Utica, NY – Today, Assemblywoman Marianne Buttenschon alongside the New York State Office of Information Technology Services (ITS) hosted an informational session for recipients of State grant funding secured by the Assemblywoman, detailing use of the Statewide Financial System (SFS), the State’s central hub for accessing, applying, and receiving grant funding from the State.

“The purpose of today’s informational session is to ensure our community partners awarded these State grants have the tools and support they need to actually access and receive their funding without unnecessary delays and undue burdens,” said the Assemblywoman. “Working within the State’s SFS system can be a confusing process, especially for smaller organizations and nonprofits without a dedicated grants staff, so today’s session was about cutting through that confusion and connecting our grantees directly with the ITS staff who can help.”

Held at the State Office Building in Utica, today’s two-hour informational session focused on the completion of essential steps for prequalification within the SFS system, with attendees receiving a step-by-step presentation from ITS representatives before turning the floor over to attendees for a Q/A forum, during which they received direct feedback and guidance from ITS regarding questions or difficulties with the SFS system. Topics covered included SFS vendor registration, prequalification requirements and required documentation, SFS Vendor Portal access and user roles, and how to search for and respond to grant bid events.

“Today’s presentation walked grantees through the prequalification process and the requirements to remain compliant in the SFS, so that paperwork issues do not stand between them and the funding they have already been awarded,” said Ian Carlson, Director of NYS Grants Management with the Office of Information Technology Services. “Our goal was to have every organization leave knowing the necessary steps, the deadlines, and who to call if they get stuck, and I thank Assemblywoman Buttenschon for the opportunity to facilitate today’s conversation.”