FundClass Archives:

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Mike

Gene, Let me play devils advocate for a bit to help understand some of the "basics".

1. Can't all of the benefits listed below be handled with common software like Access or Excel?
2. How large does a database have to be to consider data management software (dms)?
3. What is required to convert my current data into dms?

These are questions that I come across when talking to groups about need to convert to dms. I hope that you will address data quality and how good dms will actually help create consistency between records, catch duplicates, identify family/relational situations, etc., later in your discussions.

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Scotte

Gene, Let me play devils advocate for a bit to help understand some of the "basics".”

Well, if you are playing devil's advocate and I'm going to present the other side, does that make me angels' advocate? ;-)

I'll preface my comments with the fact that we are a vendor. However, I am also the Board President for a local non-profit. The goal of our company is to help non-profits fulfill their mission. Software can be a tremendous tool in making that occur.

1. Can't all of the benefits listed below be handled with common software like Access or Excel?

Absolutely, if you want to have your people spending time creating these from scratch when they should be developing relationships with donors and raising money. And, if you are sure that the person who designed it stays with your organization forever because once they leave, someone else will continue the design (after spending time figuring out how the original one works) and they will make changes that replicate data elsewhere so that data needs to be changed in two different places, and then your needs will change and someone else will try to retrofit it to work with new requirements and new fields will be added that aren't consistent with the old fields and quit using fields that they don't think are needed anymore (until the annual mailing is done and you find that those fields are required to get a valid mailing so you have to go back in and enter them now, if you can even find that information anymore.. all because nobody bothered to document the original program to explain why certain fields were required and needed to be consistent). And, the original designer set it up to track totals for gifts for the year, but when the new development director wants to get information about individual gifts, that is not available. And, the database originally had the whole name in one field, but now you need to track those individually so you can sort by first and last name and some people have titles and some don't and some have husband and wife in the same field and some ....And so it goes, ad infinitum. Databases should be designed by people who understand non-profits and understand computers and databases. How many would say, "It's no big deal, we can get anyone to write a grant. I mean how tough is it to use a word processor?" The same argument is often used for creating a non-profit database, however.The "budget" issue is NOT EVER VALID, since there is software available for small organizations that is free or under $100. Non-profits sometimes create their own databases because they are sure that their organization does things differently from everyone else, so they need a custom solution. In our work we have rarely found this to actually be the case. Non-profits are non-profits. They do things basically the same. A good software package will take these all into account and provide the flexibility to be used by many different types of non-profits. We have had schools believe our software was originally designed for schools because it is such a good fit; arts organizations believe it was originally designed for their type of organization; missions organizations think it was designed for them. Those few we have found that really do things very differently, in nearly every case, they are actually trying to maintain bad business practices. They couldn't find software that replicated their business practices because they were bad business practices. Those very few who actually were different and legitimate were typically very, very large organizations that were very diverse.

2. How large does a database have to be to consider data management software (dms)?

100 records or less.

3. What is required to convert my current data into dms?

Probably very little. Good software will provide a way to pull your data into the database or the vendor will be able to do this for you. If your data is really bad however (see #1 above), a lot of clean up may be required first. (Separating first and last name, pulling 15 gifts out of the same field none of which were entered consistently, etc.)

Just my 2 1/2 cents.

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Jacque

Boy, I agree with Scotte entirely. I tried to make up a database in Excel and, while I've done some pretty interesting stuff in the past with Excel, this was making me bonkers. I happened to attend a Kim Klein workshop while I was in the throes of database creation and she recommended Fundraiser Basic ($89). I bought it and I'm so glad I did.

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Tom

Gene, let me be Devil’s Defender here and field Mike’s questions from the small to medium sized nonprofit perspective:

1. Can't all of the benefits listed below be handled with common software like Access or Excel?

The answer is yes and no. Yes, you probably can do most of the same things with Access (not Excel), but most of us probably don't have the Access programming expertise to do it ourselves. Also, the dedicated fund-raising software helps us green-as-grass development people know what in the world we ought to be tracking about our donors. If you're new, you have no idea what to put in a fund-raising database in the first place. Good fund-raising software is also a good teacher for us newbies.

2. How large does a database have to be to consider data management software (dms)?

As low cost as some fund raising software is, even a small and growing database should start out right as soon as you can swing the hundred bucks or so.

3. What is required to convert my current data into dms?

Two words -- ASCII Delimited. Over to you Gene.

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Gene

Mike, good questions.

