In our last article (available here if you missed it) we looked at how to keep the right side of spam laws so that your domains don’t end up on blacklists resulting in your emails being blocked.

This time round we take a look at the most common methods available to send out “bulk” emails,  i.e.  emails to many recipients (like newsletters and appeals) as opposed to just a few recipients. 

There are three major ways of sending out bulk emails:

• Via your own email client (like Outlook) – either by placing all recipients in the BCC field or by using an email distribution list
   
• Via  a program specifically designed for sending bulk emails that is installed on a PC or server at your offices
   
• Via a specialist bulk email sending company like AWeber, Constant Contact or Sign-Up.to

All have pros and cons.  Here are some of the key ones and our personal advice on where you can benefit – or slip up – using each of them.

Your own email client

Pros:

• It’s immediately available – probably already running on your desktop, so nothing more to pay.
   
• You already know how to use it.

Cons:

• It is incredibly easy to make a mistake and put recipient addressed in the To or CC field of the email – meaning that every recipients email address is sent to every person and your organisation has instantly breached both UK Data Protection laws and spam laws in every continent!
   
• You need to remember to put in the legal “stuff” (like registered addresses and unsubscription links) in to each email.
   
• You need to manage subscribe and unsubscribe requests yourself.
   
• Emails to more than a few recipients are likely to get blocked by the spam filters on your local PC or your email server.
   
• The sudden volume of outbound emails may be a lot for your email server to handle all at one time, resulting in other day-to-day emails being delayed while you server works to handle your mailing.
   
• If you mess anything up and your email domain gets onto any spam blacklists, you may well stop all email from your organisation from getting through and bring email communication to a total halt until you can get your organisations email server de-listed.
  Even if you do it perfectly, someone can still report you for spam and it will be up to you to prove your innocence.   In the world of spam blacklisting you are sadly often deemed guilty until proven innocent!
   
• You will need to understand what all the non-delivery reports you get back mean in order to manage re-sends and mail list removals.
  If you don’t know the difference between a “hard bounce” and a “soft bounce” – and their error codes – and what you need to do if you get one or more of each type to an email address within a certain time period to keep on the right-side of spam laws, then this probably isn’t the right solution for you!

Our view:

We wouldn’t recommend this unless you only have a few (under 50) subscribers and really understand what you are doing when it comes to email legalities and email delivery and error report codes.
 

Dedicated bulk email program on your PC

Pros:

• They are relatively cheap to buy and you don’t have many (if any) further costs.
   
• They are relatively easy to use and many provide additional features – to help you design good looking emails for example or to automatically add the “legal” bits for example.

Cons:

• Most of the disadvantages listed above for personal email clients (other than the first one).
   
• By default, most use their own email server software to send and track emails, so you need to make sure that any anti-spam settings on your outward server (or even possibly your ISP) are configured to expect bulk emails from it.
   
• Not all of them are particularly accurate at tracking whether emails have reached their destination or not. As well as messing up your statistics, this can lead to you re-sending emails that were incorrectly reported as not having gone through but really had done – leading to subscribers receiving multiple copies which at best will annoy them and at worst may see you being incorrectly reported as a spammer.
   
• If your email recipients are split over several lists, not all of them are able to flag up duplicate sends where the same email address it in multiple lists – which means that subscribers receive multiple copies, with the same results as above.
   

Our view:

This can be a cheap and effective solution.  But you really understand what you are doing when it comes to email legalities and email delivery and error report codes.  If a paid member of staff is handling this, don’t forget to take into consideration the cost of their time learning and administering the program into account – these “hidden” ongoing costs can mean that this isn’t always the cheap and easy solution it appears to be.

Specialist bulk email sending company

Pros:

• They handle all the “legal bits” for you – all you need to worry about is the content!
   
• They have their own email deliver servers, which are specially designed to handle large volumes of emails quickly and efficiently.
   
• Most provide easy to use software for designing your emails as part of the package.
   
• Some include special checking software that you can run to ensure that your email isn’t likely to fall foul of spam filters or other reasons for non-delivery.
   
