August 3, 2010

Madison Down Under prompts largest round of ASI’s SMART Company Scholarship Fund
- Eight recipients and over $9000 awarded in June 2010 -

Advanced Solutions International (ASI) today announced that the latest round of the ASI SMART Company Scholarship Fund has committed over $9,000 to the professional development of eight recipients working in the not-for-profit sector.

The largest round in the history of the Fund had applications requesting more than $80,000 of funding. Over half of the requests were to attend the Fundraising Institute of Australia’s (FIA) intensive fundraising educational program, Madison Down Under, which starts on August 13th in the Barossa Valley.

The ASI SMART Company Scholarship Fund was established in 2006 to encourage the professional education of all individuals working in the not-for-profit sector. It provides financial assistance and education subsidies of up to $25,000 a year and has benefited more than 100 individuals since its inception.

Heiko Plange of Brightwater Care Group and Anthea Jackson of the Make-A-Wish Foundation will receive fully funded educational scholarships to attend the four-day residential education program, Madison Down Under 2010, giving them access to the newest strategies and tips from experts in the not-for-profit field from Australia and throughout the world.

Paul Ramsbottom, ASI Asia Pacific managing director, established the Fund after attending Madison Down Under and being inspired by the dedication of people working in the not-for-profit sector, many of whom funded their attendance personally.

“ASI is consistently in awe that so many outstanding people work in the not-for-profit sector, proven yet again by the high quality applications for this round of the Scholarship Fund”, Ramsbottom said. “We believe in education, but understand that not-for-profit organisations often struggle to find even limited funding for staff development. The SMART Company Scholarship Fund is dedicated to furthering professional development and making a real long term difference to the sector”.

ASI SMART Company Scholarship Fund recipients include Meranda Palmer of Coeliac the Research Fund, Janyne Parsonage of Starlight Children’s Foundation and Sian Lambert of Kids Camps Inc.

Bren Arkinstall of the Muscular Dystrophy Association of Queensland will receive an education subsidy to assist him in undertaking the Graduate Certificate in Business Philanthropy and Non Profit Studies at Queensland University of Technology (QUT). Kay Powell of Karuna Hospice Service Ltd will receive an educational grant toward a CSA Certificate in Governance Practice and Administration, while Shellee Duncan of the National Breast Cancer Foundation will use her scholarship to attend the Australasian Fundraising Forum 2010.

The next round of funding closes on 10 September 2010 and further information can be found at www.advsol.com/ap/scholarship.

ASI’s flagship software product iMIS is used by more than 280 not-for-profit organisations in the Asia Pacific region including Cancer Council Victoria, National Breast Cancer Foundation, The Royal Australasian College of Surgeons, The Royal Australian College Of General Practitioners, Surf Life Saving Foundation and The Tax Practitioners Board.

Ends

For more information or to organise an interview with Advanced Solutions International, please contact:
Jocelyn Hunter
Director, Bench PR
Phone: +61 03 95316782
Email: jocelyn@benchpr.com.au

About ASI
Advanced Solutions International (ASI) is the largest, privately owned global provider of software for member and donor-based non-for-profit organisations and has served nearly 3000 customers and millions of users worldwide since 1991.

ASI is the developer of iMIS, an upgradeable software solution for managing associations, membership, non-profits, and fundraising. iMIS 15, the latest evolution of iMIS, leverages Microsoft’s .NET development platform to provide a flexible and open web-based solution.

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