From Excel Bottleneck to Real-Time Insight: How Special Olympics Maryland Modernized Its Budget Process

Challenge

Special Olympics Maryland's budgeting process had long been built entirely around Excel spreadsheets. For Joanne Engler, VP Finance, and her team, this meant labor-intensive manual workflows that were difficult to coordinate across departments and left room for error. As the organization looked to strengthen its financial management, it became clear that a more efficient, cost-effective solution was needed — one that could keep pace with the demands of a growing, mission-driven organization without straining its budget.

Solution

Martus replaced Special Olympics Maryland's Excel-based budgeting with an integrated, department-friendly platform.

• Individual, filterable worksheets let departments budget by specific activities, with a Clear Filter button the team specifically called out as helpful
• Direct integration with the General Ledger eliminated manual entry and the risk of errors that came with it
• Forecasting capabilities within Martus gave the finance team a more accurate, adaptable view of the organization's financial position

Results

With Martus in place, Special Olympics Maryland's budget process became less arduous, freeing program staff to spend more time on mission delivery rather than administrative tasks. The shift also strengthened decision-making: forecasting models built in Martus and connected to the GL gave the team faster, more accurate financial analysis to support its athletes and programs.

• Eliminated manual Excel-based budgeting in favor of a GL-integrated platform
• Simplified departmental budgeting through filterable, activity-level worksheets
• Improved forecasting accuracy, supporting more timely, adaptable decision-making

Continuing the Mission

Since budgeting in Martus, Special Olympics Maryland has:

• Expanded onto college campuses
• Launched a new Unified Topgolf competition
• Expanded into 24 Maryland school districts
• Increased program-service spending from approximately $6.99 million in 2024 to $7.18 million in 2025
• Continued providing year-round sports training and competition across the state