News

12/21/07 – Apex listed as a top interactive design firm
Apex was recognized as one of the top interactive design firms in the 2008 Book of Lists published by the Washington Business Journal. The ranking reflects Apex’s growing recognition among Washington DC area technology firms. The Book of Lists provides an authoritative annual index of market leading firms in the DC area.   

11/2/07 – Apex volunteers for Bread for the City
On November 2nd the Apex office closed for an afternoon of giving back to the community. Team members gathered at the NW office of Bread for the City (BFTC) in Washington, D.C. Most of the team worked in the food pantry filling grocery bags with canned and dry goods. The bags will be delivered to low income D.C. residents with a turkey as part of the BFTC annual Holiday Helpings campaign which feeds 13,000 local families. Team member Micah Markman was tapped to work in their office, lending his analysis skills to interpret the results of a survey of BFTC volunteers.

10/27/07 - Apex Attends Ken Blanchard Workshops on Situational Leadership
Apex Director of Client Services, Eric Waskiewicz, attended a Ken Blanchard workshop in Ontario, Canada. The workshop centered on development of effective communication models and utilization of appropriate leadership styles on the basis of organizational structure. In June of 2007 Apex Director of Engineering, Brett Holt, attended a Ken Blanchard workshop in D.C. on “Situational Team Leadership.” Ken Blanchard is widely recognized for his contributions to the field of business leadership.

10/17/07 – Apex expands office space to accommodate current and future growth
The Apex office has expanded to include more open space for team members’ workstations, additional teaming areas and meeting rooms, a new office and a second kitchen. Space has been set aside for a “quiet room” where team members can take a break and reinvigorate their minds, allowing them to work smarter and better serve our clients. The build out of the new space was done using environmentally friendly carpet, paint and tiles.

10/16/07 - Apex Attends Edward Tufte Seminar, “Presenting Data and Information”
Members of the Apex Consulting Services team attended a day long seminar held by Edward Tufte in Washington DC. The lecture focused on Tufte’s renowned research into strategies for more clearly communicating complex information in visual form.

06/04/07 - New Tool Positions Reading Is Fundamental for Greater Sustainability and Growth
Apex launched a custom online program management tool for Reading Is Fundamental (RIF), the nation's oldest and largest children's literacy organization. RIF engaged Apex to re-envision their existing program management system by updating their technology and bringing the management of their federal contract management process online. The Apex team helped RIF develop a software solution to better position themselves for continued growth and programmatic flexibility. Read the Press Release.

4/6/07 - Apex leads a breakout session at the NTEN Nonprofit Technology Conference
Manuel Mattke and Stephanie Liu-Barnes conducted a panel discussion entitled: "Meeting our Mission not Just Metrics: IT Planning and Implementation." They were joined by Peter Patel from Reading is Fundamental, an Apex client. Read more and download session materials…

10/06/06 - Apex Gives Back - Team Community Service Day
Apex volunteered with Habitat for Humanity last Friday at the 53-home development in Northeast Washington. Nineteen families are already living in their new, affordable homes with five more homes currently under construction at this time, and several more to be framed up next month.

The windy, rainy weather did not deter our team from enjoying being together and helping out our community. We installed cabinets, frame blocking and baseboards and built some saw-horses. It was a rewarding experience to work as a team in such a different way. For this event the office was closed so the team could spend time working together. Apex does a Volunteer Service Day as a team once a year.

6/7/06 - Apex Completes Multi-Language Application
Apex just rolled out an update and new release of NeighborWorks® America's Success Measures Data System ( www.successmeasures.org), a participatory, outcomes-based evaluation system. Among other features, we added the functionality of multiple languages. Now the system users can enter, retrieve and filter data in English or Spanish.

4/24/06 - Apex builds Contract Management System to aid literacy
In 2005, Apex worked with Reading Is Fundamental (RIF) on Process Analysis and Design phases to improve workflow. We worked with the RIF team to determine processes and procedures needed to more effectively manage 5,000+ contracts per year. The new system currently being built is to be delivered later this year. It will provide a holistic view of programs and program management for their internal users, and a consistent, user-friendly design for their Webby-award nominated public web site.

4/21/06 - NeighborWorks® America selects Apex to develop Electronic Survey System
NeighborWorks® America works with over 240 community-based organizations across the United States, providing a wide variety of services including working toward common goals, sharing resources, and sparking innovations to revitalize communities. Each month, quarter and year, the NeighborWorks® communities collect and report activity and performance data to NeighborWorks® that is used for reporting to Congress, research and internal management.

Now, NeighborWorks® has clarified and defined its needs for a corporate-wide, web-based data collection platform, called the Electronic Survey System (ESS) that will fulfill their organization-wide surveying requirements. The ESS will enable NeighborWorks® departments and sub-organizations to plan, create, execute and process data collection efforts in a coordinated, well-structured manner. NeighborWorks® has selected Apex to design and implement the ESS beginning in early 2006.

Apex has worked with NeighborWorks® for a number of years on the on the Success Measures Data System, a participatory, outcomes-based evaluation system. For more information on SMDS, see www.successmeasures.org.

3/22/06 - Apex Team connects with clients, partners and peers in non-profit technology
Manuel Mattke and Lisa McGrath both attended the Non-Profit Technology Conference (NTEN) in Seattle, WA on March 22-24. The conference brought together close to 1,000 practitioners, including non-profit technology managers and executives, consulting firms like Apex, and technology vendors.

Key themes that appeared in many conversations included

• the difference – and connection between – driving for efficiency or driving for effectiveness
• the impact on non-profit technology from emerging “Web 2.0” capabilities that are already in use at Google, Amazon and other large companies.
• the relevance and power, as well as the questions around, blogging, blogs and bloggers
• How to plan technology strategically: avoiding, if possible, a techno-centric approach that isn’t truly centered around the business or organizational needs of non-profit organizations.

Of particular interest to us were the debates on whether non-profits should challenge themselves to operate more “like businesses” – with the many changes that result from that approach. While there is a lot to be said for better results and more efficient operations ... does a more aggressive, financially-oriented approach dilute the focus on organizational mission? How will a non-profit "business" interact with its constituents and what does that impact do to the cause?

What do you think? Email your thoughts to info@apexds.com.