Technola : Public Interest Law & Technology Updates & Commentary : Matthew Burnett & Kate Bladow : Tech Advice for the Non-Profit Legal Sector

An updated version of Idealware's A Consumers' Guide to Low Cost Donor Management Systems has been released. It compares 29 donor management systems that cost $4,000 or less in their first year and dives in deep for what they consider the top ten systems.

Why might you need a donor management system? Because these systems help you to track the people who care enough about your organization to give money and to retain them as donors. They are much more powerful than spreadsheets, which, as the report explains, quickly become a nightmare to manage.

For example, a tool like Microsoft Excel can’t usefully link pieces of information together, so as soon as someone gives more than once, you have a tracking problem. If you have 10 donors who have each given between one and five times, the spreadsheet becomes complicated and ugly, making it difficult to figure out your total giving for the year. Add in the fact that two of those donors are married, and they should only get one mailing, and it’s suddenly completely unmanageable.

Are you using a donor management system to track your donors? If so, is your donor management system one of Idealware's top ten? Or do you use a system that Idealware didn't cover? Let us know in the comments. - K

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Idealware, a nonprofit that provides impartial software reviews, is hosting a free webinar on fundraising software tomorrow. Laura Quinn, Idealware's Executive Director, will cover

• How different types of software can be useful for fundraising
• What types of tools are harder or easier to get started with
• Ballpark cost figures for different types of software
• A sense of the amount of effort needed to implement and keep up with each type
• A few types of tools that might be worth further exploration for your organization

You can register online for the session, which will be held from 1 pm to 2 pm Eastern on March 31, 2010.

And even if you can't go to the webinar, click over to see the awesome new redesign of the Idealware website. - K

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This week Idealware released a report that compares four open source content management systems: Wordpress, Joomla, Drupal, and Plone. After a brief introduction to content management systems (CMSs), the report looks at several important areas, including ease of configuration, scalabilty and security, and user roles and workflow, and assesses the positives and negatives of each system. Then the authors take a few pages to provide recommendations on when you might consider using each of the CMSs. I haven't had time to read the report yet, but based on the people involved and the quality of Idealware's previous reports, this should be a great reference for people who are investigating open source CMSs. - K

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Idealware, an organization we've mentioned before on technola, is offering a free webinar--Online Communications on a Shoestring. The session will look at how websites, e-mail blasts, and social media can help your organization serve its mission. This webinar will be held on Wednesday, October 29, 2008 from 1:00 pm to 2:30 pm (Eastern). You can register online here. - K

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Rather than highlighting the usual free software and tools, this week I wanted to point out a great article published this month on Idealware by Peter Campbell (blog), the director of Information Technology at Earthjustice, which is likely to save you both time and money when making your next major software purchase (i.e. case management system or CRM solution). Also, while a RFP may not be appropriate, many of the issues that Peter discusses in the article also apply to not-so-major software and hardware purchases. -M

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VerticalResponse, a web-based bulk email tool, is offering a free program that allows nonprofits to send out up to 10,000 emails per month. What's more, you can purchase additional email credits at a 15% discount. Before you sign up, however, be sure to check out the recent idealware review of VerticalResponse, which discusses a couple of limitations that you should be aware of. -M

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Montana Legal Services Association was highlighted in a recent Idealware article. Written by Michelle Murain (who you can follow on Twitter) and Laura Quinn, the article discusses three project management software packages (Basecamp, Central Desktop, and Trac) and how they have been implemented by three different non-profits. The article is a quick read that gives concrete ideas for how to use the software as well as what the organizations have found to be useful and not so useful. - K

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Recently, Aspiration and Idealware announced a Managing Non-Profit Technology Projects event for Oakland, CA on May 20, 2008 to May 21, 2008. Participants in this event will discuss project management tools and best practices. Registration information is available on Aspiration's website.

I highly recommend attending, especially if you are an accidental project manager. In January 2008, I went to the first Managing Non-Profit Technology Projects event in New York City and got to participate in great conversations about how much websites should cost, how to manage consultants and vendors, and how to collaborate with remote teams. Coming out of the event, I had new resources to help me manage the projects that I'm involved in, including a wiki that contains notes on all of the sessions.

If you aren't able to attend, sign up for the wiki anyways. You'll be able to read the session notes and benefit from the thoughts of the people who did go. - K

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One of the best free resources available to nonprofit technologists is idealware, a site that provides informative reviews and comparisons of nonprofit software. Articles that may be of interest to folks in the legal aid community include:

• Donate Now: Selecting an Online Donation Tool
• Getting Started with Blogging Software
• A Few Good Low-Cost Constituent Databases
• A Few Good Email Newsletter Tools
• A Few Good Event Registration Tools
• Six Views of Project Management Software
• Grants Management Software: Survey Results and Analysis
• A Few Good Accounting Packages

If you like what you see, be sure to subscribe to their monthly newsletter and check out their blog. -M

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