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Deals Continue At Community Brands, Acquires ProSoft Solutions

Financial tech platform firm Community Brands, owner of MIP Fund Accounting as well as other software and payment products, has acquired ProSoft Solutions of Bartonville, Texas. ProSoft Solutions provides advanced services, training, and implementation support to clients.

Details of the deal were not released.

The firms have approximately 400 clients in common. The acquisition adds “key subject-matter expertise and high-quality services to our team. I am thrilled that this acquisition provides new opportunities to our shared customers,” according to Bethany Little, managing director, Education & Non-Profit Solutions at Community Brands, who is based in Austin, Texas.

“We’ve made significant strides to accelerate the development of our MIP Cloud product as well as added enhancements to our client experience this year. Bringing ProSoft Solutions into our dynamic portfolio allows us to deepen our customer relationships even further,” said Little.

Sharon Love, president and CEO of Community Brands, said the firm had invested “multiple millions” of dollars in the MIP Cloud transition during the past few years.

The acquisition is part of a direct sales and service model the firm has been developing, explained Little. Community Brands has been re-evaluating the relationship with its value-added resellers (VARs) and partners in developing a “roadmap” to migrate customers to the MIP Cloud.

Calvin McEathron, CEO of ProSoft Solutions, will now be general manager of the division. ProSoft’s 15 full-time equivalents and contractors likewise will remain, she said.

It has been a busy few weeks for Community Brands, a major player in the nonprofit and association technology space. Along with the acquisition and the change in relationship with its VARs, the firm announced a definitive agreement for Reverence Capital Partners, a New York-based investment firm, to make a majority investment in Ministry Brands. Ministry Brands is a provider of cloud-based software, payments solutions, services and information platforms for churches and ministries.

As part of the transaction, Ministry Brands becomes a separate, standalone company with material rollover investment from former parent, Community Brands. The two companies will operate independently providing more focused investment for each business’ respective customers, employees, and stakeholders, according to an announcement from the firm.

Additional details of the transaction were not disclosed, although this past May, PE Hub reported that Insight Partners was exploring a sale of Ministry Brands, having hired William Blair to advise. According to reporting in PE Hub, Ministry Brands had a close to $100 million run-rate earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization.

Brad Bennett, senior director, marketing, association and events, for Community Brands, said the shift will enable both Ministry Brands and the remaining divisions in Community Brands to “focus even more on their unique visions.” He declined to disclose employee headcounts within the transaction, instead saying that the future Community Brands organization will focus on the association, nonprofit, K-12 schools, and event businesses.

Ministry Brands was founded in 2012 by Ross Croley of Greater Sum Ventures in Knoxville, Tenn., as a point solution provider of church websites and digital donations. More than 95,000 faith-based organizations use its suite of software solutions, which includes church management, online giving, financial accounting, digital engagement, and background screenings, according to the announcement.

Chicago-based William Blair served as lead financial advisor to Ministry Brands, along with Credit Suisse and FT Partners.

RCP is a private investment firm focused on thematic investing in global, middle-market financial services businesses in five sectors: depositories and finance companies; asset and wealth management; insurance; capital markets, and financial technology/payments. The firm was founded in 2013 by Milton Berlinski, Peter Aberg and Alex Chulack.