how they would run the two-month long pro bono project with FAF, Fitzgerald and Meyer developed an outline for what they would teach based on the needs of FAF. After getting buy-in from FAF on how they would use their time together, Fitzgerald and Meyer scheduled twice weekly one-hour training sessions, with each session focused on a specific part of the system. In between sessions, Meyer said he gave FAF homework to ensure the team understood what was taught. Many sessions focused on helping FAF utilize workflows to streamline accounts payable processes and approvals. 

Fitzgerald and Meyer both agree that the opportunity to work with FAF provided them a unique look into how a real-life nonprofit organization is using the system. From the perspective of Dennis Phillips, COO at FAF, Fitzgerald and Meyer “are beyond awesome” and go onto his “hall of fame board.” His only complaint is that FAF didn’t sign up for this SuiteVolunteer pro bono program a year ago.    

For more information on selecting a pro bono program that is right for your nonprofit organization read “Pro Bono Volunteer Programs – A Valuable Resource to Tap Into.”