1. Can't all of the benefits listed below be handled with common software like Access or Excel?

Yes, and what I have to say will apply to those who use Access or Excel or FundRaiser or DonorWorks or Raiser's Edge or any of the others. The process is the same. Only the tools differ.

Tom and Scotte said it so well - I can only say Amen. I think that everyone in the donor management software field will agree that they get more conversion projects coming from Access than any other program. Let me explain a little bit more for those who don't understand the difference between something like Access and a "canned" fundraising program. Access is a programming language and database manager that is used to create a fundraising program. Think of it as the tools, raw materials, and a collection of pre-assembled modules needed to complete your project. It's rather like buying a car chassis, an engine, and other parts and putting them together to build a car. With the proper template (there's one for nonprofits that comes with Access), it's a relatively simple matter to put together a workable solution. But, as Scotte pointed out, needs change and sometimes the design is not as good as it should have been, etc, etc. So, at some point, you or your successors will probably switch to a "canned" program. A "canned" program is pre-assembled. The car (to continue the metaphor from above) is ready to drive. You don't have to know how to program. You just need to know if the program matches your needs and your preferences. Each approach has its own pro's and con's. If you are technically skilled, and would enjoy the process of building your own program, I encourage you to go for it. It's fun (well, for some of us “grin”).

2. How large does a database have to be to consider data management software (dms)?

It's not the size that matters.... It's the complexity of your fundraising operation. If you have an Access program now that does everything you need, stay with it. If you have outgrown it (or any other program), then you need to start looking for alternatives. If you have no database software now (it's all on index cards or in a word processor or an email program), then you should really consider switching. One of the options can certainly be Access and/or Excel.

3. What is required to convert my current data into dms?

It may be a simple matter of importing, matching your fields (columns) with those in the new program. Or, there may be reasons that you need to get a professional involved to handle the conversion for you. Every software vendor that I know of does this (for an extra fee). We also work with consultants who do this for their clients. Be aware that any time you convert your data from one program to another, there will be cleanup. This is inevitable, and it does NOT matter which program you come from or go to. I think it is simply a matter of seeing your data in a different format that causes you to start seeing inconsistencies and problems that had been overlooked before.”These are questions that I come across when talking to groups about need to convert to dms. I hope that you will address data quality and how good dms will actually help create consistency between records, catch duplicates, identify family/relational situations, etc., later in your discussions.”

We sure will. I look forward to your involvement in the discussions.

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David

Tom,

I know y'all will hate me for this, but there are free versions of fundraising/data management software. I've found several through Internet search engines.

On the Microsoft web site there is a Donor Management template for Access. And don't forget eBase, which seems pretty robust.

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Priscilla

Hello Gene and everyone,

The point that I keep stumbling over is choosing WHICH package. I'm a firm believer in "canned" programs. But I don't seem to be able to get a clear picture of what is higher quality and what is lower. The "features" are easy to see and compare but so many of them seem to be the same on this point. Help!

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Tom

Tom,
I know y'all will hate me for this, but there are free versions of fundraising/data management software. I've found several through Internet search engines.

On the Microsoft website there is a Donor Management template for Access. And don't forget eBase, which seems pretty robust.”

David,

We don't hate you. I'm glad you said something (gives me an excuse to shoot off my mouth). I've messed around with both Access templates and ebase.

Like I said, if you've got someone who's computer literate who's going to be with you a while, go for it. Like Gene said, it's fun (for some of us propeller heads). But both routes require some technical proficiency – at the very least a solid understanding of database management. Neither has much technical support so you need to be pretty self-sufficient (tech-wise), cause you can't call Gene and ask him why you're software keeps asking you to send a birthday card to Hobart Knutson, even though he died three years ago! (You can bet you forgot to check some box or other, but with Access and e-base, neither Microsoft nor Filemaker Pro tech support is going to help you with it.

If you're like a lot of us on the small to mid-sized side of the picture and have to deal with rotating staff, the simpler the program, the better it is and the easier it is to get new staffers up to speed.

This, by the way, brings up a problem I have with some of the more high dollar canned fund-raiser programs. As a small npo, I don't have $10,000 for a high-end program and all those add-on modules that requires that I send a staff member to North Carolina or somewhere for 3 days of training.

You see, about the time I get Betty Lou trained to use this super duper fund-raising program, some big university, hospital or the worldwide radio & television church of the almighty dollar comes along, offers her a fat salary and swoops up Betty Lou because she's already trained in how to use the expensive fund-raiser program and now I've got to send someone else off to North Carolina for training and then they get swooped up and then I train someone else and they get swooped and so on, and so on.......

