FundRaiser Blog

The FundRaiser Software Blog is an excellent resource for nonprofit organizations looking to learn more about fundraising, donor management, membership management, and much more.

FundRaiser's oldest websites were cutting edge... at the time

Screenshot of FundRaiser's second website from 1996
FundRaiser website in 2003

The internet has developed so quickly over the past decade that it’s hard to remember how things looked even just a short while ago. With FundRaiser going live with a new website this week, I began to wonder what our earliest websites looked like. I talked to Gene Weinbeck, founder of FundRaiser, and he was happy to share some memories and a few images of earlier websites. When did FundRaiser first go online? Gene: Our earliest website went up about 1994. It looked like a DOS program. It was done in Times New Roman only, and for sophistication, it used bold and underlining. We don’t have any screenshot of that… no one thought to save it!

What made you go online at that time?

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New social media expert on staff

Lily BrothertonFundRaiser recently hired an expert in Social Media. This week, she’s starting work creating videos, educating staff about using Twitter, and creating a more lively presence on Facebook.  She’s been actively involved in social media for the last 4 years… since she was 12 years old. Yes, our newest staff member is just 16 and the daughter of Autumn Shirley, CEO of FundRaiser. Her name is Lily Brotherton and she is our social media intern.  

When I interviewed her this morning, our dialog took a slightly different direction than the usual interviews:

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Rootbound

I adore the early morning. I realize that many of you are not of a similar disposition and would rather lick wet paint than get out of bed an instant before you have to. My husband is definitely not a morning person. I’ve learned not to try to discuss anything important with him before noon. But mornings are so lovely. The world is fresh and new, the air is nearly always still, and everything is quiet but for the twittering of birds.

This morning was especially beautiful. The dawn light spilled over the horizon like golden honey and created flashing patterns on the earth beneath the oak tree. The delicate pattern of veins of each emerald leaf was clearly visible. Here and there a crystal droplet of dew flashed with rainbow light. Active robins busily rustled the brown carpet of last fall’s leaves, while placid doves quietly pecked seeds from among the weeds. As I watched a particularly fat dove waddle past my tomato plants I noticed that they are far too big for their four inch pots! I’m not quite sure when they became a knee-high jungle of fragrant hairy stems and velvet green leaves. Yet it is obvious they need more than they have now.

The same thing can easily happen with your fundraising software. A small organization with only a few donors can do very well with a very simple program. However; as your organization grows you may find that you just need more. No matter where you are in the spectrum, FundRaiser Solutions has a program that will meet your needs. 

 

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The dance of change

Having been associated with FundRaiser (and its founder, Gene Weinbeck) for more than a quarter century is, frankly, rather difficult for me to consider without thinking of the myriad changes (personal and professional, local and international, physical and metaphysical) that have occurred during that time. Some reflections bring out nostalgic yearnings for a return to a simpler life, while others evoke a sense of gratitude that “it” isn’t what “it” used to be. Change, in itself, could care less about how I view what was, and change will continue regardless of what I think.

In the mid-80’s my brother asked me to come to Missouri to help with his business, where, he assured me, I’d get the chance to learn computers while earning “Ozark” wages. With not a little trepidation, I agreed, packed everything I owned, including my best pal, Harry S Trudog, into a VW microbus (remember those?) and drove from Louisiana to the sleepy south central Missouri town of West Plains. I quickly learned that “Ozark” wages consisted of $50.00 per week and a place to stay, and that my education in computers was to be in the form self-education, using a then-new IBM PC with both the MS-DOS and BASIC manuals, and a single software program called Lotus 1-2-3. And, while it seemed a rude awakening in one sense, I’ll be forever grateful to my brother for the introduction to my mentor, and friend, Gene Weinbeck, who not only taught me about computers, but also about what it means to care about other people, the value of supporting others’ endeavors, and the ability to adapt to change.

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In the beginning... how network technology change has effected FundRaiser

When I first created FundRaiser in prehistoric times, it was cutting edge (this was way before Windows), but time passes and things change, fastest of all when it comes to computer technology. Since those DOS days, enormous changes have occurred, many of which affect our use of single/multi-user vs. client/server for FundRaiser, which is what I want to talk about today.