• Their software automatically handles subscribe and unsubscribe requests for you.
   
• Most provide extra email features like auto-responders that allow follow-up messages to be scheduled and sent automatically.
   
• Some include integration to other information delivery methods such as Twitter and Facebook, allowing you to reach donors and supporters in many different mediums via one single place.
   
• Most include tracking and analytical tools that enable you to quickly and easy monitor deliver and read rates – and report and analyse trends over time or a particular campaign.
   
• If anyone should make a spam complaint about one of your emails sent using one of these services, the company will help sort things out.  And in the meantime, your own organisations day-to-day email won’t be affected.
   

Cons:

• Some offer low price (or free) trials for low subscriber numbers and/or time periods, but after that you will need to pay a monthly or yearly charge which depending on your subscriber numbers (and how often you mail then) can be significant – so costs can mount up unexpectedly if you don’t keep an eye on numbers.
   
• In order to ensure that they stay on the right side of spam legislation (and don’t have their other customers emails blocked) most impose restrictions on the methods by which you can add subscribers.  Though uploading your existing subscriber-base should be no problem, many require that new subscribers are added using “double opt-in” and some specifically ban you from using emails from purchased marketing email lists.
   
• Your subscriber data (email name at minimum) needs to be stored on their servers, so you (or subscribers) may have concerns about privacy or data confidentiality.  In practice this isn’t normally a real problem at all (all the specialist companies have tight security procedures) but there may be a perceived risk.  And if you are using a company whose servers are not based in the UK, you may need to check (and possibly amend) your own organisations published privacy policy.
   
• You are not totally in control of the whole email delivery mechanism – which some organisation may not be comfortable with.  Also subscribers may worry that their email address has been shared with others if  they see a mention of another organisation at the end of your emails (like the Sign-Up.to one at the end of our newsletters) or when subscribing or unsubscribing.  In practice, most internet users are well used to this concept and unworried by it, but if your subscriber base is more conservative or less “internet savvy” then you might need to give them extra reassurance.
   

Our view:

If you have thousands of subscribers, this probably the only practical solution unless you want to employ (or train to be) an email delivery specialist and your email servers really have the capacity to handle the huge volume of email. 

If you have fewer subscribers, you need to balance the benefits against the costs.  Make  sure you take into account not only the time spent sending the emails, but the measured risk to your organisation if you did end up on a spam blacklist – and the time and effort to get off it, which after having to do this for other organisations ourselves we can vouch can be a painful and costly process and one which is best avoided!

Though we are IT specialists and a lot of our time is spent working with email delivery in some shape form (so we do have some level of expertise in this area), this is the solution we choose to use ourselves.  Even though our mailing list is pretty tiny compared to some of the organisations we work with, we still find that outsourcing this part of our communication to an outside specialist organisation saves us time and money overall.

In the last post we highlighted the problems you can face if your mailbox grows too big and how to check if it is about to explode. 

This time we cover two key ways in which you can keep your mail files down to a manageable size – without resorting to mass deletion of emails you would really like to keep.  Again these solutions are only applicable if your emails get delivered to personal mail files – if your mail stays on the server then other solutions will be required.  If you are not sure, then ask your system administrator – or us!

Each of the methods we suggest has its own advantages and disadvantages. Opinion on which one is best is divided – even amongst the Charity Solutions team.  You will need to pick the one that you think will work best for you and best matches any data handling procedures your organisation has in place.  If you don’t like it, you can always change later – but the main thing is to do something now - before your mailbox explodes!

Archiving

The first method is archiving.  This is automated process where Outlook automatically moves mails over a certain age into a separate folder. You need to set it up but after that it basically runs by itself without intervention.

The advantages of this method are that once it is set up you don’t need to worry about it (Outlook does it automatically) and that the process happens relatively seamlessly and you should not notice any appreciable loss in speed while it takes place.

The main disadvantage of archiving is that it your mails are split over two or more areas, so if you are hunting for a specific mail message you’ll need to look in more than one place.

If you use archiving it is still important that you check the archive size once in a while to make sure it hasn’t grown too big. Archive files are no different to any other type of mail file and they can explode just as easily if not monitored and kept in check. In order to avoid your archive file growing out control we suggest that you create and use a new one each year.

