Email systems are the lifeblood of non-profit organizations. You use them to solicit donations, make announcements, alert the public to special events, or rouse constituents to action. And one of the most critical decisions you make is whether to own your own or subscribe to a hosting service from a third-party email provider. Read more...

With the increasing availability of Web-based fundraising software, also known as software as a service (SaaS), non-profit groups now have the option of paying a monthly fee to use fundraising software rather than having to purchase the software and install it, maintain it, and support it themselves.

"We don't have an IT department, and we can't afford to hire someone to take care of our software," says Donna Salacuse, donations manager for Voice of the Faithful, a Catholic lay organization based in Newton, Massachusetts. Previously, before installing DonorPerfect Online, the fundraising database had been written in Microsoft Access, "and we had constant problems backing up the server. We decided we really needed to move to the online hosted application." Read more...

Standalone donor databases are on their way out, integrated Web-based services on their way in.

Fundraising is one of the most important things you do. Yet finding the right software to adequately support all aspects of your fundraising efforts can be a challenge—and bewildering—especially with recent developments in that particular technology niche.

Formerly dominated by large standalone donor databases, the fundraising software space has been undergoing a swift evolution in recent years. New integrated packages that provide a broader range of functionality are coming into their own. And customer relationship management (CRM) packages are gaining popularity due to their ability to provide a more holistic view of all the individuals who might be touched by the fundraising process—no matter how tangentially. Read more...