For many years, FundRaiser has offered users the option of using either client/server or single/multi-user for network setups. Both worked fine most of the time on local networks, although client/server was always faster and more reliable.

Single/multi-user was actually a carry-over from the DOS version of FundRaiser. For those of you who skipped computer history in school, DOS was before you could use a mouse and before graphics or images of any kind could be displayed on the screen. You used only the keyboard to enter commands and data.
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Effort's Reward

I planted a rare heirloom pea called Golden Sweet in my porch boxes early this spring. It is hard to believe the dull, wrinkled brown seeds would become the lush greenery snow peasclinging and tangling its way ever upward on my front porch. I had just begun to despair of actually getting any peas from the vining jungle when I began to notice the first delicate magenta blooms peaking from ruffled clusters of yellow green leaves. Now tiny yellow pea pods are pushing their way out flowers that have faded to blue and I will soon enjoy them lightly sautéed with butter and garlic.

It is very nice to see my effort bear fruit. There were so many steps required to get here. I spent a good many hours researching heirloom seeds. I chose the Golden Sweet for its lovely flowers and pretty yellow pods. Once I’d made my choice, I had to actually find seeds for that variety, order them, plant them, and care for them. Each step was essential for any kind of success.

Fundraising is very similar to gardening; it often starts with something very small and inconspicuous, but with care and nurturing it can become many times greater than its humble beginnings. Yet the growing of it takes diligent effort and the proper tools.

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Best Practices for Coordinating Users in Your Database

When Siena/Francis House began to grow, it also found the need to change how it was using FundRaiser. For one thing, with more staff members simultaneously using the software, FundRaiser was slowing down. For another, more users meant more need to coordinate work within the database.

Siena/Francis House is Nebraska’s largest shelter serving homeless men, women, and children, and growing quickly. In the past seven years, “we’ve grown from 86 to 222 beds for the men guests. Within 2 months of building the new men’s shelter, we were laying down mats for overflow. Depending on the weather, we now house as many as 300 to 350 men, women and children guests a night and serve 900 meals a day. We’re expanding our women’s shelter soon to double the number of women we can help,” says Marge Harman, Information Technology Administrator for the organization.

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Glittering Gems

It was a beautiful morning here in the Ozarks. Dewy mist swirled around the mighty oak in my yard, opalescent in the tender morning sun. The rich scent of damp living thingsspiderweb encircled me and the cool moist air teased my skin. Drops of dew shimmered on everything. Tiny threads of silken spider web, generally invisible, glittered with watery baubles.

As I sat on the porch with a steaming cup of mint tea, I was soothed by my muted surroundings. Bright colors became gentle, sounds of traffic seemed far away, and the intricate pattern of a spider web strung with beads of water became an ethereal work of art. The rushing and bustling of sunlit times seemed very far away. It is in this time of slowing down I notice the small but important things around me.

Your organization can benefit from slowing down and just looking around as well.

 

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Why FundRaiser Multi-User Must Go...

Are you using FundRaiser's Multi-User or Single-User license? FundRaiser is beginning a gradual phase-out of these licenses and a mandatory upgrade to a Client/Server license. The reason is that Client/Server is much faster and more reliable when accessing FundRaiser on your network.

Many of our users have already moved from multi-user to Client/Server. Here are the stories of a few of them, and why they like Client/Server:

Fast organizational growth at Siena/Francis House had them chewing their nails over the slow operation of FundRaiser multi-user. They solved the problem by switching to FundRaiser Client/Server. Siena/Francis HouseKeeping up with the work of a regional organization is no small job. It takes several people sometimes working simultaneously in FundRaiser to get the work done at Siloam Family Health Center. It gets done smoothly with FundRaiser Client/Server. Siloam Family Health Center.The online version of FundRaiser includes Client/Server as part of it's core program to allow several users working from different locations to smoothly access the program. Bishop McDevitt High School uses it for that reason. Bishop McDevitt High School.CrossTalk TV & Radio also uses FundRaiser Online version. They like how staff members can work both in the office and at home, viewing and editing the same data  simultaneously. CrossTalk TV & Radio.
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Client/Server: A GeekSpeak Analogy

A couple of years ago I wrote an article about the differences between our Multi-User versions of FundRaiser and the Client/Server versions of FundRaiser.  And you may want to visit that article for a more technical explanation of things, but in this week's blog I'll attempt to give you the short version.