The point is that there is something for everyone out there.

There's cheap, do-it-yourself if you don't have much dough and you do have a resident propeller head that's going to stay with you a while.

There's low cost and simple for small to mid-sized npo's with constantly changing staff members of various capabilities.

There's ultra specialized software for the big guys that keeps track of the donor's mother's blood type and sends birthday cards to the family dachshund.

Take your pick, but do some thinking first about what you want and don't get more than you need.

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Priscilla

We tried ebase but found there is too much missing that we have to add, and I am definitely propeller-head deficient!

We decided against Tapestry because of it being online. If 14 yr olds can break into the Pentagon's database every couple of years, then anything online is subject to that same problem.

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Scotte

“The point that I keep stumbling over is choosing WHICH package. I'm a firm believer in "canned" programs. But I don't seem to be able to get a clear picture of what is higher quality and what is lower. The "features" are easy to see and compare but so many of them seem to be the same on this point. Help!”

That depends. What do you want it to do? What do you expect to need it to do in the future? Do you like using it? Is the support person on the other end of the phone top-notch or merely acceptable? Is the software broad or deep or both? Is there an actual demo of the program I can try out or are there just click-through demos that are sort of like PowerPoint demos of features in the software?

These are all important questions.

You need to see if the software will do what you need now and will be able to grow with you (without adding 19 modules that are increasingly more and more expensive).

Since you are going to be using it day in and day out, you should like the way it works. Software packages tend to get “very” different here. Some work like the old mainframes and take you through a specific sequence of operations you need to do in a specific order. Others that were actually designed with the user (not the computer) in mind, allow more flexibility, but still try to encourage good business practices.

Some have tons of information on a single screen. Some people like having “everything” in view at once. Others have similar information on less cluttered screens so that you go into a screen if you need to and can ignore the screen if you don't need the information.

While checking out different software, give a call to tech support. Do you (ever) get a call back? How long did it take? Will they help you through the problem or are they just trying to get you off the phone quickly to keep their call times down? Some companies guarantee a response within 2 business days. 2 days!!! That's much too long. How quickly to they respond to Email questions? It amazes me when Email questions to technical companies take days for a response. Email is among the most efficient ways to respond, so it should be at the top of the list.

Some software is quite broad in what it does. It's fairly good, but you'll hit the wall on individual features fairly quickly. If these are less expensive, they are worth looking at. Some is quite deep on certain features, but is weak in others. If those specialties meet your needs, they are worth looking at. Some is both quite broad and quite deep. These are the gems you hope to find, especially if they are reasonably priced.

Before you buy, be sure to look at the actual program running, not just a click-through slide show. You may find that things work quite differently from the way you thought they worked.

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Gene

“The point that I keep stumbling over is choosing WHICH package I'm a firm believer in "canned" programs. But I don't seem to be able to get a clear picture of what is higher quality and what is lower. The "features" are easy to see and compare but so many of them seem to be the same on this point. Help!”

The short answer is that there is no clear answer. You'll either have to take the time and energy to thoroughly test the prospective software yourself, or just narrow it down to 2 or 3 and then jump in and hope it's okay (check out their Satisfaction Guarantee before you take this approach).

The longer answer (which is still very, very short)....

Most programs will have a comparable “technical” quality - the range is similar to that found in cars, meaning you can rely on most to function as designed. The really bad ones will simply not survive.

But, I think you mean something else by quality. It may be more the quality of how well the software meets your particular needs. All donor management programs share certain common characteristics, and we'll discuss much of this over the next week or two. But, there really is a pretty distinct difference between the programs based on:

- Budget. The ranges seem to be: Free, under $100, under $1000, $1000 - $5000, over $5000. You can probably narrow this down to 2 or 3 ranges that will be of interest to you. Also, check into the ongoing (annual) costs for support, updates, training, etc. Make sure you know what all the costs will be.

- Functionality. Checking this out can be exhausting, but it must be done to some degree. While all nonprofits share certain common traits, there sure are a lot of significant differences in the way you do things. Make a list of all your fundraising activities, reports, and related activities. Then examine each program (or ask very specific and direct questions and demand definite answers) to make sure that each prospective program can handle your specific requirements.

