Still making due with a Microsoft Access database? Or perhaps even with just a plethora of excel spreadsheets? Perhaps it’s time to invest in a decent customer relations management system (CRM) – or rather a database for all of us non-techies out there. From FundRaising Success’ Educational Webinar Series, I give you ten common mistakes nonprofits make when selecting a database:
1. Letting techies make the decision.
2. Wishful budgeting.
3. Prioritizing price above everything.
4. Randomly looking at demos.
5. Falling in love with cool features.
6. Falling in love with the salesperson.
7. Buying more than you need.
8. Confusing highly functional software with highly trained staff.
9. Hoping the database will install itself.
10. Leaving the database to fend for itself.
Atlas previously used ETapestry and currently uses DonorPerfect for its donor contacts. One unforeseen consequence of choosing DonorPerfect, however, was that it charges you according to how many contacts you have. Since Atlas is a networking organization and we were trying to manage ALL contacts with one system, this quickly became cost-prohibitive. Atlas is currently transferring all non-donor contacts to Salesforce which offers free CRM to all registered 501(c)3s. While no one at Atlas could be considered a database expert, we would be happy to share our experiences with the above products.
For more on this topic, you can register for a webinar via Fundraising Success, but it does cost $65.
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