Keeping your Data Safe (from Computer Crashes)
Keeping your data safe from others is easy in FundRaiser. Files are automatically encrypted so that only those who run the program can see the contents, and you can strengthen that encryption further in the Options section. Usernames and passwords can be established to prevent unauthorized people from running the program. Authorized users can be limited in their access to the program to prevent accidental misuse (i.e., loss or change of data). Keeping your data safe from a computer crash is almost as easy, since you can make backups directly from the File menu in FundRaiser. Keeping up to date with backups can be another issue altogether, however.
Schedule a regular backup by "Tickle"-ing yourself
The biggest problem with making backups, for me, is remembering to make them. In FundRaiser Select and Professional, the Staff Tickle feature will help with this. If you have FundRaiser Spark (no tickles), you'll need to use your appointment calendar system (like within MS-Outlook) or some other program to remind you to do your backup. To set a "tickle" (named that way because it's designed to "tickle your memory" that something needs attention), simply go to the Windows menu within FundRaiser, then to the Staff Tickler choice. Inside that window, click on ADD, and give the tickle a name, like "BACKUP DATA". Then put a "DO" date on it. If you want to backup weekly, then make it Friday's date. You'll be incrementing this each time you make a backup, by the way. If you plan to backup every day, then you might want a separate tickle for each day of the week (titled "Monday Backup", "Tues...", etc.). You can have as many as you need, but the point is to be reminded when you need to go make a backup. When the backup is complete, set the "DO" date on the Tickle for the next time you'll need to back up data, and that's it.
Lazy can be efficient in Windows, if...
I'm a pretty lazy guy, in that I like to find the easiest way to do something before I expend a lot of effort. I like to think of it as more efficient, but don't ask my wife what she calls it, please. For those of you who are not easily intimidated by computer systems, there is another way to do this backup thing, which can be pretty well automated, and that is through the Windows backup program (or other backup programs available through the web). The settings will vary depending on which version of Windows you are running, whether you have FundRaiser installed to YOUR computer or some OTHER computer on the same network, and other variables I haven't foreseen. What it amounts to, basically, is telling the backup program WHAT you want to backup, WHEN you want to backup, and WHERE to put the resulting backup file(s).
What to back up?
If you're using the FundRaiser backup utility, it takes care of choosing only the needed files, and you don't need to worry about it. If you're using a backup program OUTSIDE of FundRaiser, you'll be better off to backup everything in the FundRaiser folder, rather than trying to pick and choose individual files. This will take more room, but it's safer than having forgotten a needed file when choosing what to back up. So, you'll need to know where your FundRaiser program and data are stored on your computer system, and just set your backup program to backup the entire contents of the folder that contains the program.
Where to put the backup?
It's been a while since I purchased a USB thumb/flash drive, so I was floored when I discovered I could buy a 32GigaByte drive for about $20. That one drive will hold 120 times the amount my old USB drive could, and over 1600 times the amount of data my very first hard drive would hold (back in the 80's, a 20MegaByte drive sold for around $220). Buying storage space for computer data is so inexpensive, and the data you want to store is virtually irreplaceable, so get a couple of drives of decent size (for redundancy). Make sure that you TAKE THE DRIVE WITH YOU when you leave the computer. The whole idea is to have a backup in case the computer crashes, or is destroyed by some other disaster. In case of flood, fire, earthquake, hurricane, or other natural disaster, you'll want the backup WITH YOU, rather that in the water, ashes, or rubble.