- Look and feel. Is it comfortable for you? You may narrow your search down to 4 or 5 that are functionally equivalent. However, there will be some that just seem awkward. Strike those from your list. If you can't figure out how to do something quickly and easily, then you probably won't use the program to do it, and the program will be wasted. For example, how easy is it to produce thank you letters? If you have to jump through seven hoops to print the letters, you'll end up using Word manually instead. Look and Feel is often the most important factor.

- Company. Are you comfortable with their people and policies? Ask for references and check out their support.

- Upgradability. If you outgrow the program, what do you do? Some companies have optional modules that you can purchase or higher-end programs that you can upgrade to.

I hope that by the end of this topic, you'll have a better feel for the things to look for. If not, ask more questions. :-)

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MacClurg

Hi Gene,

I am not sure this fits your course focus, but it is related. I am still searching around for a cheap or free software program that would help me track information related to the grants I write for my clients (e.g. date sent, date funded, ask amount, amount funded, grant purpose, pending, denied, notes, totals, etc.)

I am a freelance grant writer primarily, with occasional capital campaign and direct mail projects. I use Excel now, but find it clumsy as I track over several years. The data management software I have looked at on the net has a very different focus. Any ideas?

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Barbara

MacClurg,

Do you have Access already? It would be pretty simple to design a database that would accomplish what you need. Well, simple, that is, if you know how to use Access!

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Tamar

How about MicroSoft Project for tracking?

Also, instead of creating a database in Access spend the small amount of money to get a low-end program for database Management. The time you spend programming in ACCESS is certainly worth $1,000. We had a programmer create a client database for us and it was upwards of $15,000 - and the basics were already there!

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Gene

“I am still searching around for a cheap or free software program that would help me track information related to the grants I write for my clients (e.g. date sent, date funded, ask amount, amount funded, grant purpose, pending, denied, notes, totals, etc.)”

There is a specialized class of software, called grant management software that is specifically designed for tracking the steps of the grant-writing process. Some donor management programs have grant-tracking modules, and some are flexible enough that you could use them for basic grant-tracking activities. We certainly have FundRaiser users who do just that.

Unless anyone else has ideas on this, I would suggest you stay with Access or Excel.

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Tom

There are a lot of good generic project tracking software packages out there that have the capability to handle grant project tracking. None of them, however, will substitute for basic grant writing experience and training and a thorough understanding of the grant writing process.

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Laura

I am using FundRaiser Basic (which I love) to track donations, but I'm wondering how people keep track of donor gifts. For example, along with a thank you letter I mail two complimentary concert tickets to all donors who send $100 or more. For higher categories of gifts we offer artist receptions, open rehearsals, etc. Since these events can't happen right after the donation is made, I'm concerned about losing track of who has been offered what. Any suggestions?

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Gene

“I am using FundRaiser Basic (which I love) to track donations,”

Thank you for that nice unsolicited testimonial (your check is in the mail <just kidding>).

”but I'm wondering how people keep track of donor gifts. For example, along with a thank you letter I mail two complimentary concert tickets to all donors who send $100 or more. For higher categories of gifts we offer artist receptions, open rehearsals, etc. Since these events can't happen right after the donation is made, I'm concerned about losing track of who has been offered what. Any suggestions?”

This is sort of a tech-support question, but I think the answer will be instructive for others, too, regardless of which program you use.

To re-phrase your question for the benefit of others... Laura is providing what we call "premiums" to her donors. In the US, this practice is especially common in pledge drives by listener-supported radio and TV stations to encourage donors to give at a higher level.

The problem is that she has received the donation, but it may be a week or so before she sends out all the "premiums" to her qualifying donors. And, she needs to make sure that she doesn't forget to send everyone the tickets and other products that they are expecting.

FundRaiser Basic is a simple entry-level program that does not have the specific capability of tracking premiums and when they have been shipped. So, you have to work around its limitations in some way.

One thing you could do is to enter a code with that donation (in the Source code) like "Concert Tickets Selected". Then, when you are ready to print labels or letters or whatever to send those out, you can run a Query for everyone who has that code. Then, when you have put them all in the mail, change the codes to "Concert Tickets Sent".

The drawback with this approach is that in FundRaiser Basic, there is a place for only one code on a gift. If you use that space to track premiums, then you are not able to record the fact that this donation came in from a pledge drive (as opposed to responding to a newsletter or some other campaign). So....

An alternative is to enter a donation of $0.00 with the above-mentioned codes. The 0.00 amount will not cause problems on the financial reports, and it lets you record the code for the event with the actual donation. This is the approach I would recommend.

There will be more on Premiums and other specialized fundraising approaches next week.

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Scotte

Thanks, Gene for a good discussion of database design.

