choosing a database
TRANSCRIPT
Choosing a DatabaseBrown Bag for Nonprofits
NPower Northwest
• Vision: a thriving community with high performing nonprofits
• Mission: to strengthen the nonprofit sector by catalyzing innovation and driving adoption of technology solutions
Road Map
• Assess & Identify
• Prioritize & Map
• Decide
• Q&A
Assess & Identify
Definition: data management
• Data management is the process of collecting, organizing, and managing data as an important organizational resource.
• To manage data effectively is to bridge the gap between inputs – hard data sets – and outputs – information or analysis – that an organization can use to make decisions and demonstrate a measurable community impact.
• Ideally, one system – the CRM – would be designed and used to collect and manage all organizational data.
Assess organizational needs
Related to:• strategic goals• technology systems• processes• people
Goals
Be clear about what you intend to do
Strategic planning
• What are your plans to grow or change your client base?• Any foreseeable organizational shifts?• Fundraising campaign needs?
• What are your basic technology needs in the immediate or more distant future?
• How will the new technology serve your organization’s vision?
• How will it enhance the community you serve?
Technology systems considerations
• Do an inventory of your current technology systems
• Use strategic technology planning to drive your database selection process – not the other way around
• Avoid too big and too small
Assessment of processes
Fit the technology to how your work,not your organization to the technology
Organization process mapping
Assessment of people
• How tech savvy are staff?• How high is the turnover rate?• Staff size?• What is the role of volunteers?
** Include staff who will be using the new database in the decision-making process **
Prioritize & Map
Prioritize your nonprofit’s requirements
• Be clear about where you want to go• Document specific needs and know order of
importance• Create a functional requirements outline
Functional requirements outline
Review costs and trade-offs
Narrowing the field
Time to start looking at specific software options
Research software
• Talk to other nonprofits• Do preliminary online research• Read discussion forum posts
CRMs reviewed in 2011 NTEN survey
• Salesforce• Microsoft Dynamics CRM• Convio Common Ground (now Blackbaud)• Kintera Sphere (now Blackbaud)*• Raiser’s Edge (also Blackbaud)• DemocracyInAction• Antharia onView• CiviCRM• Custom built software
Software considerations
• Buying vs building your own• Open source vs proprietary• Cloud-based vs stand-alone• INTEGRATION• $$$$$
Total cost of ownership (TCO)
• The software itself• New hardware• Staff training• Ongoing maintenance• Support fees• Data migration• Customization• Staff downtime during conversion• Lost revenue from possible technical failures
20/10/70 rule
Choosing a cheap product that is expensive to maintain may be more costly in the long run.Software – 10% of total costHardware – 20%Implementation and maintenance – 70%
Software selection matrix - Technology
Software selection matrix - Processes
Software selection matrix - People
Decide
You’re getting close!
• Narrow down the list -- which choices emerge as winners? Losers?
• Identify your top contenders • Contact vendors with formal
requests for information
Vendor comparison questionnaire
• How long has your company been in business?• What percentage of your customers are nonprofits?• Can you provide references for nonprofits who have worked
with you?• Please describe your business stability and sustainability
plans.• Do you have experts to assist with the implementation process?• How much will maintenance services cost?• Can you provide guidelines for preparing or cleaning up
existing data before the transfer?• Do you continually update your software to add new
features and improve upon your systems?
Final steps
• Compare responses from vendors• Ask the reps for software demonstrations• Take advantage of free demo versions and
trial accounts• Pilot the software
Resources
• NPower Northwest: www.npowernw.org
• 501 Commons: www.501commons.org
• NTEN: www.nten.org
• TechSoup: www.techsoup.org
• IdealWare: www.idealware.org
Take-aways
• Assess the scope of organizational needs• Identify technology goals• Prioritize nonprofit requirements• Map out the needed software features• Decide which database package is best fit
Thank you
Elissa ThomasHandsOn Tech AmeriCorps VISTA
[email protected]@gmail.com
HandsOn Tech SeattleWebsite: sites.google.com/site/hotcseattle
NPower NorthwestWebsite: www.npowernw.org
Q & A