After talking about tools like content management systems (CMS), customer relations management (CRM) software, bulk emailers, social networks, web forms, and a bunch of other tools here on ReadyMadeWeb, it seemed like it was time to do an overview of these tools and outline how to run an entire organization using only ReadyMade tools.
SalesForce.com Foundation
For a small non-profit, it’s impossible to beat SalesForce.com at a customer relations management (CRM) solution. Through SalesForce.com Foundation, this revolutionary web-based database is available for up to 10 users at absolutely no cost and additional users can be added at incredibly discounted rates. SalesForce.com comes with all the advantages web-based software like enhanced security, managed backup, accessibility from any web browser, and SalesForce.com is regularly updated three times per year—updates which require no involvement from customers and are guaranteed never to break customizations.
SalesForce.com serves as the central database for non-profits in the public policy world like the Charles G. Koch Foundation, the Atlas Foundation, and International Policy Network. The Center for American Progress has described its deployment of SalesForce.com as “outrageously successful.”
Price: $0 for up to 10 users.
Google Apps Standard Edition
Many non-profits may resist the notion of switching to Google Apps because its productivity software—Docs & Spreadsheets—lacks many of the features that Microsoft’s Office suite contains. However, a transition to Google Apps doesn’t have to be an all-or-nothing proposal. Adopting Google Apps to replace your Microsoft Exchange email server can save your organization a heap of cash without having to abandon your Microsoft Office desktop-based applications.
The primary reason to switch from Exchange to Google Apps is price. In January, I wrote a head-to-head comparison of Exchange & Google Apps which noted a study showing that adopting Google Apps Premium could cut the average company’s email hosting costs by about 65% when compared to Microsoft Exchange and by about 55% when compared with Microsoft’s own cloud-based email service.
But the premium addition of Google’s email offering is likely overkill more most non-profits. Google Apps Standard Edition offers a whopping 7.4GB per inbox, offers full POP3 and IMAP email compatibility, and boasts bevy of free applications for the Blackberry, iPhone, and Android.
Finally, Google Apps integrates seamlessly with SalesForce, allowing you to instantly add notes to customer contact records whenever you send an email. No more clunky copy/paste needed!
Price: $0 for unlimited users.
WordPress & Drupal
Your website needs to be flexible keep up with the pace of technology. That’s the primary reason why ReadyMadeWeb recommend WordPress and Drupal, the only self-hosted CMS solutions used in our portfolio.
According to Water & Stone’s 2009 Open-Source CMS Report, Drupal and WordPress weekly downloads clock in at 62,500 and 433,767 respectively, making them gargantuan in comparison to their competitors. These thriving communities of users and developers are the driving forces behind the flexibility of these platforms.
As both WordPress and Drupal are open-source, additions to the projects are also shared amongst the community of users. This means that rather than paying a developer to add social networking features to your website—a job that could cost tens of thousands of dollars on a proprietary platform—you can pay a developer to simply implement one of the many freely available add-ons that’s just sitting on the (virtual) shelf.
Too many non-profits are spending their donors hard-earned money making web design companies rich when they could be embracing open-source solutions.
Price: $0 for either software package.
Google Analytics
Google Analytics integrates with Drupal and WordPress to measure your website’s performance and also integrates with SalesForce and MailChimp to track customer conversion rates and traffic from email campaigns.
Price: $0
MailChimp
Once you have people interested in your cause, you need to stay on their radar. You can keep that presence of mind by sending regular emails updating your supporters, contacts in the media, and colleagues at other organizations. Using a bulk email solutions like MailChimp will ensure that your emails aren’t blocked by spam filters and will also allow you to measure how frequently your emails are opened and what links your recipients are clicking on.
MailChimp also features out-of-the-box integration with Google Apps and SalesFoce, allowing you populate lists with the contacts you’ve gathered using either platform.
Price: $0 per month for up to 500 subscribers. Pay plans vary from $10 for to $240 per month based on your number of subscribers.
FormSpring FormStack
To easily gather information about donors, process donations, and automatically populate your database and email lists, check out FormSpring. SalesForce, MailChimp, and Google Apps integrations make this web form creation service a no-brainer for non-profits following the ReadyMadeWeb approach to web software.
Price: $0 for up to 10 forms and 50 sign-ups a month. Pay plans vary from $14 to $159 per month based on number of forms and entries.
Update 6/7/2010: FormSpring has changed its name to FormStack.
There are all sorts of other great ReadyMade services and open-source software platforms out there that also integrate with many of the platforms we’ve talked about here. Keep reading ReadyMadeWeb to learn about more and feel free to email us at info@readymadeweb.com if you ever want advice choosing the right solutions form your non-profit. We’re glad to help.
Cord is the director of new media at the Mercatus Center at George Mason University. He has been a web developer for over a decade, working with non-profits to rein in their web development costs and grow their online audiences through simple best practices.