Multiple PST files

The other main way of dealing with mail is to work on a divide and conquer principle and split all your emails over several PST files.  Outlook allows you to use and view multiple PST files at any time – you are not limited to just one.

This means that you can store all emails relative to a particular subject together – for example all mails to and from a particular supplier or about a particular project.  You can even set up rules within Outlook to automatically file mails into the correct areas.  This means that (providing you remember the theory you used to file it!) you can easily track down a specific mail regardless of when you received it.

This total control of where emails end up is probably the biggest advantage of the multiple PST file approach.  The main disadvantage is probably that the process isn’t automatic – but whether that really is a disadvantage probably depends on how you like to work and organise your emails.

With this method you will still have to keep an eye on the size of your PST files, but by dividing your mail like this you got much better control and it’s far less likely that your email PST files will exceed the 2GB limit.

A large number of the support calls we receive relate to problems with over-sized Outlook personal folders – which if left unfixed can lead to major problems using Outlook and loss of stored messages.

Logging in to your Outlook to be either confronted with warning messages or, worse still, corrupted data files or missing emails, is something that can strike terror into anyone.

In this post we look at the single most important check you can make to help avoid this happening  to you – and (in our next post) what to do if the warnings are already there.  It is based on Microsoft Outlook, but a lot of the information holds true for other email clients too – though the ways of doing things will of course we different.

Also, the information below applies only if you download your email messages into local files rather than keeping them all on the mail server.  If you don’t know which applies in your case, then please ask whoever deals with your IT internally.  Or us!

First of all, let’s identify the number one cause of these problems – and how to check if you might be affected.

Outlook can only cope with Data Files (Personal Folders and Archive files) up to a certain size.
…. if they are bigger, then it is a case of when (not if) disaster will occur

• If the files have been created in the newer format (not 97-2002 compatible) using the most recent version of Outlook (2007) or the most recent Service Packed version of Outlook 2003 (SP3 or above) then you can have files up to 20GB
• If any of the files were created in an earlier version, even if you are using the most recent version now, the absolute maximum size of any file is 2GB.  In practice any file over 1.8GB is highly likely to cause problems soon (if it hasn’t already) so you should take steps now to reduce it.

If you are not 100% sure which version of Outlook you have, then the easiest way to find out is to click on Help -> About Microsoft Outlook.  The window that pops up will tell you the version (and Service Pack) you are running.

But unless you have only recently created your Outlook profile and files from scratch, there is a fair chance that you may be working with files created with the older restrictions – so unless you are 100% sure, stick to the 1.8GB limit.

To find out what size your Outlook data files are:

• Look at the file size by browsing to the area(s) where they are stored in My Computer

or

• Right-Click on the top level of the folder in the left-hand Outlook pane
  Choose Properties
  Click on the Folder Size button and wait for your machine to count up the total

If you are not used to checking computer file sizes, the number of digits can get a bit confusing – let alone working out how many KB or MB in a GB!

Normally the results are displayed in KB.  If your file size is less than 1 800 000 KB (add another 0 to this if you are sure you are using files created in the latest version) then you should be ok for now.  But if it is close to or more than that, you need to take action immediately if you are to avoid huge problems later.

And remember, if you have more than one data file (including archive files) you will need to check each one separately.

And if any of your files are to big, what do you do next?

First of all make sure that you have deleted anything in your Deleted Items folder – unless your Outlook is set up to do this automatically on exit (which by default it isn’t) then there may be hundreds of files in there.

But there are other more long-term ways of re-arranging how your email files are stored to keep the folder sizes down.  We will cover some of the most common options next time.

Any comments or queries … or suggestions for follow up topics that you would like us to cover? Just leave a comment or contact us (details on the About Us page) and we will do our best to help.

Have you ever taken work home on a disk or CD and discovered that your documents didn’t survive the transition from the hard drive? Ever been away from the office and wished you could get at your computer for just a second to access client details or other important information?

