By Grace Willig, Client Success Manager at Temelio
I was Temelio’s 6th customer. Now, two years later, I work for the philanthropic tech company. Here’s why.
Before joining Temelio, I was a philanthropic advisor. I helped various foundations maximize their impact by collectively aligning on priorities, setting giving strategies, and operationalizing their grantmaking. As I found myself serving in the fractional program officer/grants manager role for a growing number of clients, I needed a more efficient way to manage their custom processes. Thus, my hunt to identify a grants management system (GMS) began. I quickly found the search process intimidating – so many platforms claiming to be the best fit for my needs. After a few months of researching and vetting several platforms, I ultimately decided on Temelio.
Over the next two years, I ran multiple client grantmaking processes through the system, which allowed me to gain firsthand experience of the platform’s technological capabilities and efficiencies.
Fast forward two years, and I am now Client Success Manager at Temelio.
So, what compelled me to choose the platform not only as a customer but also as my employer? Two things: uniquely relevant technological capabilities and top-tier people.
I was introduced to Temelio in the fall of 2022, a few months after the company was founded. At that time, it was the first new GMS to enter the market in over a decade (which is relatively groundbreaking in a sector critiqued for being slow to embrace innovation).
By the time I became aware of the platform, I had already conducted demos with 5+ GMS platforms. I was beginning to understand the similar benefits and limitations of each, but I was simultaneously feeling fatigued by the search and confused as to which platform to move forward with. I reluctantly scheduled a demo with Temelio to round out my diligence process.
Once on the call, I was immediately struck by the platform’s sleek, simple, and user-friendly design. I was also shown various unique, relevant, and fully functioning features other platforms could only verbally “promise” would be available once I signed on or only had makeshift workaround options. (For example, Temelio could toggle between different funder systems, which was essential for me since I managed grantmaking processes for 3+ funders.) Throughout the demo, this pattern of feeling as though my needs were not only understood but anticipated continued.
I found the technology’s ability to “predict” a user's needs was intentional. As the platform was in development, Temelio’s co-founders assembled a team of over 50 advisors across the philanthropic, nonprofit, and technology sectors to ensure it was, from the start, directly reflective of and responsive to the target audience’s pain points. This sentiment of gathering, understanding, and incorporating user feedback remains true to this day, ensuring the platform remains uniquely relevant to grantmakers' evolving needs.
When I first demoed Temelio, I met Maya Kuppermann, Temelio’s Co-Founder and CEO. While I was struck by the platform's features and capabilities, I was also struck by Maya herself. Her energy was infectious, and her ability to understand my unique needs was apparent. Though her energy and understanding weren’t the sole reason I chose to invest in the platform, I would be remiss to say it didn’t play a role in, or at least solidify, my decision.
I’m of the mindset that behind any successful software, there is a team that is:
Maya demonstrated all three of these qualities during that initial demo and has since done a superb job of disseminating them to the team as the company has grown. She’s hired top-tier people who are committed to providing white-glove service to customers, making them feel valued, heard, and cared for. I can attest to this as I worked with several Temelio team members over the course of my time as a customer, and the level of service I received never faltered. I was consistently met with patience and understanding, regardless of the magnitude of questions I had or problems I faced.
Though Maya’s influence initially set the tone for customer support, the team has continued to improve upon it, ensuring clients successfully implement and are properly equipped to use the platform.
After adopting and implementing Temelio as a customer, I was asked on a few occasions to serve as a reference for prospective customers. During these conversations, I was always asked, “Why did you choose Temelio?” Though I said it in far more words during these conversations, my response can be summarized in the following sentence:
Temelio pairs a uniquely relevant technological solution that solves real problems for real grantmakers with white-glove support from top-tier people.
I can confidently say this because I experienced it as a customer and now am responsible for delivering it as Client Success Manager. We take our role of optimizing our clients' grantmaking processes seriously so that they can focus on what truly matters—driving impact and changing the world.
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