”Why Is All This Important To Me?.....

Because sometimes you will have a choice as to which table to put
certain information, and your decision will determine how easily you can later access that information in a query or sort.”

We have a current client that is going through this very problem. We recently converted their data from another software product. In a memo field in that product they had entered a lot of miscellaneous information. Included was the alum's maiden name in parentheses and the alum year, also in parentheses. (The parentheses are the only indication in the memo field of what this name and number represented.)

The maiden name, however, could either be for the person indicated in this record or the spouse of the person indicated in this record. We converted all information into our memo field as they requested. The problem is that now they want that information in it's own field so it can be used in address labels. Because of how that was stored previously, they can't put together mailing labels properly now. They had originally taken the maiden name and moved it into our "Other name" field. The problem was, there was no way of knowing whether this was the spouse's or donor's maiden name without looking at the name on each record individually and trying to figure out which was the wife and which was the husband. There were also no genders indicated.

The moral of the story is that the important thing about your database is not what you want to put in... it's what you want to get out later. You can have all kinds of clever schemes about how data is put into the system, but if they don't let you get the data out later in a form you can use, the schemes are worthless.

Never put data into a field without thinking about how you are going to want to get it out later. For example, if you want to track separate information for each spouse, the spouses (spice?) should be entered separately. If you always want to track them as a couple, you can enter them as a single record.

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Tom

“Again, the rule is to not code anything that already exists as sortable data.”

Gene,

That's the best piece of advice yet. My staff wants to record everything with some kind of code and I've tried to tell them that, but I didn't know how to express it so they will understand.

I'm making a copy of your last post and making them all read it. There will be a quiz later!

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Hilda

Gene, a question about multiple users (which has an effect on consistency):

Can Fundraiser Basic be run on an Internet Server? I am working with an all-volunteer cat shelter and we have another volunteer who could do a lot of data work while flying around the country for her "real" job.

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Gene

Interesting question, and one that can be answered several ways.

First, a brief note about Consistency in the multi-user environment - it is especially important that you set and communicate policy on what to enter, where to enter it, and how. Before any new campaign, have your codes all set and entered in your software. Give your workers lists and examples of how you want things recorded.

Now, on to a side-tangent on running software over the internet, which seems to be becoming more and more important as we take our work (paid and volunteer) with us to home, on vacation, on the road, to other chapters, etc....

The Software

There are several ways to run programs over the internet.

1. You can use a product like pcAnywhere to run just about any program over the internet, even those that are not specifically designed for the internet. pcAnywhere is a type of program called remote-access software. It lets you run a program on a host computer (like the office computer) from your local computer (like at home). My company has used it for years. It can be a little tricky to set up, but it's fairly trouble-free after that. The good part about remote access software is that you can run anything over the net with it and it's cheap. The down side is that it will tie up two computers when it is running. pcAnywhere can be bought at any of the large software retailers.

2. Web-based software. An Application Service Provider (ASP) rents software and related services via the Internet. This type of software actually runs through a browser, like Internet Explorer or Netscape. The advantages are that it is easy to set up and runs on Mac's as well as PC's, and someone else handles security for you. On the downside, the software that I've seen tends to be a bit sluggish (unless you have a very fast internet connection) and not as refined as a typical desktop application (a "real" program) and since it is rented, can be more expensive over time.

3. Client/Server software. This is the approach we are taking with FundRaiser Jr and Professional. The program is a regular desktop program (not something run through a browser) that makes an internet connection to your data that is usually maintained on your office network server. This approach is a bit more expensive, but it is faster, and gives you a more robust application.

Who Hosts the Data?

Where your data resides is very important. Being available over the net is convenient not just for you, but also for malicious hackers. You want it to be safe and secure - your donors expect nothing less from you.

Your data will reside (be hosted) in one of three places:

1. At your office, where it is under your control, which is good. The potential problem here is that not everyone knows how to maintain the highest level of security - has a firewall and has blocked the security holes in NT or 2000 or XP that they keep finding.

2. At the site of the software vendor. They have direct control over your data, and they have a pretty strong incentive to keep it secure. You can bet that they will keep it backed up and maintain good security at all times.

3. At the site of a third party under contract to your software vendor. The third party probably has the highest level of security, but the lowest personal incentive. Still, under normal conditions, this is a perfectly fine choice.

Personally, I prefer choice 1 the most and 3 the least. I figure I can always learn what I need about security, but I have little control over how conscientious other companies are. I also have no control over what happens to my data if the software vendor (or third-party contractor) goes out of business, gets absorbed by another business, etc, etc.

