Idealware is updating its 2009 report on low-cost donor databases. If you're a database vendor and want to be considered, fill out the survey at http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/RCHJNGC I assume their criteria will be similar to what they used last time, which was a starting cost of less … [Read more...]
Choosing a donor database
I get a lot of emails like the following from small nonprofits: We desperately need to get a new donor database and most of them are totally unaffordable!! Looking at the Idealware Low Cost Database report, I find that there are so many considerations that it is quite complicated to make a choice. … [Read more...]
Jay Love leaving Blackbaud
Jay Love, the founder and CEO of eTapestry (and before that, of Master Software), is leaving Blackbaud to become CEO of Social Solutions: http://www.nptimes.com/10June/news-100608-2.html I spoke with Jay yesterday and he says that Blackbaud is committed to etapestry and will continue to invest in … [Read more...]
Resources from the Compasspoint Panel
Yesterday I spoke on a fundraising panel at Compasspoint's Silicon Valley/Peninsula Nonprofit Forum and mentioned a variety of resources. Here they are, with links: Donor Retention AFP's Fundraising Effectiveness Project: … [Read more...]
The Limits of “Free” Software
I received an email newsletter today with the following pitch for a web-based donor database (perhaps you can guess which one): The Cloud offers you constituent relationship management (CRM) software that's less expensive, easier to maintain, more accessible, more intuitive, and with greater … [Read more...]
Thoughts on Software RFPs
I received the following email from Keith Heller, a database consultant who works with Raiser's Edge and Common Ground clients: We’ve been involved with responding to many RFPs over the years and I have a general inquiry that is in your bailiwick. I often see RFPs that are quite lengthy and … [Read more...]
Idealware’s Field Guide to Nonprofit Software: Fundraising, Communications and Outreach
Idealware recently released its Fundraising, Communications and Outreach. Unlike their earlier guides (to inexpensive donor databases, content management systems, online donation tools, etc.) this one is an actual book (84 pages, paperback) and costs actual money ($19.95, plus, I assume, … [Read more...]
SF Fundraising Day 2010
San Francisco's Fundraising Day will be happening June 16 at the downtown Marriott. Once again I have the honor of co-chairing the Technology Track with Michael Stein. We've programmed sessions on online fundraising with Madeline Stanionis, social media with Jeff Patrick, database selection … [Read more...]
The Idealware Research Fund
My friends at Idealware have created a new fund to support their research. Many of Idealware's reports have been funded by foundations and some have had corporate sponsorship. As you probably know, neither foundation nor corporate support is a reliable funding source these days. In addition, … [Read more...]
Donor Tracking vs. Business Intelligence
The Nonprofit Times recently published an article called Is It Donor Management Software Or Business Intelligence. It discusses what Laura Quinn calls the "movement from merely tracking data to an emphasis on using it strategically to make business decisions." This vision of … [Read more...]