How Ascend Cares Foundation simplified philanthropy with Optimy
Ascend Cares Foundation
The Ascend Cares Foundation is the philanthropic arm of Ascend Performance Materials, a fully integrated material solutions provider with global manufacturing facilities across North America, Europe, and Asia. Founded around 12 years ago following a series of tornadoes near Ascend's sites in Decatur, Alabama, the foundation initially focused on disaster relief for affected employees. Over the years it has grown into a comprehensive philanthropic platform covering scholarships for employees' children, community impact grants, hardship grants, and site projects — spanning multiple countries and stakeholder groups.
parent company: Ascend Performance Materials | reach: Global (NA, EU, Asia) | programs: Grants, Volunteering, Scholarships
A costly, frustrating system that stakeholders couldn't trust
The foundation's previous system had been in place for approximately five years but created more problems than it solved. Costs had nearly tripled, user frustration was high, and the data it produced was unreliable.
- Poor user experience and unintuitive navigation frustrated all stakeholders
- Inadequate reporting — data could not be trusted for decision-making
- Platform costs had nearly tripled, straining the foundation's budget
- No ability to manage check disbursement internally through the accounts payable team
An integrated platform for grants, volunteering, and disbursement
After thorough vetting of alternatives, Ascend Cares selected Optimy for its combination of functionality, cost-effectiveness, and responsive support. A key differentiator was Optimy's ability to handle internal check disbursement — something other vendors could not accommodate.
- Integrated grant & volunteering management: Both programs managed in one platform, streamlining administrative oversight even with limited staff resources.
- Internal disbursement workflow: Upon grant approval, the accounts payable team receives automated notifications to process checks — without third-party involvement.
- Tailored workflows per grant type: Community impact grants, hardship grants, and scholarships each managed with dedicated workflows adapted to their requirements.
- Improved review & approval process: Committee leaders at each site can now efficiently evaluate and approve requests, with seamless communication to grant recipients.
Transparency, accountability, and a platform built to grow
With Optimy, Ascend Cares Foundation has transformed both its grant review process and its internal workflows. The foundation now operates with greater transparency and accountability, and is actively working to further optimize reporting and event management capabilities.
Multi
Grant types (Community, hardship, scholarships — all in one platform)
Global
Reach (Programs spanning North America, Europe, and Asia)
Internal
Disbursement (Checks processed directly by accounts payable via Optimy)
Trusted
Data (Reliable reporting enabling confident decision-making)
With Optimy's implementation, we witnessed a transformative shift in efficiency and transparency, empowering us to build strong workflows with ease.
Program Manager — Ascend Cares Foundation
The foundation replaced an unreliable, costly system with a single platform that handles grants, volunteering, and internal disbursement — with data stakeholders can actually trust.
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