The Association for Financial Counseling & Planning Education® (AFCPE) is a national nonprofit that certifies financial counselors, provides continuing education, and connects professionals through training and community. Since 2018, Buckeye Innovation has been their technical partner, helping them scale and adapt a digital platform that powers nearly every aspect of their work.
While AFCPE’s public-facing website promotes certification and engages new audiences, the real complexity lies in the platform behind the scenes—MyAFCPE. This system supports the full user journey: certification, continuing education, event registration, membership management, and access to professional communities and training tools. With the AFCPE team relying on it daily, the platform must constantly evolve to meet new needs, remain reliable, and support growth.
Software development is rarely straightforward; new features or integrations can create unexpected challenges, and workflows often need fine-tuning as the system grows. For an organization like AFCPE, whose work depends on complex processes and frequent updates, these challenges are part of refining the platform to meet changing needs.
Clear, continuous communication is what drives this work forward. When the AFCPE team presents requests for new features, they explain not just what they need, but why it matters to their members or staff. This context helps Buckeye design practical solutions that balance ideal functionality with realistic budget constraints. Large projects are often broken into smaller tasks and budgeted individually, allowing us to address the highest priorities first.
Because the system connects with numerous third-party platforms, new challenges arise regularly. Adding a step in a workflow or introducing a new integration can potentially affect dozens of downstream processes. When that happens, Buckeye and AFCPE work side by side: we clarify the impact, troubleshoot the problem, and decide on the best fix. The system may always be evolving, but so does the process of keeping it strong.
When working with highly customized systems, challenges will always arise. What matters is having a process—and a partnership—that turns those challenges into steady progress toward the overall mission.
The platform AFCPE uses today is highly tailored to their workflows, allowing them to serve thousands of members and expand offerings. More importantly, the relationship between AFCPE and Buckeye is built on clear communication, trust, and a shared focus on serving users.
