Save Time and Money: Leverage the Purchasing Power of the Commonwealth

Do you look forward to the process of negotiating for the products and services your nonprofit needs? Many of us don’t. And all of us would appreciate the opportunity to save time and money by leveraging the buying power and negotiating strength of an entity larger than our own. The good news is that many Massachusetts nonprofits can piggyback on contracts already negotiated by the Commonwealth, under the Commonwealth’s Nonprofit Purchasing Program.

The program enables participating nonprofits to purchase commodities and services directly from statewide contractors at the competitive prices and terms negotiated by the Commonwealth. This can help keep down the cost of operating your programs, including saving you time that you can direct elsewhere. Two types of nonprofits are eligible to participate in the program:

• Human and social service providers under contract with the Commonwealth; and
• Other organizations receiving public funding from state, federal or local governments in the form of appropriated funds, grants or contracts.

Several of our clients participate in this program and have saved time and money in the process. Examples of savings/benefits include accessing unlimited data for your telecom service and eliminating any cancellation fee for your internet contracts. For one client, with approximately 45 FTEs, the unlimited data saved them approximately $6,000 annually. And, we have seen internet contract cancellation fees in the range of $5,000-10,000, so this savings, as well as flexibility to make a switch, can also be a notable benefit.

A few tips for leveraging state contracts:

• Consider using state contracts to get the latest pricing discounts and service agreement terms with your telecom service provider;
• If you anticipate a large purchase, check to see if utilizing a state contract will satisfy your bid obligations;
• While Commonwealth contract pricing is not always the lowest available pricing, it may be lower than the pricing initially offered to your nonprofit; and there is no reason you can’t try to negotiate further reductions in pricing, although that may require a new contract.

Statewide contracts can save you time and provide you with easy access to competitive terms for goods and services needed to successfully operate your organization. So if you aren’t participating in the program, you should definitely explore your options. The Commonwealth’s Operational Services Division offers free training classes to both the buyer and vendor communities to provide help in understanding this program and to expand the number of organizations utilizing this service.

For further information, visit this website. And, we can help. Insource’s technology consultants are professionals with industry-specific knowledge and experience. We offer general technology services and have assisted numerous clients to capitalize on the opportunities this program offers. We talk with you about your business needs and challenges and can work with you to recommend and implement technology solutions to meet you needs. Please contact Russell Greenwald, Vice President and Director of Information Technology, at rgreenwald@insourceservices.com or 781-374-5116 for more information on how to use the Nonprofit Purchasing Program to your advantage or to learn about our technology services.