About Us

 

John Francis, President, started working with nonprofits back in 1986, notably the United Way of Greater St. Louis and later Saint Louis University. He saw a growing need for better reporting technology in the nonprofit sector. He then founded NFP Consultants in 1993 and partnered with Micro Information Products (MIP) out of Austin, TX, becoming one of their first partners to help lead the channel in MIP success for well over a decade. Since 2013, he now owns and operates 1st Choice Advisors.

1st Choice utilizes both in-house consultants and other top nonprofit expertise across the country to tailor fit the needs of each project and organization they work with. We have remote offices in Atlanta, Chicago, St. Louis, San Juan, and Tampa Bay.

 

Meet the Team

John Francis

President

John has worked with nonprofit clients since 1986. He has since led hundreds of fund accounting software implementations and training courses around the world. He is currently based in New Port Richey, FL where he runs the primary 1st Choice Advisors office with his wife, Teresa Francis. Together they handle administrative duties and customer relationship management as a true mom-and-pop business. He currently volunteers in his downtime for the Alzheimer’s Association.

Amy Lee

MIP Advisor, CPA

Amy spent many years at Deloitte as an auditor and audit manager. In addition to being a Certified MIP Consultant, she is also an active volunteer with the community and on the school board at Ascension School in Oak Park, IL. Her experience will help you with financial management, audit prep and accounting.

Joe Wallach

Senior MIP Advisor

Joe is a CPA based in the St. Louis area. He has over 25 years experience working with nonprofit accounting systems. He also worked as a Manager at MIP. He was the sole proprietor of Wallach Consulting in North Carolina for 15+ years. He volunteers regularly with the Lion’s Club in Eureka and enjoys playing baseball.

Margaret Ring

Grants & Technical Writing Specialist

Margaret is based in Raleigh, NC and has over 20 years of experience working for government and nonprofit agencies providing grant writing and evaluation, program training and management services.  Having reviewed and rated many grant applications and developed scoring sheets, she has expert insight into what funders are seeking in modern proposals. She holds a Master’s Degree in both Social Work and Human and Community Development.

JLB Group, LLC

Financial Management Specialist in Puerto Rico

JLB Group has been serving clients in the Caribbean for over 35 years. They are recognized as a leader in accounting and management systems for nonprofits, government agencies, medical centers and educational institutions. They partner with us on the MIP products for their customers. They also specialize in Sage Fixed Asset Systems (FAS).


Careers

If you have extensive MIP experience, contact us. We are always looking for the next great advisor.

Scroll to Top