Nonprofit Genie (FAQs) | Fundraising

Overview

What can we expect to pay?

How do we know what computer configuration will best meet our fundraising needs?

What are some of the questions I should ask a software sales representative and what things should I look for in the product?

How should we handle staff training?

What about references?

For the short run, should I maintain my old and my new systems?

Fundraising database software needs to be set-up to reflect how we conduct our fundraising program. How does this work?

Is there anything special I need to know about data conversions?

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Overview

Over the past ten years, fundraising database software has gone from being a luxury to almost an everyday necessity for most development programs. However, unlike most other software genres, instead of facing few choices, purchasers are confronted with a multitude of options at every price level from comprehensive proprietary packages with sophisticated add-on modules to introductory-level shareware or freeware programs available on the Internet. And as a result, one of the most common computer-related questions voiced by development officers is, "How do we evaluate and choose a fundraising database program that best meets our needs?"

"We know we need a database for recording, tracking, reporting, managing, and implementing our development program, but where do we begin?" Begin your search with a thorough analysis of your current situation including:

Program Operations (what are the specific elements in your fundraising program plan?)

Computer Equipment (how many computers are there in your office? with what chip, speed, RAM, and storage? and if you have a network, how many are on it, and what is your network software?)

Expense Budget (how much can you spend?)

Staffing (what is your departmental structure, who and how many currently use your database software and at what level of proficiency?)

Now, make a determination of where you will be in 3 to 5 years in each of those same areas. These two steps will help clarify the most basic features and performance priorities required of your future software.

What can we expect to pay?

In general, the basic purchase price for fundraising software falls into four price ranges (not including the cost for additional user licenses, data conversion, additional staff training, and annual technical support agreements), as follows:

$1,500 and under (including shareware and freeware)

Generally, the products at this level are very simple, basic programs designed for organizations running very modest development programs with limited budgets. In most cases they have very limited constituent management capabilities (coding, indexing, sorting, etc.) and come with pre-configured reports. They are usually designed to export data to a word-processing program (for mail merge) or spreadsheet (for analytical reports).

$1,500 to $5,000

These programs are a major step up from the level below, they are fully networkable, and have all the features required for most development operations including extensive coding, tracking, and reporting capabilities. They include a broad array of pre-designed reports as well as report generating capabilities which eliminates the need to export your data to word-processing or spreadsheet programs.

$5,000 to $10,000

The programs at this level have all the elements above, but they tend to include a broader array of data recording and data management capabilities as well as more comprehensive recording and tracking for specialized development operations. Most of the programs in this range offer an assortment of equally comprehensive add-on modules (for an additional cost) to address specialized needs like membership, major/capital gift prospects, and special events management, to name a few.

$10,000 and up

In general, once you get beyond $10,000 for the base price, you are getting into the area of expensive, customized systems designed for complicated large institutional or organizational settings. These systems are designed to work with large area networks (LANs), wide area networks (WANs), and multiple sites, and are created to manage and manipulate huge amounts of constituents or data. Also, they are most often combined in packages to work with specialized software in other departments or offices like accounting and finance, facility management, and other non-fundraising program operations.

How do we know what computer configuration will best meet our fundraising needs?

Do we go IBM or Apple? Should we be networked? Questions of this nature deserve a more comprehensive response than can be included here, but there are some basic considerations:

As for basic configuration and equipment (mainframes, mini-mainframes, servers, and desktop computers), most development offices use desktop computers in a small network or as stand-alone computers.

For equipment and operating systems, for all intents and purposes, you face one of two choices using IBM compatible or Apple equipment, but you can have both systems working on a network. However, most fundraising software currently on the market is designed for an IBM compatible running Windows 95/98/NT or 2000.

As for new equipment, you will want:

• Pentium III level (or, if Apple, a Power PC) processor with the fastest speed you can afford (but usually no less than 500Mhz)
• Largest RAM you can afford (but no less than 64 Megs and preferably 128 Megs or more)
• Largest hard disk you can buy (4 to 6 Gbs for a workstation, 10 to 12 Gbs or more for a server).

