About the Company
VanDamme Associates, located in Pittsford, was founded by Sigmund VanDamme in 1992 as a technology firm serving the nonprofit and association marketplace. Today, the company is led by co-CEOs Dawn VanDamme and Ronald Wille, Jr. and serves a national market, helping hundreds of associations and nonprofits implement the technology that helps to support their mission.

VanDamme, which employs 26 people, offers association management solutions, content management software, Google Apps implementation services, social networking, website design and development, technology assessments, consulting, training and hosting. Between 2007 and 2008, VanDamme hired 13 new employees.

Recognitions
In November 2008, VanDamme was featured as the Ektron Partner of the Month. In 2007, VanDamme was featured as a Rochester Top 100 Company and for seven years in a row has won a Customer Satisfaction Award in its marketplace.

Challenges
According to Ronald Wille, Jr., one of the biggest challenges VanDamme faces - like many other companies - is the current economic conditions. "We are overcoming these challenges by diversifying our product and service offerings to meet the needs of nonprofits and associations that are also feeling the same challenges. We are looking for ways to save our clients money, while still providing them with the same if not better value. Our move towards Google Apps reinforces our desire to provide our customers with superior solutions that are easy to use while saving them overall dollars in their IT Budgets."

Rochester Business Alliance Member
VanDamme has been a member of the Rochester Business Alliance for six years. "We are committed to the community and the local businesses as well. We feel that RBA brings together Rochester employers and advocates for important causes. A major benefit we get from the RBA is the advocacy from Unshackle Upstate. We feel this initiative is critical to businesses in New York. The RBA is also a great source of local business news and continuing education opportunities."

What's Next
VanDamme has switched its entire company over to Google Apps and is offering this service to its clients as well. "We have saved a number of organizations money by moving them out of Microsoft Exchange and other email packages and into Google Apps," says Wille. "We are passionate about the collaboration options and convenience that Google has brought to our work environment and are excited to offer this service to our clients as well. We are continuing to monitor the association marketplace and the economy to make sure we are offering solutions that fit the needs of organizations of all sizes."

Contact Info
VanDamme Associates, Inc.
656 Kreag Rd., Pittsford, NY 14534
(585) 586-4750
www.vandamme.com

By Kevin Donahue, director of membership and business development