Open Source Fundraising Alternatives

08-16-2004 3:52 PM

jlorance

Top 50 Contributor

Joined on 01-10-2003

Has anyone had any experience with using any kind of open-source software for fundraising? This would include any kind of software to run campaigns, or perform CRM (constituency relationship management) roles. As NPOs increasingly rely on the web for constituency communications, it seems only logical that there should be some non-desktop oriented open source software options out there that break the mold of the traditional client/server primarily direct-mail minded packages.

I've done some basic searching on SourceForge; but haven't found anything yet that quite hits the mark.

John Lorance
CompuMentor/TechSoup

In reply to

RE: Open Source Fundraising Alternatives

08-17-2004 1:50 PM

Ozzie

Top 25 Contributor

Joined on 05-16-2002

Not sure of which jelly you want to make out of the mold but ebase pro is out there
www.ebase.org
http://www.ebase.org/about/featurecomp.lasso
Here is a good comparison..
oz

In reply to

RE: Open Source Fundraising Alternatives

08-18-2004 12:10 PM

thomast

Top 100 Contributor

Joined on 09-03-2003

This was touched on in a recent thread in the Technology for Fundraising forum. You can read the thread; here are a few titles and links of free and/or open source fundraising software that came up, listed roughly in order of how close to actually being Open Source they are:

VisibleResults: Java/Interbase (soon to be Firebird) OSS fundraising app: http://visibleresults.sourceforge.net/index-en.php

InfoCentral: PHP/mySQL OSS app. Designed for religious congregation management, but adaptable and usuable by other membership-based NPOs: http://www.infocentral.org/

ebase, of course: http://www.ebase.org

Devolio, free app developed by NPower in Access. It's sort of Open Source: the table structure, macros and code are all there and editable, but it runs on a proprietary app. http://www.npower.org/tools/donor+management.htm

Metrix, from Fund for the City of New York, same deal as Devolio - open source on a proprietary dbms (Access 2K) http://metrix.fcny.org/index.html

Organizers' Database: free, closed source (MS VB using Access MDB file format). Long description by developer/proponent in the linked thread: http://www.organizenow.net/odb/odb.php

Giving Database: Access-based db, free, fully functional demo version from technology consulting firm specializing in NPO services. Didn't d/l myself so I've no idea what's modifiable and what's not: http://www.willowmountain.com/giving.htm

http://www.etapestry.com - proprietary ASP, free for up to 500 donor records

-thomas

In reply to

RE: Open Source Fundraising Alternatives

08-24-2004 11:22 AM

jlorance

Top 50 Contributor

Joined on 01-10-2003

Wow, Thomas, thanks for the great summary. I'm sure others will also find this helpful. I'll definately check out items like Visible Results when I get a chance.

It would be great to see a web-based CRM/CMS/Fundraising solution which would enable organizations to engage their constituency on the web to build community while helping to streamline communications and productivity. Now, only if I had some spare time... :)

Cheers,
John Lorance
CompuMentor/TechSoup

In reply to

RE: Open Source Fundraising Alternatives

02-19-2006 12:15 PM

geilhufe

Top 150 Contributor

Joined on 05-10-2000

Folks should also consider CiviCRM. CiviCRM is a free and open source constitutent relationship management.

With some extensions, CiviContribute and CiviMail (also part of the download), it handles the holy trinity of nonprofit CRM... database, online contributions (via PayPal and other processors) and broadcast email.

You can read more, demo the software and download it at:
http://www.civicrm.org/

In reply to

RE: Open Source Fundraising Alternatives

02-20-2006 6:31 AM

timyounglightsys

Top 150 Contributor

Joined on 03-31-2003

For a web-based, open-source donor/financial management system, you can look at kardia (http://kardia.sf.net). It is targeted to be deployable by mid-year 2007. So if you did not have enough time to do all the work, but had some time to pitch in, I am sure the developers would love a hand...

In reply to

RE: Open Source Fundraising Alternatives

02-20-2006 12:32 PM

ahz

Top 50 Contributor

Joined on 07-14-2004

We've been using ebase 1.03 (now an old version) for 5 years, and now we have quite a large database. Overall, it's pretty good, but I don't like the Windows/Mac requirement since we are moving computers to Linux. Another inadequacy is that it doesn't manage volunteer hours. However, I prefer ebase's desktop interface to web-based interfaces because it's much faster for the large volumes of data entry we do.

I think ebase version 2 is officially open source, but the distributable contains non-open source plugins that cannot be redistributed.

I've looked for alternatives to ebase with much disappointment. I've even been hoping to build my own non-profit database, but I haven't found a good database framework to build it on.

In reply to

RE: Open Source Fundraising Alternatives

10-16-2006 2:47 PM

wcook

Top 50 Contributor

Joined on 12-20-2005

Has anyone tried any of the tools listed in TechSoup's article Ask TechSoup: Open-Source Tools for Fundraising? (an article inspired by this very thread)? Let us know how you'd rate them!

In reply to

RE: Open Source Fundraising Alternatives

10-17-2006 2:17 PM

ahz

Top 50 Contributor

Joined on 07-14-2004

Looks like Infocentral is basically dead.

In reply to

RE: Open Source Fundraising Alternatives

10-17-2006 3:46 PM

DanCooperstock

Not Ranked

Joined on 12-20-2003

Toronto Canada

TechSoup Member

You forgot to mention my free software program for tracking donors and donations and issuing receipts, DONATION. It's at www.freedonationsoftware.org. It's a stand-alone application.
------------------------------
Dan Cooperstock
FreeDonationSoftware.org

In reply to

RE: Open Source Fundraising Alternatives

12-03-2006 5:33 PM

anthemwebs

Top 100 Contributor

Joined on 09-12-2003

Visible Results?
Fundraising Software for Charities, Foundations, Voluntary organsiations etc. Handles Direct Mail, Telemarketing and many other forms of Fundraising. [Currently a dormant project]

As of 2006-03-07 13:06, this project is no longer under active development.

In reply to

Fundraising Consultant Fees

06-28-2007 9:46 AM

billjenkins

Not Ranked

Joined on 06-28-2007

TechSoup Member

What is a standard % fee for a Fundraising Consultant to charge a College?

In reply to

RE: Open Source Fundraising Alternatives

07-13-2007 6:14 AM

jonoesmith

Not Ranked

Joined on 06-29-2007

TechSoup Member

Network for Good's Basic Donate Now is free and now has an open API.

http://www.networkforgood.org/npo/fundraising/donations/direction.aspx

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Open Source Fundraising Alternatives