Security

While your data is transmitted across the internet to you, it is potentially available for any prying eyes to look at. Any system that you use will have some form of security, and the data will be encrypted to one degree or another.

There are levels of security, with 160-bit encryption considered very secure. This is the level of encryption that was once banned for export from the US for fear of it being used by criminals and terrorists. It is now widely used throughout the world, and is now pretty much the industry standard. Some programs may have lesser levels available (but still considered highly secure). Using a lower level may be desirable when it significantly increases the speed of transmission.

Of course, the other security aspect is the vulnerability of the host computer to hackers. We've all heard stories of seemingly impregnable systems (like the Pentagon) being hacked by high school kids. To my mind, a small non-profit is not going to be the tempting target that the Pentagon provides, and will be safe for that reason alone.

On the other hand, if your mission is controversial (politically or religiously) you may want to think extra long and hard about security.

Do you have a story to tell about running software over the internet? I expect there are FundClass subscribers who are more expert than I about this - what more would you say about this interesting new field?

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Timothy

“Of course, the other security aspect is the vulnerability of the host computer to hackers. We've all heard stories of seemingly impregnable systems (like the Pentagon) being hacked by high school kids. To my mind, a small non-profit is not going to be the tempting target that the Pentagon provides, and will be safe for that reason alone.”

I am an information security analyst for a large US corporation. Finding and documenting security vulnerabilities is what I do in my day job, so at Gene's suggestion I want to comment on the statement above:

At one time it may have been the case that small entities were safer because they made an uninteresting target to simple hackers using manual methods of attack. In our post-9/11, post-Code Red world, however, unfortunately that is no longer true. There are so many terrorists and vandals that don't care about their target, and so many freely-available distributed "zombie" virus payloads, that no one can assume they have any protection at all just because of their anonymity among the humans on the Net. Yes, an organization like the Pentagon or IBM or Coca-Cola can expect 10,000-20,000+ net attacks every day, but even a very small business will commonly take 100s of hits daily. Most attacks now come from very sophisticated and automated tools. It is no longer a question of "if" but "when" you will suffer a loss, regardless of who you are.

It has become impossible to guard 100% against the exploding technology of cyber attack. In response, many businesses are expanding their protection efforts from a narrow defensive "security" to a broader "business continuity" program. Security is still very important, but now it is just one piece of a larger strategy that includes mitigation, detection, and contingency planning to ensure their business will continue when (again, not "if") a major system is affected.

But it doesn't take a massive hacker attack to disrupt your business, nor does the problem even have to come from the outside. As a previous writer noted, an untrained operator can inadvertently wipe out data records very easily. In fact, the majority of business computer data losses still come from inside causes, and many of those are accidental. However the loss occurs, though, and to whatever extent, the net result is the same--you can't conduct business as usual, and it could cost you a lot of money to recover.

In short, the message is to never assume you are safe from a serious disruption, regardless of the source. Keep the continuity of your business in mind at all times, and put in place whatever protection, backup and recovery plans you can NOW to minimize the disruptions later. Security and risk management plans are insurance policies you can't afford to overlook.

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Scotte

Wow, really good stuff from Gene the last couple days. I've been deluged trying to get a new software version out and just now have had a chance to read and comment on Gene's good work.

”And a brief note about Consistency in the multi-user environment -
it is especially important that you set and communicate policy on what to enter, where to enter it, and how. Before any new campaign, have your codes all set and entered in your software. Give your workers lists and examples of how you want things recorded.”

It is very helpful to have security levels built into your software. This allows only certain people to change or add codes. This keeps them consistent and discourages "code creep". Without security like this, data entry workers are often tempted to add a new code rather than see if a similar code already exists.

Also, only certain users should be able to change defaults to the system that affects everyone. For example, if the program is designed to pop up certain screens in a certain order when adding a new person, or change whether a certain field is required... only an administrator should be able to change that, otherwise end users will change the settings and data can become inconsistent very quickly.

”pcAnywhere can be bought at any of the large software retailers.”

Another good software, especially for cross-platform work, is Timbuktu. It also allows you to connect from a Mac to a PC or visa versa.

” Web-based software. An Application Service Provider (ASP) rents software and related services via the Internet. This type of software actually runs through a browser, like Internet Explorer or Netscape. The advantages are that it is easy to set up and runs on Mac's as well as PC's, and someone else handles security for you. On the downside, the software that I've seen tends to be a bit sluggish (unless you have a very fast internet connection) and not as refined as a typical desktop application (a "real" program) and since it is rented, can be more expensive over time.”

