Fundraising Software Comparison Chart
Download Fundraising Software Comparison Chart here. |
Ever since databases became the way to keep track of donor information,
people have been asking us “What is the best software?” By “best” they
generally meant cheap, easy to use, able to sort through
donors and tell you which one was most likely to make
a large gift that day, required no maintenance, and would never go out
of date and need to be upgraded! Well, we don’t know such a program,
and hope readers will tell us if they ever find such a thing.
We
have been asked this question so frequently, we finally
decided to create a comparison chart of the databases that we know are
most in use by grassroots organizations. For those of you who are brand
new to the world of fundraising databases, this chart gives you a place
to start, because you can quickly see what features and functions you
might want to look for in good donor management software. The items included on this chart are some
of the features that many grassroots organizations have found that they
needed. If you don't know what a particular feature is, ask about it
to find out if it is something that you might need.
We
know that as soon as we put it on our site, something
about it will be out of date, as the software business changes every
day. This is not a complete review of all fundraising software, but rather
takes popular, and for the most part, most affordable, software packages
and looks at their similarities and differences.
Please
note that some features such as “Password Protection”, “Volunteer
Management” and “Event Tracking” cannot be adequately
explained in a format like this. For example, “Password Protection” can
be as simple as requiring a password to enter any part of the database
to as complex as having different levels of security that allow some
people to access names and contact information of donors, but not to
their giving history. We encourage you to give feedback on this
chart, and from time to time, we will revise and update it. We strongly
recommend that you do not make a selection based solely on this
chart: instead use the information provided here to determine what
you most need from software, and which company might be able to provide
it, and then visit their website and call their salespeople. Ask people
who are using any of the software you’re considering to find out
what they like and don’t like about the program.
Remember,
there are many variables in choosing software. Price
is an important one. However, remember that the base price of a software
package may be very affordable, but by the time you add the modules you
need, train the people who will be using the software, and pay for technical
support, you can spend a lot more money.
We
hope this chart gives you a good place to start your
research for a fundraising database that meets your needs. The chart
was put together by Amanda Ballard, and we owe her an enormous debt of
gratitude as none of us realized how complicated something like this
was going to be.
Download Fundraising Software Comparison Chart here.
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