I’m planning a new workshop on selecting donor databases, focusing on the question, “Why is this so friggin’ complicated?”  Some initial thoughts: The maxim “Fast, cheap, or good–pick two” is true. You want the technology to be forward-looking but also want to avoid shiny object syndrome. You want to make a reasonably quick decision but [...]

Tags: Advancement Services, Databases, Donor Databases, IT Management, Nonprofit Technology

A member of the PRSPCT-L listserve (for prospect researchers) asked “What do other institutions do to regulate or “police” data entry work, specifically when you have multiple users with authority to make updates?”  It’s a tough problem.  Here are a few approaches (other than locking down data entry): Policies. You need clear data entry standards. [...]

Tags: Advancement Services, Databases, Donor Databases

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 well-considered, and looking for [...]

Tags: Databases, Donor Databases, IT Management, Nonprofit Technology, Software

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, shipping and maybe tax). They describe it as follows: What types of software should your [...]

Tags: Databases, Donor Databases, IT Management, Nonprofit Technology, Software

Our friends at NTEN have launched a survey to examine nonprofits’ data ecosystems. Your first question is probably "what is a data ecosystem?" NTEN describes it as follows: The nonprofit ecosystem is a way of thinking about how data is shared by and flows across the different departments and activities in your organization. Similar to [...]

Tags: Databases, IT Management, NTEN, Software

Idealware just published an article by Keith Heller called Do You Need New Donor Management Software? Keith urges nonprofits to look before they leap into new software, cautioning that “new software may not make anything better — in fact, it could make things worse.” He then addresses what new software could do for your organization, [...]

Tags: Databases, Donor Databases, Fundraising

In early January, Convio asked a group of nonprofit technology bloggers to suggest New Year’s resolutions for nonprofits (TechSoup Blog was one of the participants). In addition, they asked people to post resolutions on Convio’s Connection Café blog. Subsequently, they reviewed the resolutions, identified the main topic areas, and created a Resolutions Guide. The guide [...]

Tags: Databases, IT Management, Online Fundraising, Social Media, Web 2.0

My friend and fellow consultant John Kenyon is fond of saying that, after people, data is an organization’s most important asset. An organization’s databases store its history: contact records; people served; donors, funders, and prospects; VIPs, volunteers, and vendors; event attendees, and more. Yet many organizations don’t pay enough attention to the care and feeding [...]

Tags: Databases, IT Management, Security

"After people, data is your most important asset." — John Kenyon Left unattended, databases will turn into piles of mush. Therefore, develop data entry policies and procedures, and train everyone who enters data. Excel is not a database, and is one of the leading causes of dirty data. It is difficult to enforce data entry [...]

Tags: Advancement Services, Databases

In June I mentioned that Convio had announced the beta release of a donor database it was calling Aikido, built on the SalesForce platform. This is not a new template for SalesForce, but a product built from the ground up. At the time, they said it would be a separate product from their online Constituent [...]

Tags: Databases, Donor Databases