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I agree with Bob that there are good database systems out their for your purposes but there will always be some manually entry associated with adding each article, pamphlet or other scanned resource. Overall your needs sound like they fall into two categories of database systems: 1) Information management (or "knowlegde management") 2) People
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The category of software you're looking for is "Email Marketing." I would first look for a program that integrates with your donor management software so its easy to pass the contact information back and forth. Once you've selected the software comes the tougher part (in my opinion); sending a "good" eNewsletter. The pitfall
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The good news is your ED has made the goals clear: Fun, flashy, informative, easy to use and functional. The challenge is that your role is one of "website maintenance" yet achieving these goals relies partly on the website design (look-and-feel). The design is not the only factor, but it is an absolute necessity in the process. Assuming the
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Web/crm projects generally are pretty involved even if your needs are basic, so I would caution against planning on doing two so quickly. If you take some time today for a Discovery / Needs Analysis you can do a good job of planning for the future as well as meeting your immediate needs. Ideally you want today's solution to scale up rather than
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Hi Cheryl, What database does the foundation use for volunteer and donor information? If a database is already in use for this purpose, I would first suggest looking at expanding the use of this system for your needs. It will pay off when it comes time to communicate (newsletter, appeals, announcements, etc). If a system is not in use, consider speaking
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For constituent relationship management (in other words donors, volunteers, etc), look at Civicrm (www.civicrm.org) Besides being a good database it is web-based, comes with an email marketing system, and links with Joomla or Drupal for integration with your website. Its open source and therefore free other than the time to set-up (which can be relatively
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To the best of my knowledge PayPal doesn't allow for collecting additional information on their site. Doing so is standard though when using CRM solutions that "integrate" with PayPal like CiviCRM. Your donor enters the information you want prior to being sent to Paypal. After the contribution is completed, PayPal updates your CRM system
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What you need all depends on your fundraising strategy. Tools and technology are useful if they support the larger goals and objectives you have for your organization. In a general sense, most nonprofits want a website they can update, a donor database to manage supporter information and possibly email marketing software to help with communications
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I'm a technology consultant to nonprofits so clearly I'd be just as excited for that website but I don't think it exists. I would suggest that you post the RFP to various message boards such as nonprofit groups on LinkedIn, potential software providers forums and superhelpful nonprofit sites like TechSoup (oops - did I just give away my
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Some experts suggest the cost of technology projects are 10% for software and 90% for implementation and business process transformation (planning, refining / creating processes, implementation, training, etc). I've been involved with a few different technology companies and find the ratio to be closer to 1:3 to 1:5. Of course, if your software