SmartSimple and Foundant

Shared Culture

SmartSimple’s mission is, “to support our clients to do what they want to do – even better.”

Foundant’s mission is, “to maximize the impact of the philanthropic community.”

By leveraging our respective strengths and learning from one another, we will integrate these missions, strengthen our shared culture focused on client success, and grow sustainably.

Combining our resources allows us to expand our service to the philanthropic, research, corporate, and government sectors with diversified solutions while maintaining our shared dedication to your success.

Enhanced Product Synergies

The combination of Foundant and SmartSimple brings together complementary product strengths from grants management to AI and CRM to fund accounting. Together, we can offer insights and tools that will enable organizations to achieve bigger, more efficient impacts in their respective fields.

Expanded Connections

As evidenced by the diversity in sizes and types of clients brought together in this merger, we now have the capability to serve any type of organization, regardless of size or complexity. This merger will facilitate greater connection and best practice sharing across networks, empowering you to learn from and collaborate with others in your community.

Hear from leadership

Eric Lauer, CEO, SmartSimple

“We are excited to learn from one another and help our passionate teams grow together. Combining our expertise and technology to create a more powerful, flexible, and comprehensive suite of solutions is exciting, and we look forward to seeing the results come to life through our clients’ work and the ongoing impact they create.”

Chris Dahl, CEO, Foundant

“Our vision is, as always, to empower our clients with the best tools and support to achieve their missions. This merger allows us to combine our technologies to deliver more impactful tools to our clients and bring together two passionate teams with a shared commitment to excellence, innovation, and community impact.”

Why did SmartSimple and Foundant decide to merge?

We are merging Foundant and SmartSimple because we believe we can operate more effectively and serve our clients better by combining resources under one integrated company rather than two siloed companies. Together, we can offer a more comprehensive range of products and services. In addition, our respective missions and cultures are aligned. By leveraging each of our strengths, we can integrate our missions and strengthen our shared culture with a focus on client success and sustainable growth.

Which organization will be leading the newly merged company?

For the time being, Eric Lauer will continue as the CEO of SmartSimple, and Chris Dahl will remain as the CEO of Foundant. This dual-leadership approach ensures that the strategic vision and operational expertise of both companies are retained, maximizing the potential of our combined resources. As we learn from each other and identify the best way to integrate leadership across the companies, the leadership structure will evolve, but Eric and Chris will both remain part of executive leadership.

Will there be any additional mergers or acquisitions with software companies in the future?

No other mergers or acquisitions are currently planned, though we will continue evaluating opportunities we believe may offer value for our clients. For now, we are focused on ensuring the Foundant and SmartSimple teams continue to serve clients and execute their respective plans, while we also work to integrate the organizations.

Will either the SmartSimple or Foundant brands change?

We do not have plans to change either the SmartSimple or Foundant brand names at this time.

Will SmartSimple clients be required to switch to Foundant software?

No, SmartSimple clients will not be required to switch to Foundant software. We are committed to ensuring that all our clients continue to receive the services and support that best meet their needs without disruption. SmartSimple will maintain their existing software solutions.

Will any of the functionality of my SmartSimple software change or go away?

No. We believe the combination of Foundant and SmartSimple is powerful because of the opportunity to leverage the best of what we each do to serve our clients to make your work even easier. Over the coming months, we will be developing the plan for how we do this in our products.

Will SmartSimple continue to support the existing software or will clients be moved to Foundant solutions?

SmartSimple will continue to sell, support, and service our solutions across all sectors – corporate, research, government, and philanthropic organizations. We will be working with Foundant over the coming months to develop plans on where and how we will bring together the best of our products to make our clients’ work even easier. We will do this thoughtfully and with our clients at the center of our decisions.

Will Foundant continue to support its existing software, or will clients be moved to SmartSimple solutions?

Foundant will continue to sell, support, and service all Foundant products (GLM, SLM, CommunitySuite, GrantHub, and GrantHub Pro). Clients will not be moved to SmartSimple solutions.

Will SmartSimple be adding Foundant features/functionality to their software?

We believe the combination of SmartSimple and Foundant is powerful because of the opportunity to leverage the best of what we each do to serve our clients and make their work even easier. Over the coming months, we will work with Foundant to plan how we will bring together the best of our products. We will do this thoughtfully and with our clients at the center of our decisions.

How will the merger with Foundant impact the service and support SmartSimple clients receive?

There will be no changes to the service or support our clients receive. We will provide the same level of service and support our clients expect from SmartSimple.