How ArtsNow Supercharged Its Mission with MonkeyPod

At the heart of Summit County's vibrant arts and culture ecosystem is ArtsNow, an organization that thrives on connection, advocacy, and innovation. Led by Executive Director Nicole Mullet, ArtsNow serves as the backbone for the entire sector, fostering connections and providing resources to empower artists, nonprofits, and for-profit venues alike. 

ArtsNow’s mission is to ensure the health and vibrancy of Summit County's arts and culture ecosystem. Whether facilitating Akron’s 15-year cultural plan or advocating for sustainable funding for artists, the organization’s goals are lofty but vital. 

"We get to wake up every day thinking about the health of the sector as a whole, from individual artists to nonprofit organizations to for-profit venues,” Nicole said. “We help them connect with resources, do their work better, and create a more vibrant community.”

But even the most impactful missions require strong infrastructure. Like many nonprofits, ArtsNow was juggling multiple tools to manage finances, track grants, and coordinate donor relations—tools that didn’t always work seamlessly together.

The Challenge: Too Many Tools, Too Little Time

Before discovering MonkeyPod, ArtsNow relied on a fragmented system of platforms to handle its operations. Their Constituent Relationship Management (CRM) database was separate from their fundraising tools, email marketing systems, and accounting software. This patchwork of solutions required tedious workarounds in order to make sure each database stayed up to date and reliable. 

"We were using QuickBooks, which doesn’t speak nonprofit accounting in a helpful way. Our email marketing didn’t talk to our CRM, and we were paying for multiple subscriptions," Nicole shared.

This disjointed system didn’t just slow them down—it also limited their ability to scale and innovate. For a small nonprofit with big goals, inefficiency wasn’t an option. Nicole started searching for a new solution, and discovered MonkeyPod. 

The Solution: MonkeyPod’s Seamless, Nonprofit-Centric Platform

From the start, MonkeyPod stood out as a comprehensive solution. It combined financial management, donor relations, and fundraising tools into a single platform. For Nicole and her team, this consolidation wasn’t just a convenience; it was a game-changer.

“We were immediately interested in MonkeyPod because it pulled together so many things that we were currently paying for separately,” Nicole said.

Best of all, MonkeyPod is designed specifically for nonprofits, a welcome alternative to the for-profit-centric systems they had been using. Because MonkeyPod understands concepts like restricted grants out of the box, Nicole and her team were able to quickly get a better understanding of their finances and focus on growing their revenue.

“ArtsNow operates largely through grant contributions. The ability of MonkeyPod to track our grants has allowed us to be really thoughtful about how we're processing and tracking those investments,” Nicole said. “That’s opened the door for us to expand our individual giving and donors as well.”

Why MonkeyPod Works: Flexibility, Collaboration, and Results

The MonkeyPod team also worked closely with ArtsNow to clean up their financial systems, streamlining processes and uncovering cost-saving opportunities. After moving their finances to MonkeyPod, an accounting platform built specifically for nonprofits, they realized they could save time and money on their bookkeeping. 

"We discovered we didn’t need the level of bookkeeping hours we were paying for. Partnering with MonkeyPod allowed us to get better results with fewer resources," Nicole explained.

For ArtsNow, one of the key strengths of MonkeyPod is its adaptability. Nicole emphasized how the platform and its team have worked hand-in-hand with ArtsNow to customize processes:

"It’s not one size fits all. We’ve been able to tailor the system to fit the way we work, and I know the partnership will continue to evolve. The iterative approach has been a huge win for us."

The Results: Advancing the Mission and the Sector

The impact of MonkeyPod on ArtsNow—and by extension, Summit County’s arts and culture sector—has been profound:

• Streamlined Financial Operations: With an accounting platform built specifically for nonprofits, ArtsNow was able to track and manage their grants and other contributions more effectively. 
• Expanded Individual Contributions: Because they are more efficiently managing their grants, ArtsNow has been able to focus on expanding their individual giving and cultivating donors. 
• Increased Capacity for Advocacy: By working collaboratively with MonkeyPod to automate its processes, ArtsNow can focus more energy on advancing its mission and supporting the community.

"Investing in and developing systems and databases might not be the most glamorous aspect of running a nonprofit, but it's absolutely essential," Nicole said. "Robust systems are the backbone of nonprofit success—they free up our time and energy to focus on what truly matters: strengthening the arts sector here in Summit County."

Ready to Transform Your Nonprofit? Schedule a MonkeyPod Demo Today!

With the right tools and partners in place, ArtsNow has been able to grow its organization and continue to support the arts community in Summit County. Whether you’re managing grants, building donor relationships, or juggling multiple software subscriptions, MonkeyPod can provide the tools your organization needs to achieve the same successes as ArtsNow. 

If you’re ready to take your organization to the next level, schedule a demo of MonkeyPod today and see how it can transform your work.