Client/Server versions can allow more than one person to use the program simultaneously, like Multi-User versions, but that's not their real purpose and strength.  Speed with safety is the real benefit to Client/Server versions, speeding up processes while insuring that no data becomes corrupt or lost.  Most "regular" versions of software are installed directly to the computer at hand, and that computer does all the work, so it's called a "stand alone" setup.  On networks of computers, it can be advantageous to have the program installed on a special computer called a Server, and allow other computers (Clients) to run the program over the network.

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Some Like it Hot

I baked bread this week. I find breadmaking a pastime that teases and delights my senses. The smell of bubbling yeast rises from the sticky-smooth dough as I rhythmically knead it and wafts through the house as the bread rises. The earthy aroma quickly becomes heavenly as the pale white lumps of dough grow into light crusty fresh breadbrownness in the oven. I can never wait more than a few minutes before cutting into the steaming hot bread, spreading it liberally with butter, and eating it.

The funny thing is, I’m not really all that crazy about bread any other time. It is only in that short amount of time after it comes out of the oven that I am eager to eat it. Unlike Revenge, bread is better served hot. A cold loaf often sits on the counter uneaten until it gets cubed, brushed with herbs and butter, and toasted for croutons or goes into the compost pile if I've waited too long.

A Thank You to a Donor is very similar to bread. The sooner they get it, the better it feels.

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Phase-Out Plan for Single and Multi-User

Phase 1:

Announcement of the phase-out. This occurred in August 2012. We announced that we will be phasing-out our single and multi user licenses in favor of either the Client/Server license or FundRaiser Hosted. This was due to increasing limitations of the antiquated licenses; customers were reporting very slow speeds when accessing FundRaiser on their network, and our development team was reporting that these licenses were not functioning properly in certain networking environments or on new Operating Systems. This lead us to shift our customers to the Client/Server license or the Hosted platform, both of which are built on cutting-edge technology allowing for optimal performance.

Phase 2:

In this phase, we will discontinue program updates for single and multi user licenses. Beginning in September 2015 (three full years after we announced the mandatory upgrade), all FundRaiser updates and new features will require the Client/Server license or the Hosted platform. We will also phase-out the sale price of the Client/Server license on October 31st - our vendor has mandated this.

Phase 3 (current phase):

Finally, we will discontinue Support for single and multi user licenses. This phase will begin on August 1st, 2016. After August 2016, we will no longer support the single or multi user licenses for FundRaiser. All customers who wish to retain our Support services must upgrade by then.

How will upgrading to Client/Server benefit you?

FundRaiser will be FASTER.

In the Client/Server version, FundRaiser will still be installed locally, on your machine. What's different is the way you see and access your data from your workstations.

When a user runs the program, it does not open the files directly, as it does in the Multi-User platform. Instead, the server opens the files on behalf of the client (the user at the workstation) and provides whatever data from the files that they need. When the user makes changes, their program sends those changes back to the server, which inserts it into the data files for them. This results in significantly less network traffic, and substantial speed differences.

FundRaiser will be MORE SECURE.

Because the workstation is not actually running the entire program over your network, as it does with Multi-User, the Client/Server version results in significant risk reduction in terms of data corruption. Should you experience a server crash or power failure, for example, it has built-in failsafes that will automatically restore the data back to the last complete transaction. This is not true of the Multi-User version.

Additionally, added security measures can be taken on the server to protect the data against intrusion or theft.

FundRaiser can have automatic ONLINE DONATIONS

With the Client/Server license, you can use our Donor Portal for Online Donations to receive and record online donations automatically! The Donor Portal also gives your donors the option of creating an account so they can log-in in the future and donate again, see past giving history, print receipts, reports, etc. And, coming soon, they will also be able to set up and manage recurring donations!

