Joined on 10-25-2004
TechSoup Member
I am currently searching for fundraising software that is compatible with Macintosh operating system, I mainly need
software that has donortracking capabilities, and offers assistance with bulk mail (mail merge). I'v researched, donorperfect, giftmaker pro, and blackbaud's RaiserEdge. Are there any other out there? The software should also be user friendly, for a database of 10,000.
Raiser's Edge is very nice, but a bit on the expensive side. I'm not sure of its compatibility with OS X, but I've never had to check.
Joe-Joe,
Many donor databases that don't run on a Mac will still work if you use them via a Citrix server (you can also try Windows emulation software or hardware, but performance is often a problem). Raiser's Edge, cited in the previous posting, is one of them -- they don't have a native Mac version.
Here are some databases that have native Mac versions. I don't know whether they run on OS X specifically, though.
GiftMaker Pro
http://www.campagne.com/nonprofit/software/giftmakerpro.html
DonorPerfect Online (their ASP product) www.softerware.com
FUNDimensions
www.fundimensions.com
MacTRAC
http://www.telosa.com/products/mactrac/index.html
(if they are still selling it)
inResonance Generations
http://www.inresonance.com/is/is_geninfo.html
StarSoft Studio: DonorWorks and ChurchWorks
http://www.starsoft.com
Compton Campaign
http://www.comptoninternational.com
(if they are still selling it)
FundRaise http://www.deepscreen.com/custom/fraise.html
These are not recommendations -- you'll need to evaluate the usability and features of these systems.
Also, most though not all, ASP databases and PC databases with a web client will work with a Mac. It depends on how they wrote their web interface.
Robert
If you've already got filemaker pro, look at ebase, http://www.ebase.org and Filemaker's own Donations application: http://www.filemaker.com/applications/donations_home.html
Like Rob's these are info referals, not recommendations.
Joined on 06-08-2005
TechSoup Member
Beware folks - after January 2006, DO NOT INVEST in any fundraising software that claims to work in OS X "Classic" mode. Moving forward, Apple will no longer be selling computers using the PPC processors that allow OS X to run the Classic environment. This means that your investment will only last the lifetime of the PPC (AKA G3, G4, or G5) computer on which it is running.
Apple is officially switching to the Intel chips in its computers, and new versions of OS X designed to work on these systems (from January 2006 onward) will NOT support Classic. Apple has no plans to support Classic on its Intel-based machines, and their technology called Rosetta (designed to run PPC G3/G4/G5 applications on Intel-based Apples) will not support any version of Classic or OS 9 or the applications that require Classic/OS 9. There will be no support for applications in OS X that require the Classic environment on any Intel-based Apple computer, there never will be. Classic/OS 9 will not run on Intel-based Mac computers (currently, the iMac, MacBook, MacBook Pro), and therefore programs designed for it will not either.
What this all means is that companies hawking fundraising software that they claim will work fine under OS X using the Classic environment are doing you a dis-service. Unless they can assure you they have made a version of their program that installs using what Apple calls Universal Binaries under OS X, they're ripping you off. There's at least two on the list above (Compton and Telosa) that still currently sell software for OS X using Classic that will not run on the January 2006 and beyond Apple Mac computers using Intel chips.
Joined on 02-03-2006
TechSoup Member
DonorPro from TowerCare Technologies runs on Macintosh, Windows, and Linux.
ARCARC - are you familiar with the Java programming language? You are correct that native (non-Java) Mac programs will have to convert to support the Intel-based version of Mac, but Java programs do not. Java programs will run on the pre Intel and Intel versions. Anybody wanting more information can contact me at dwhaley@towercare.com. This is not a commercial plug. I simply want to correct the misinformation that was posted in this thread, and would enjoy talking about the benefits of Java with anyone - especially those seeking robust, secure alternatives to Microsoft-only products.
Thanks for the invite. All the Java programs I've seen run slow if compared to Microsoft’s programs written for .Net framework. They both seem to suffer from stability, but I seem to run into more problems with Java programs.
Joined on 02-03-2006
TechSoup Member
I don't want to turn this into a long thread so I'll just make one more point. Any language - Java, C#, VB, C++, COBOL, etc. - will run slow if the program was poorly designed. Well designed Java apps run as fast or faster than native programs because of dynamic runtime optimizations. I suspect you've seen some poorly designed Java programs.
