For the benefit of those seeking a software solution for their organization,
we have done a bit of research into other programs and companies
that are available
for handling donations (and in some cases fundraising).
This page includes three sections:
We are not in any way endorsing any of these
products, or even offering an opinion about them. That's up to you.
(We'd like you to use the DONATION program if you find it suitable, of course!
We also hope you will read the page Why Choose DONATION?
before selecting a different program.)
If you are aware of other products that should be on this list, please
contact Cooperstock Software and give us that information.
Lists of Products
Charity Village Donor Management Software page and
Fundraising Software page
(Canadian). DONATION is listed on both of those pages.
NonProfitExpert.com Nonprofit Software page
DevelopPro.com Resources for
Fund Raising Professionals
Nuverb Systems's
comparison chart of programs for churches, including DONATION. (They make Donarius.)
TechSoup
TechFinder TechFinder is an online directory of suppliers of ICT goods and services to the non-profit, voluntary and community sectors. The directory lists suppliers and where they are located.
DONATION is listed in TechFinder
here.
Specific Products
Here are a few specific products, which may or may not be on the lists above.
In many cases, the following descriptions of the products are taken directly from their
web sites.
ebase is a free
database program for non-profits, with over 16,000 registered users
(as of Jan/2002).
It has a lot more features and capabilities than DONATION, and appears to
be suitable for much larger organizations than DONATION is. Correspondingly,
however,
it is significantly more complex to use and to learn to use. It says that it
works in Canada and the U.S.A.
Although it can record donations, as well as
a lot of other things that DONATION does not record, it seems that it would
be a bit of a struggle to get it to create numbered year-end charitable
receipts including all of a donor's donations during the year, which many
organizations like to use. (Numbered receipts are required in Canada.)
It has no problem sending out thank-you letters for individual
donations.
Donarius from Nuverb
Systems Inc. is a system for churches and charities.
As of 2007, it costs about $105 Canadian or $85 US.
There is an evaluation copy available to download. It is a Canadian company.
Nuverb Systems has also created a comparison chart of a number of Donation
Tracking Products, including their Donarius and my DONATION program. It's at
www.donarius.com/comparison.html.
Advanced Solutions International, Inc.
sells iMIS Fundraising and other iMIS products. It's a major fundraising package
for large organizations and charities.
eTapestry is fundraising software that
works on the web. It is free to use for up to 500 donors.
DonorPerfect sent the following
information:
DonorPerfect is available as both an installed package and an online,
browser-based application. Both versions are quite scalable and very flexible.
DonorPerfect is a bilingual product and is available in both French and
English. There is a Canadian version of the software that addresses Canadian
charity law and forms and can track USD or CAD.
DonorPerfect has a general and a
French-Canadian website.
A free demo CD can be requested from the general site.
Pricing varies, but there is (or, as of April 2005, will shortly be) a
subscription available for their online version for less than $100/month.
Their installed version starts at $1,200.
The Total Comms Database by Magimpact
is a system for the United Kingdom, that runs on (and requires)
Microsoft Access, and takes
care of both mail and email communications for small and medium charities. It
has add-on features for handling donations. The cost is £100
for the base package, and varying amounts for optional packages.
BasicFunder Premier is
a powerful and affordable, full-featured fundraising database program that you
can customize to meet the specific needs of your organization. It works for
both Canada and the U.S.A., and costs $249US, with an annual support fee of
$150US after the first year.
CiviCRM is
an open source and freely downloadable constituent relationship management
solution. CiviCRM is web-based, internationalized, and designed specifically
to meet the needs of advocacy, non-profit and non-governmental groups.
One component of CiviCRM is CiviContribute, for tracking contributions
(including charitable donations).
It does not currently have specific features for handling
Canadian receipts, but it is quite likely sufficient for U.S. receipts, where
the requirements are less strict.
Membership Plus from
QuickVerse is apparently the most commonly used church management software
system, according to Christian Computing Magazine's
2006
Church and Donor Management Software Overview (PDF). However, I have
to admit that I have
heard quite a lot of negative feedback about it from my users. One of the
problems seems to be that it has been sold from one company to another
more than once. You can read some customer reviews of it on
Amazon.com.
PerfectTablePlan is
used to create table seating plans for a variety of types of events,
including charity fundraisers.
Other Good Sites for Non-Profits
Tech Soup - "The Technology Place for
Nonprofits"
The Chronicle of Philanthropy - The
Newspaper of the Nonprofit World.
Christian Computing Magazine
- A free, monthly emailed magazine with articles, reviews and advertisements
related to computer software for churches, and other computer issues from a
Christian standpoint. They reviewed DONATION in their August 2007 issue.
Read that review as a PDF
here.
Solutions for Secretaries of Small NPO's is an interesting-looking book, together with a web site including
a discussion forum, for the secretaries and administrators of small non-profit
organizations (specifically in the USA). N.B. I haven't actually read the book, but I did look at the table of contents and a sample chapter. It includes a
free Microsoft Access application (which requires Access) for tracking members
and donations.
RB Media Services provides CD
and DVD duplication services. (I use them for creating and mailing out
DONATION CDs.)
Canadian Web Sites
CanadaHelps.org accepts online
donations for almost all Canadian charities, and issues electronic receipts
Charities can register for free to receive better services and listings.
A credit card transaction fee (3% as of July, 2006) is deducted
from donations (it is paid directly to the credit card companies, not kept by
CanadaHelps.org). CanadaHelps.org is itself a charity.
CharityVillage.com is a major
general website for the Canadian nonprofit sector. It contains news, jobs,
information and resources for executives, staffers, donors, and volunteers.
Church
Treasurers of Canada Inc. assists treasurers, bookkeepers and financial
administrators of churches and ministries as they deal with the unique
problems of their position. The website provides plenty of free information,
while those who purchase a membership have additional benefits including access
to the Member's Only page and receiving individual attention to their specific
questions. They regularly recommend my DONATION program.
WorkInNonProfits.ca aims to help
build and strengthen Canada's non-profit sector by connecting non-profits
across the country with job seekers as well as suppliers of services and
products.
