Greater Washington Community Foundation automates data aggregation

Background

Historically, the Greater Washington Community Foundation (the Community Foundation) operated with a two-person team, which was responsible for aggregating monthly performance statements from more than 90 external independent advisors that oversee donor advised funds (DAFs). In total, they represent more than $100 million in assets. Often, the process to manually compile so much data from various sources, such as websites and mailed statements, took three weeks.

In 2020, the Community Foundation issued an RFP for an OCIO provider aimed primarily at finding the right partner to manage the investments for the organization’s additional $170 million in assets.

Solution

During the evaluation process, the Community Foundation shared with SEI the broader challenges it was facing. It was a top priority to streamline and automate monthly investment data aggregation, making the process more accurate and timely. As a large asset management and technology provider with multiple lines of business, we looked into potential solutions that we could build.

“We have found a strategic partner in SEI who has experience working with other leading community foundations, and the expertise and resources to provide the insight and guidance needed to enhance our investment program,” said Lesley-Jane Dixon, the Investment Committee Chair of the Greater Washing Community Foundation.

By leveraging asset management and technology tools that we already used to service our advisor and family wealth clients, we were able to provide a custom aggregation and reporting functionality for the Community Foundation's external funds. The new solution eliminated the need for vetting and licensing external software vendors. It also put an end to the long data collection and entry process performed manually by the internal team. Rather than accessing raw statement data in a passive capacity from each advisor account, the Community Foundation could now collect the data electronically into one central repository, providing consistent, timely and accurate performance reporting.

This information is provided by SEI Investments Management Corporation (SIMC), a registered investment adviser and wholly owned subsidiary of SEI Investments Company (SEI). Statements that are not factual in nature, including opinions, projections and estimates, assume certain economic conditions and industry developments and constitute only current opinions that are subject to change without notice. Nothing herein is intended to be a forecast of future events, or a guarantee of future results. This presentation should not be relied upon by the reader as research or investment advice (unless SIMC has otherwise separately entered into a written agreement for the provision of investment advice). The opinions and views expressed herein are those of Lesley-Jane Dixon. SEI cannot guarantee the accuracy or completeness of the information and assumes no responsibility or liability for its incompleteness or inaccuracy. The Greater Washington Community Foundation became a client of SEI in 2/22/2021.