If you are on a network, you will want a server that has a minimum of 10 Gbs disk space and preferably double (or more) since the program files in modern software "suites" will quickly fill that initial space. You'll still need room to load your existing work files and your new database.

With regard to networks, in general, even the smallest two-person office derives a benefit from being on a network. Printing is easier, editing documents is easier (though you will need to establish file naming procedures), and viewing and sharing data is greatly simplified.

Those are some very basic responses but each office, program, and organization is unique. Given the complexity of this situation, for a more specific recommendation on systems, equipment and configurations, contact a local computer consultant that has experience working with nonprofit organizations.

What are some of the questions I should ask a software sales representative? What things should I look for in the product?

Before looking at software, an organization must first be clear about its overall current and future operations (see #1 above). Having that information in hand, some of the basic questions to ask are:

How does their software's features meet your specific program management needs?

How does it conform to your program structure (does it work the way you work?) or does it force you to conform to its structure?

Does the manufacturer help configure or otherwise set-up the software to reflect how your program operates?

How does it look on the screen? Do the screens appear overly busy or complex? Is it easy on your eyes? Can you adjust for color, shading, contrast, etc.?

How many options can you use to tag or otherwise "code" a constituent?

How are gifts/grants, pledges, and pledge payments recorded?

How does the software handle importing of new records and/or data elements (e.g., phone numbers or zip+4 codes) from other sources? In what formats?

How does it handle exporting data? In what formats?

How are yearly program revenues tracked and reported?

How are appeals and solicitation programs managed?

How are grants tracked and reported?

How does the report generator work?

How does the mail merge work?

How do you search the database using multiple criteria?

How do you index or otherwise segment a group of constituents?

How are special events managed and reported?

How long has the company been in business?

How many installations have they made in similar type/size organizations?

Do they have any installations locally you can visit?

What would be the total cost for your installation (adding software purchase price including costs for all necessary user-licenses, data conversion, annual technical support, and initial staff training)?

What are their options for additional staff training?

How does their technical support work? What is the average telephone wait time? Can you get help via e-mail or fax?

How should we handle staff training?

Most sophisticated fundraising database programs will require a fair amount of staff training in order to be used properly and effectively. In most cases, paying for additional (more intensive) staff training either on or off-site is advisable after the initial free training. There is usually a sizable fee attached, but in most cases it is well worth the expense. Why have a high powered program if you're not going to use it effectively?

Identify at least two people in your organization to learn the program. In most organizations, only one staff member is the primary user; however, having a second person who has a basic, even rudimentary, understanding is helpful during vacations periods and other absences.

What about references?

For any product that you find interesting, ask the sales representative for at least three references you can contact by phone. Be sure to ask for clients that are similar to the type and size of your organization and development program. Call all the clients. Your conversation need not be more than a quick five-minute chat but you will get some interesting information. Some sample questions you might ask are:

What are its strengths?

What are its weaknesses?

How long have you had the program?

Do you like the program?

Does it do everything you need it to do?

Did you look at other programs?

Would you buy it again?

How was the staff training?

How did the data conversion go?

How is the Technical Support?

Once you think you've made your final selection, make a site visit even if you have to do a bit of traveling to another organization that has the software up and running. Make the visit without the sale representative present. Interview the staff members who are actually doing the data entry, coding, indexing, sorting and queries, mail merges, report generation, etc. Remember, the time and expense you spend on a site visit is nothing compared to what you will spend on a software product in the combined cost of the purchase price, data conversation, staff training, and annual support.

For the short run, should I maintain my old and my new systems?

Absolutely. Plan on a six month trial-and-error period for your new system. Don't expect (or promote the expectation) that you'll be up and running right away. Consider managing duplicate systems for a short period, say 3 to 6 months (Some organizations have run duplicate systems for up to for a year!) In the initial months, plan on your staff needing to call the manufacturer's technical support line everyday (and often several times a day). However, the more you use tech support, the faster you learn the program. Think about conducting several practice runs using the standard features you will use regularly over the course of the year -- managing a mail merge, conducting an event, exporting data, running reports. Invent scenarios and then practice the procedures or steps required to meet the need. It's much easier to learn a program when you're staff is not under pressure to perform.