Some folks may want to set up a Citrix network to run their software on. It's a variation on the ASP model. You can use Citrix as your local network or do this through a provider. Everything actually runs on the server, and the workstations can be less powerful computers that are just used to display the screen of what that user is running on the server. You can also dial in to such a network over the phone lines or broadband and get acceptable speed from either Macs or PCs. See http://www.citrix.com.

A problem with most browser-based software is that, like Gene says, it's not very refined. Unless the software is using a plug-in (like Flash, etc.) the interface is VERY rudimentary. You can't do checks on a field for valid data as you leave a field, have multiple screens that pop up and directly interact with each other, and each screen has to redraw itself when any changes are made, which slows things down a lot. The browser is simple to use for simple things, but you take a very large step backward from what can be done with standalone software.

Note that this is barring the use of a plug-in. A plug-in is a little piece of software that sits in your browser and runs its own code to do data checking and a variety of other things. An example is the Acrobat plug-in that allows you do see and work with Acrobat documents in a browser, or the QuickTime plug-in that allows some remarkable things to be done with video.

Some of these plug-ins are becoming more sophisticated, but they will probably never get to the same point that standalone software can because the Internet is just not as fast as a local machine.

1. At your office, where it is under your control, which is good. The potential problem here is that not everyone knows how to maintain the highest level of security - has a firewall and has blocked the security holes in NT or 2000 or XP that they keep finding.

2. At the site of the software vendor. They have direct control over your data, and they have a pretty strong incentive to keep it secure. You can bet that they will keep it backed up and maintain good security at all times.

3. At the site of a third party under contract to your software vendor. The third party probably has the highest level of security, but the lowest personal incentive. Still, under normal conditions, this is a perfectly fine choice.

On the second 2 options, be sure you can get a copy of your data periodically. It would be a real mess if the company went under or changed management and you didn't have your own copy.

Also, check for hidden costs. This type of software can often be very inexpensive when your database is small and you have few users and they typically have low setup costs. As the database grows and the fees continue over time, they can become much more expensive than traditional software. Make sure you know what you are really buying and what it will cost over the long run. They can be very cost effective if you simply have no one to manage your data and your machines at the office, since the vendor handles this. It can be less expensive than having someone on staff, however having someone with the technical knowledge on staff is much more efficient.

One last comment... I don't know if Gene is planning on covering basic computer skills later, but here goes.

You REALLY, REALLY, REALLY need to have your people trained in how to use their computer operating system. You will lose hours of time and in some cases simply be unable to use your software properly (regardless of the vendor) if you do not know how to operate your computer properly. Basic things like knowing how to copy a file from one place to another, find a file you saved and forgot to note where you saved it, upload and download a file, get an attachment from an EMail, do a mail merge in your word processor, etc.

There are lots of classes offered all over the country on how to do this, so just do it! While vendors try to make their software as easy as possible, there are certain skill sets that are minimum requirements for using any software package. Without these skills, you will operate every program inefficiently... and you'll be frustrated as well.

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Maria

Gene,

Do you know a fundraising program in Spanish? We always have the problem finding people who understand English, so they can use the software. That can be a big problem in a little Mexican town like ours. If there's none, maybe it can be an unexplored market for you. Thank you for all your help.

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Gene

Sorry, I do not.

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Kim

I do not have personal experience with this program but here is information about a program in Spanish. The web sight is www.developmentlogic.com.

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Maria

Thank you Kim, this information is very valuable for us.
Muchas gracias.

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Mike

Gene,

Thanks for a GREAT session and FANTASTIC information!

Once organizations realize the potential value in maintaining a working database so many good things can happen. In fundraising, like most models, the 80/20 rule applies. 80% of your organizations contributions will come from 20% of your donors. It is important to remember that this group is a dynamic entity and will be affected by all of the variables one can imagine. Therefore, it is critical that groups continue to cultivate the next 20% for replacements in the top 20. The net effect here is that the overall income will generally increase as a result of developing and cultivating these relationships. Without good software, this effort can be overwhelming. Equally important is the maintenance of the database and the replacement of those who have not responded for a given period. If you make 3 or more appeals a year, I suggest culling the non-respondents after 18 months. Amazingly, very few groups realize that spending the same monies appealing to a new group of donors will generate additional income, and has the potential to actually help identify potential major donors. It is a process to convert prospects to donors and donors to major supporters. Good management software is essential to the success of this process.

