Public Policy Think Tanks

"These are some of the most intelligent, creative people I've ever worked with, but completely down to earth. We discuss our requirements, and they make the application do what we need. And at an affordable price."

Charles Day, Director of Information Systems, Council on Foreign Relations

Who is the Council on Foreign Relations?

The Council on Foreign Relations is an independent, nonpartisan center for scholars dedicated to analyzing, understanding and communicating the foreign policy choices facing the United States and other governments. To this end, the council oversees an extensive studies program led by renowned scholars, annually hosts thousands of meetings, seminars and roundtables attended by policymakers from all over the globe, and publishes Foreign Affairs, America's most influential publication on international affairs and foreign policy. The Council's main offices are in New York City; they maintain a smaller office in Washington DC.

MEMBERS ONLY at the Council

Members Only Software has been proud to help the Council carry out its mission since 1997. Our software is the central component of their information system, managing individual and corporate memberships, handling registrations and invitations for hundreds of events each year, and keeping track of an extensive fundraising and grants management program. Well over two hundred staff members have access to MEMBERS ONLY in their two locations. The system is hosted in the New York facility; the DC office has access via a thin-client wide area network. New staff members are required to take a course on the use of the software given by their full-time trainer.

Highlights - Council's MEMBERS ONLY implementation

The Council is using our CRM, Accounts Receivable, Membership, Fundraising, Meetings Management, Grant Management, and Professional Resume modules. Creative customizations were required to tailor the system to Council requirements, including:

Meetings that are open by invitation only
Rigorous security requirements on information relating to high profile individuals
A complex system for tracking the nomination and approval of new Council members
A customized project tracking system that associates fundraising efforts, grants, and events with Council projects
Tracking of a flexible corporate membership program and a variety of fellowships
Advanced search capabilities to select speakers, scholars, press contacts, and other specialists from the Council's extensive Resume database