[K12OSN] Development/Alumni/Fundraising Database

[Henry Hartley]

>> -----Original Message-----
>> From: Huck
>> Sent: Thursday, August 05, 2004 1:38 PM
>> 
>> Jim Kronebusch wrote:
>> 
>> > Does anyone know of a open source or low cost solution for
>> > what is implied in the subject?  I just found out that our
>> > Development Office is in the middle of signing a contract
>> > for a $10000 piece of software to do this stuff with a
>> > $1300 per year support agreement.  I would love to crash
>> > the parade with an open source solution.
>> 
>> Razor's Edge by chance? =)
>> IF so...there isn't an open source solution that comes 
>> close(not that 
>> one couldn't be built by those with the knowledge)
>> but Razor's Edge pretty much kicks butt for that 
>> development/alumni/fundraising etc..

Yeah, those sort of prices do make it sound like Raisers' Edge.  My
experience (a while ago but my understanding is that this hasn't changed) is
that the *real* cost of Blackbaud software comes after the purchase.
Consulting fees can easily double the cost of the software.  It is a very
complicated package and you had better understand your organization pretty
well before you begin setting things up or you'll end up doing it twice.
There is some utility in that.  It will force you to examine your
organizational structure in ways that non-profits often don't bother.

Although this is a Windows/Mac package and while I'm not at all familiar
with the specifics of ebase <http://www.ebase.org/>, it claims (among other
things) the following:

ebase is powerful software
ebase is a complete nonprofit database solution. With it's comprehensive
feature set, ebase can help you manage donors, prospects, volunteers,
activists, email lists and more - all in one place.

ebase is economical to operate
All of the powerful functionality of ebase is available to you without
purchase of additional modules. ebase is open-source software and puts
control of your database in your hands so you can customize and maintain
your copy of ebase to meet the specific needs of your group.

The only software cost is that if you plan on having more than one computer
using the software, you will need to install FiewMaker Pro on each computer.
They have special FileMaker pricing available for ebase users.  You can
download the single user copy which includes a FileMaker runtime which is
plenty good enough for evaluation.  Of course, if you need something that
runs on Linux, this won't help you, I'm afraid.

-- 
Henry