Joined on 03-02-2005
TechSoup Member
I've been using Filemaker Donations for about 2 months now (OS X 10.4) and it's been fine. It is a fairly advanced pre-built Filemaker that you can customize (assuming you own Filemaker).
For basic donation and donor tracking it's great. It is the best thing I have found for use on the Mac. The interface is pretty easy to navigate and you can plug directly into MS Office to run mail merge, export to Excel or print labels and such directly from Filemaker.
By default you can network up to 5 users with the basic verson, if you need more than that you'd need to buy Filemaker Server (and have a server).
Unfortunately, you can't preview the application because it's simply a filemaker database that has been pre-built. It's pretty inexpensive (as databases go) and if for some reason you buy it and don't like it, I believe you can return it (but you should check first).
Good luck!
UPDATE
I've been using it for about a year now and have a list of things I like (and things I don't). Please feel free to email me if you're considering purchasing Donations. Also there is a small (but growing) Users group at:
Filemaker Donations Users Group
Ben Wright
ENCOMPASS
benwright@encompass.org
Joined on 06-08-2005
TechSoup Member
dard - I am specifically referencing programs that are made to run in OS X's "Classic" environment. Java is not the same as the Classic environment, although whether or not OS9 supports the latest release of Java I don't know. You are correct in that Java is cross-platform compatible, however, it also runs native in OS X and shouldn't be an issue. My point here is that any program that at this time requires OS9 (aka "Classic" under OS X) to run is being marketed irresponsibly.
less42 - I'd be interested in hearing more about your experiences with Filemaker Donations (Requires FileMaker 7 or later, yes?). Can you say at all how it stacks up against Blackbaud or other fundraising software you've used.
Joined on 01-29-2004
TechSoup Member
Hi Folks,
I'm starting to see folks using salesforce for this job. That way it's accessible accross platforms, is hugely functional, very secure, and so on.
Any experience with this?
Best,
Steve
Joined on 06-08-2005
TechSoup Member
We're looking in to that as well. They have a nonprofit template for the DB (enterprise level, which is nice), and it's free for up to 10 users for 501(c)3 nonprofits. You can sign up and play around with it through the SalesForce Foundation.
Nice folks, and I know they're doing a big push into the nonprofit world. So far though, it strikes me that there's still a lot of customization required on top of their template to really make it useful. Not sure how much of a DIY project creating a fully functional DB with them at this time would be, the job might require a consultant more intimately familiar with their platform.
To their credit, I haven't heard any horror stories, but then again, they've only really emerged as a player in the past couple years.
Joined on 03-21-2006
TechSoup Member
Joe -
I know its been quite a while since you initially posted - but I wanted to let you know that DonorPerfect Online is compatable with Mac OS 10.
In fact - since DonorPerfect Online is a web-hosted program, all you need to access its user friendly interface is a web connection and a web browser.
You can learn more about DonorPerfect Online's features and tools here :
DonorPerfect Online Fundraising Software
I also noticed that you looked into both Giftmaker Proand Raiser's Edge. If you have not already heard, Blackbaud (makers of RE) recently acquired Campagne Associates (makers of GMP). Find the complete press release here :
YAHOO FINANCE
If you are interested in learning more about that buyout, you might also want to check out this satire video :
(LINK REMOVED BY ADMIN AT THE REQUEST OF SEVERAL MEMBERS)
Joined on 10-18-2005
TechSoup Member
We are just getting started with Salesforce now. Our donation account went into effect this week, and I'm working to set it all up for our needs.
Our main fundraising software is
GetActive which works just fine in Firefox 1.5 on Mac OS X (I work on both Mac & PC). The only thing that requires IE 6 is the HTML editor, but I tend to write my pages in Dreamweaver and then cut & paste them in.
We are going to be using Salesforce solely as a CRM, importing transaction data from GetActive.
Joined on 08-01-2002
TechSoup Member
We're considering a purchase of FundDimensions software (www.fundimensions.com). Have any of you worked with this product? We'd appreciate feedback and/or references if you have. The company is developing a new version of the software but the current one appears to work well with my Intel-chip Mac.