FundRaiser can be accessed REMOTELY.

If you would like to be able to log-in to FundRaiser from home or while you're traveling, you'll need the Client/Server license. With Client/Server, you will be able to use a remote desktop service and a Virtual Private Network to access FundRaiser from anywhere.

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Personally Speaking

This past weekend I volunteered to play guitar as a part of the Earth Day activities at Oracle State Park, where my wife, Nanette, volunteers on a regular basis.  The park is about to close for the summer, since the state is not providing funds any more, but a group has formed, called Friends of Oracle State Park, to coordinate volunteer efforts and raise monies to keep up the trails and structures and all that's required even for a small (4,000 acres) park.  I was happy to spend an hour doing something I love to help folks maintain what they (and my wife) love, and it's something I'd readily do again.  I must admit that, for someone who works almost solely with non-profits, I don't give of my time as much as some others, but, then again, I'm rarely asked.  This little glimpse of myself is offered in order to illustrate some uses for FundRaiser, of course.

From the little personal information in the previous paragraph, one could reasonably assign several category codes to my name record in their FundRaiser database.  Remember that category codes are used, for the most part, as non-gift-related aspects of a person's life.  This means that codes with descriptions such as "guitar player", or "music interest", or others, might be created and assigned, in order to have the ability at a later date to pull names of people with similar interests.  And, although it doesn't mean that I'll play at your event if asked, it does mean that you'll have the facts you need to pull a list of people you want to ask to volunteer services or talents when the time comes.

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Hidden Treasures

Redbud podsWe moved into our tiny cottage in town on February 24th, probably the bleakest time of year in the Ozarks. The bright palette of Autumn was long gone and only a few tattered brown remnants of Summer’s glory clung defiantly to their spindly branches. Our lawn was a barren rocky wasteland and an untidy collection of shrubs, vines and adolescent trees spanned the back property line. I was determined to tear out that eyesore at the first possible chance. I envisioned a neat privacy fence with dwarf fruit trees artfully espaliered against it..

But time has a way of slipping by and this spring seemed to move in fast forward. That “useless” collection of wildness has burst forth with life. The sweet pink blooms of the redbud were followed by delicate edible pods. Honeysuckle and wild grape twine among the shrubbery. Thorny blackberry stems push infant fruit toward the sun. There is even a half buried mulberry tree laden with tiny pale green fruit.

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Case study: Reviving a Lapsed Capital Campaign

 

Nine years ago, Center for Community Arts began a capital campaign and simultaneously got a grant for their first paid executive director. They planned carefully and hopes were high. Knowing that they would need to keep excellent records, they had done a careful search for the right database. At that time, I wrote a case study about why they chose FundRaiser. It was one of the first I ever wrote here for FundRaiser, and now I wondered how things had gone after all these years. I gave Judy Austermiller a call to find out. Judy is the development director and primary user of FundRaiser still.

When I reached her, Judy told a story that other organizations can likely relate to:  how the economy had hit them and their capital campaign hard, and how staff turn over had added an additional challenge to doing their work. She also talked of how, in spite of these difficulties, the Center had kept on serving the community, and how FundRaiser has helped them do it.

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Looking Forward

This week has been much more like a normal Ozark spring with cool crisp mornings and warm gentle afternoons. The frantic pace of the past few weeks has slowed to a lazy crawl and the succession of blooms and leaves is no longer a blur. The blackberries have put forth their snowy blossoms, flirting with the bees that so admire them. They are Blackberriesshort lived, each day shedding their tender wreath of petals to leave only the bristly globe that will, in time, become a glossy blackberry.

I suppose the best part of this season is the anticipation it inspires. In my mind’s eye I see neat garden beds overflowing with a riot of tomatoes, squash, beans and peppers. Those blackberry blossoms are destined to become fragrant ebony jam. The mint that is threatening to overflow its pot will become next winter’s sweet hot tea.