Again, Thank You and keep up the good work.

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Subscriber

“What considerations and recommendations can you make on linking a donor database and a fund accounting software program? We are using a donor database program, a separate accounting program, and a non-integrated, homemade spreadsheet system to track our endowment accounts and fund balances in various accounts. We have outgrown this method and are beginning research on a better way.”

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Gene

If the linking is not available in your donor database program now, then there is probably not a way to do it directly. But, you may be able to simplify the manual transfer of data to the accounting program.

First, from an accountant's standpoint, fundraising software looks like an "Accounts Receivable" module of an accounting program. You should record all the details of your donations ONLY in the fundraising program. Many people record the details in both, and that is really not necessary, invites data entry errors, and is just plain too much extra work. It is the equivalent to entering the same information in both the Accounts Receivable section AND in the General Ledger (GL) section of the same accounting program.

Manual Updating

So, you enter your donations in your fundraising program. You should then print a report showing all the donations that are included in a particular bank deposit. Give that report to your accountant/bookkeeper, who should enter just the total into the accounting program.

If you need to record sub-totals (how much was given for the general operating fund, how much to the endowment, how much to the capital campaign), then you should print a report that shows a breakdown of the deposit into those totals. All fundraising programs should be able to do that - it's rather basic.

Transaction Files

That covers how to handle the transfer manually. Some accounting programs can accept a "transaction file" from another program.This is essentially an ASCII text file (meaning it can be read with Notepad) that is produced by the fundraising program. The accounting program can process that file, entering all the details (usually just sub-totals) into the GL.

Direct Integration

Quicken and Quickbooks by Intuit are now the most popular accounting programs around. About a year ago, Intuit opened up the Quickbooks (but not Quicken) accounting software to outside software publishers, so that we can integrate our software with it directly, thereby eliminating the need for "transaction files".

Accounting Included

Finally, there are a few products out there that combine fundraising and accounting into the same package. The main problem I have with this approach is that you must be satisfied with both the fundraising and accounting aspects of the program. In most cases, I would expect that you would have to sacrifice some functionality in one or the other program (or both) in order to get this feature, which doesn't seem as important as all the other features... but that's just my opinion.

I hope that helps.

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Caroline

Is anyone familiar with a DOS system called FAST (which is anything but)? We have this very old system that is still there because the person who bought the system 15+ years ago understands it. I can get donor profile information but find that you must take 3 or more steps to get information that should be easier to retrieve also report print outs are difficult to read/follow.

My questions are, with a database of 8-10,000 names is there a system that is good/affordable (not Raisers Edge although it's great) and easy to convert from DOS?

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Scotte

Yes, there are quite a lot of them. Converting from DOS is typically very easy... it depends on the way the data is stored on disk though. Do you know if this is dBASE or some other database?

What are your other needs for the software? That will help us point you in a likely direction.

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Gene

I believe this may be dbFast, an early alternative to Fox and Clipper, which means it uses dBase compatible data files, and the program that you are using was written using the dbFast language.

It should be very easy to read the data files. The ease of conversion (and therefore the price) will depend on how the file and field structure is laid out and other factors. But, any fundraising software company will be able to handle the data conversion for you.

Here is how our company handles data conversion requests (I expect that most other software companies follow a very similar approach):

1. You send us a copy of your data (we'll walk you through the process of figuring out what to send if you are unsure)

2. We analyze the data - look over the files, figure out what everything is used for and how it equates to our system. We ask you questions about specific fields and codes - how they're used, whether they are still important, what this or that means, etc.

3. We determine the best way to get your data into our system.

1. In some cases, you can import it directly (with our guidance). You would use the import facility that is built into the software. In this case, there is no charge to you.

2. More often, especially if there is a variety of giving history information, we must write a program to do the conversion. We'll quote you a firm price at this point.

3. If your dbFast expert is still available, you may want to get him/her involved, doing the data conversion instead of us. In this case, there is no charge from us, and we will provide guidance to that person.

4. Some people import as much as possible (using choice 3a above) and then manually re-enter past donations just for currently active donors, or perhaps only annual totals for all past donors. This works best if you have conscientious volunteers you can call on, and for those who want to keep their overall expenses down.

1. If we're going to do the conversion, we write the conversion program while you continue to use your old system. When we have it tested and ready, we ask you to email (or FedEx) your then-current data to us. We convert it, put it on a CD, and FedEx it back to you.