Software for non profit websites

CMS vs CRM

The tracking of memberships and contacts' details, the management of mailing lists and the creation and sending of mailings are all functions commonly associated with Customer Relationship Management (CRM) systems. Nowadays, some CRM systems are venturing onto the web, allowing hosted solutions which are accessible from any internet connection. For a small organisation which may not have a permanent office, for example, or whose board/volunteers are scattered occross the country, such an arrangement is ideal.

The other cited functions such as a moderated dicussion board and the easy creation and update of content are more the domain of Content Management Systems (CMS). The challenge then is to find a solution which allows for the integration of a CRM system with your website's content management system.

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Hosted Solutions

Aweber is a hosted mail management solution, claiming lots of neat features. It is not, however, your own website and does not include for items such as discussion forums, nor expansion. Also, as a hosted service, you are not in complete control: you only have access to that which you are given by the service provider.

Salesforce.com is another hosted solution. This is a full blown commercial CRM solution, widely used in industry. It comes with a substantial annual ticket price, however the Salesforce Foundation give away licences every year to registered charities for free. As with Aweber, this hosted solution offers you a service, but is not your own website, so you do not have the freedom associated therewith to extend and modify your site.

Open Source CRM for Non Profits

There is an online, open source CRM solution called CiviCRM which was developed in America specifically for non-profit organisations - unlike most CRMs, which are aimed at sales-type companies. CiviCRM is the single most popular CRM system in America for non-profits and is completely free to download and use. It must be installed on a web server, so is accessible from anywhere, and it integrates with two popular opensource website frameworks: Joomla and Drupal . Both of these allow for the construction of dynamic and extensible content managed sites. They are both free, both have living developer communities who create extensions and add-ons for them and are widely used. ICTpoint, for example is built on the Joomla framework, whereas fundingpoint (coming July 2008) is built using Drupal. Joomla is reputedly easier to make work straight out of the box, however Drupal is more customisable. Really, it a matter of personal preference. Both have extensions which include discussion forums, e.g. FireBoard.

CiviCRM will manage memberships, financial contributions, mailing lists, contact details, interactions and is extensible and customisable, e.g. custom searches, custom data collection.

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Making it work

However, with any of these solutions, the real challenge and effort is not in getting the software: that's usually free, or close to free. Even getting a dynamic site hosted need not cost much (from about 100-1000 euro, depending on what you need). The real challenge is in getting the organisation to use the system: to embrace it, to use it as the organisation's single, reliable, accessible point of information storage. Staff must be educated in the benefits of the system, and trained in how to use it, and more importantly, how to enter quality data into it. Everyone in the organisation must buy into the idea, or the implementatin of such a system is destined to fail.

There is a trade-off to be made when selecting a solution for your website. You will need something that suits your needs and which makes it simple to update your site. However, something which is simple to update may not be simple to install and configure, e.g. Joomla/Drupal. On the other hand, something instant and easy like Wordpress may not meet all of your requirements, e.g. CRM. Whatever you choose to do regarding CRM/CMS and your web presence, take onboard the experience of a professional to help you. They may just see the pitfalls that you can't.

Software for non profit websites

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