Anticipation can be a very powerful tool to inspire enthusiasm for an event as well. Once your event or activity is well planned, let your donors know about it with Fundraiser’s Mass Mailing function. By using the FundRaiser Word Processor to create personalized letters and emails and sending them out at the appropriate time, you can arouse interest and excitement about your organization and your endeavors..

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Don't forget your main mission on social media

As social media director for FundRaiser, I make posts and write articles for forums, facebook, blogs like this one, and newsletters. It's a job I really like, in part because of the ongoing challenge to understand and integrate how the new and emerging tools of online communication can be used to really add something to the conversation between FundRaiser and our nonprofit customers. As I know that many of you are also dealing with a similar challenge, I'd like to occasionally share what I am learning and experiencing. If you'd like to share your thoughts, too, please feel free to join the conversation on our facebook page, or email me directly at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.. Probably the most important thing to keep in mind, always, is to remember that for all its pizzazz, social media and online communication are about trying to make a connection with the people who want to hear from you and are interested in what you have to say. This isn't new, but sometimes the 'newness' of social media tools makes us forget that it's still always about understanding and meeting the needs of your audience, whoever they are. Every time you write something, try to put yourself in the shoes of your supporters. If you do this,then you are starting from the right place. Nancy Schwartz, editor of the Getting Attention blog/newsletter for nonprofit marketing , is one writer who has some excellent tips and advice for staying in tune with your audience.
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Plans with Codes

Okay, so we know we should plan ahead: for events, for gift-thank-you letters, for change, forever.  But in order to make the best plans, we have to know how to use the tools at hand.  And one of the least understood “tools” of FundRaiser may be “Codes”.  There are many different codes; all different, all similar, most editable, some mandatory.  Is there an easy way to get a handle on them all? 

From my perspective, a code is nothing more than a “unique identifier”.  You might think of a code as a tag, a flag, an attribute, a descriptor, or any one of many nouns, but, in the end, a code is nothing more than a way to mark records in a special way so that you can easily gather together similar records.  

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It's all in the Planning

The tender green of spring have matured into the rich emerald of summer here in the Ozarks. Seeds started two weeks ago have pushed their way through the dark soil and spread hungry leaves into the sunshine and fresh air. My sturdy young tomato starts release the pungent odor of summer when touched and the baby dill begins to uncurl the tulipslacy leaves of maturity. It is nearly time to remove them from their small sheltered nursery and let them dig their roots deep into the wide open earth. Yet I have no idea where to put them. I need a plan.

A plan will help me to have an efficient, productive garden rather then a rampant tangle of weeds and poor sickly plants. During the planning process, I will asses the necessary conditions for the plants I am caring for, the limitations and strengths of my space, and match each plant to the best place I have for it. Perhaps the most important part of planning my garden is assessing how well the plan worked and how it could have worked better. Each year, I should have increased success.

Events are a lot like gardens. Without a plan they quickly get out of hand, a tangled mess of mistakes and forgotten items. 

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Three years later-- WJIE's experience

When WJIE switched to FundRaiser, they were close to the memory of a very bad experience with other software. They were so happy to be rid of that software and they hoped that they had solved their problem. Shortly after their switch to FundRaiser, I wrote a case study. You can see the complete case study here. This blog is just about what they are experiencing now, after three years of using FundRaiser. Did FundRaiser continue to meet their expectations? This is what Calvin Bader, Engineer at WJIE, had to say: Clavin Bader of WJIE

“Things have gone very well. We just came through our spring fundraiser. Our staff continues to be very happy that we’ve switched to the system. They like the ease of use regarding pledge entries and other gift entries.

“One of the things we like best is the Custom page. It saves us a ton of time during a pledge drive. It’s one of the main reasons that we are able to get things entered so quickly. In the past, with our previous system, it took a long time to enter pledges into the system. Everyone was staying late at night during the fundraising drive; and the following week, people were still entering information. Using the custom page in FundRaiser, we are done a half hour after going off the air. We’ve designed that page so that it allows us to do everything that we need to do on a fundraiser right on that one page. That way we don’t need to switch from tab to tab,” says Calvin.

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