Is there anything special I need to know about data conversions?

When an organization purchases a new database software, one of the first steps towards using the program is getting your old data into the software. In most cases, the manufacturer will do this for a fee. Be sure to get all the essential information from your software manufacturer before you have them do the conversion (price, turn-around time, ease of input, how much follow-up help you will get, etc.).

It's also worthwhile to ask other users of your new software how they converted their data. You might find other users have contracted with a local computer database consultant who has experience converting data for your new software and who can provide this service at a lower cost than the manufacturer. Finally, ask the manufacturer if they have affiliate relationships with any local computer consultants, as these people can often offer more timely on-site help with conversions as well as other issues.

Fundraising database software needs to be set-up to reflect how we conduct our fundraising program. How does this work?

All fundraising database software needs to be configured to reflect how your organization records and identifies constituents, labels gifts, reports information, and tracks progress, etc. The more comprehensive your program is, the more planning and set-up time you will need.

It is strongly recommended that you spend a healthy amount of time mapping out on paper your entire program before you even look at new software. Map out your individual and/or institutional giving programs from initial planning to year-end annual report. Then find a program that fits your specific need. For most organizations that already use a database, this is not much of an issue; however, it's always worthwhile to revisit your naming conventions to be sure your database reflects any changes in your audience or program operations. However, for organizations that have never used a database before, this step is critical.

You need to ask yourself, who are our major constituencies? There are as many ways to identify records for fundraising as there are nonprofit organizations. However, the basic rule is keep your list of main constituencies as simple as possible. Most organizations should have no more than six or seven main groups. You can have more ways to identify a constituent, but these labels should be located in a separate field in the database. For example:

If you are a school, your main groups might look like the following: Alumni, Current Parents, Past Parents, Board of Directors, Foundations, Corporations, Government, and Friends. An individual (or institution) in any one of these categories might also have other ways he/she needs to be identified, i.e. as a major gift prospect, a golf-outing participant, a class agent, a hall of fame dinner sponsor, a faculty member, a vendor, a board member prospect, a capital gift prospect, etc. However, all this information will be maintained in another field capable of holding multiple listings for each record.

The smaller the number of main constituency groups, the easier and faster you can input, organize, segment, track, and report information.

In addition to giving each record a main audience or constituency code, in most cases you will need to assign names or codes for other fields including, among others: prefix, title, suffix, salutation, gift labels, solicitations or appeals, special events, annual unrestricted/restricted funds, endowment/scholarship/capital funds.

What about the idea of creating my own fundraising database in an off-the-shelf database program like Filemaker Pro, Access, Paradox, or Approach, or that of another manufacturer?

The general rule of thumb for creating your own fundraising database is -- don't. Unless you have a full-time MIS department (not just one staff member) who you can rely on for timely assistance, it is probably not a good idea to develop your own system. There are many reasons for this including all the time and salary expense it takes to study your program, map out the database layout, build the required files, create field structures, design the screens, convert and load data, build stock reports, and debug the database. Why go through all this trial-and-error headache (and expense) when there are database products that will give you, in most cases, what you need now as well as provide room for future growth.

Having said this, if you have extremely limited financial resources (and even then, keep in mind there may be an appropriate shareware and freeware product available) or if you are determined to develop your own database, here are some pointers:

Hire a database consultant who has experience creating fundraising-related databases (and call her/his references).

Keep the fields simple.

Be sure there is a seamless interface between the database software and both your word-processor and spreadsheet software.

Think ease of use. Your staff may not have immediate access to technical support for the software and even then the software manufacturer's tech support people on the other end of the line will not know how your particular database file is set up.

Think short term. Once you get up and running you will probably want to track and use information in increasingly sophisticated ways. If so, you won't appreciate spending the time and money for your consultant to keep returning to build these features into your system. And, at this stage, you will most likely want to migrate to a package product. Be sure to build in password protection.

Written by: Duff Batchelder, Management Solutions for Nonprofit Organizations, 4 Wellyn Close, Bronxville, NY 10708, (914)779-4497, Email: duff@millbat.org

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