Being able to work from home in comfortable surroundings or having the ability to access your work computer files while away from the office used to be an expensive luxury not within easy reach of your typical small organisation. However, many organisations, large and small, now can have some form or another of remote access to their network without having to break the bank.

Simply put, remote access is a service that provides access to information and applications on your network from locations other than your normal place of work.

Many technologies are on the market to enable this kind of access, including:

• Software – either included with operating system or purchased separately
• Web-based applications
• Blackberries
• Personal Digital Assistants (PDAs)

Over the next few blogs we shall be looking at the pros and cons of various types of remote access available and which ones are potentially the most beneficial to organisations without huge IT resources or budgets.

Todays workplaces are faced with challenges every day because of the introduction of new technologies. It can be difficult to keep up with the steady stream of new advances and even trickier to know which ones could, with correct usage, make your office life easier.

Take Skype for example. Skype – and other similar services such as Gizmo – allow users to make telephone calls over the internet to other users of the same service free of charge. This communication method has its benefits although there are a few potential downsides that you need to consider as well.

Services such as Skype are fast gaining in popularity. Calling between computers both using the chosen service is completely free, obviously an appealing feature to many people. Most of the services also offer the ability to call “normal” telephone numbers (mobile or land lines) at fairly competitive rates – often really competitive for international calls. Some providers also provide an additional service that (for a monthly or yearly fee) provides you with an incoming phone number. This is a fantastic way to get a number in (depending on the provider) the town or country you want – giving you a pseudo-presence there and making it cheaper for you colleagues, or supporters in that area to call you.

However, though the services are generally reliable, we would not advise relying on them as your only method of telephony – incoming or outgoing. If the service does fail (as happened for several days last year to many SkypeIn users for example) you will be left without any method of telephone contact – which not only will cause major inconvenience but does little for your professional profile.

According to the majority of users the audio is generally superb but the big question is really is it secure to use in an office environment? Each provider will have their own individual security features, so let’s take Skype as an example.

When calling Skype to Skype the calls are strongly encrypted so therefore at the higher end in the security stakes compared to other things that use the internet. If using Skype to call to mobile or landlines however, the calls are only encrypted for the Skype portion and not when they hit the public domain. This is fine if you have offices dotted about the country, or world, and you can implement a company-wide policy of Skype usage between offices, but if you are a smaller organisation mainly communicating with customers using a regular landline/mobile service you cannot guarantee the complete security of the conversations. This is not to say that using Skype is more of a threat to charities than other ‘techie’ tools, such as email, but because Skype is newer the vulnerabilities may not be as well known.

Compliance and protection of information within organisations is also a hot topic these days. Organisations need not only to know what information is entering and leaving the office but also to log and archive it as well. It is difficult for third party applications (ie monitoring tools) to interface with Skype. This makes it very difficult to know exactly what information is entering or leaving the organisation. Sensitive information could be passed on with no way of tracking where and from whom it originated.

Perhaps the answer is not to ban Skype flat-out but if you are going to consider its use, then control it – as you do with email. Policies on acceptable usage, such as no file transfers, and cautions against using it for sensitive communications, should be written and enforced.

Any comments, queries or suggestions for follow up topics that you would like us to cover? Just leave a comment or contact us (details on the About Us page) and we will do our best to help.

We have received a question about using Instant Messaging services (such as AIM, Yahoo, MSN Messenger & Skype Chat) in the office: “Is it safe to allow our employees to do this, what are the benefits and what are the dangers?”

This is a pretty complex subject for a single blog entry – and as with anything to do with security and technology, things are changing all the time – but here are some pointers for you to consider when making your decision.

IM can be handy as a means to communicate very quickly when situations require. The ‘real time’ aspect of messaging is appealing to many as it can save huge amounts of time if you require advice or an opinion in a hurry – without the cost of a telephone call. You can’t get faster than instant!   Also, as most IM software is available as a free download so it’s unarguably a cost-effective communication tool.

But, it is also undeniably an easy way for people to chat about non-work related subjects, or even moan about work in general. It’s not really the done thing in offices these days for people to sit at their desk and chat on the phone to friends. However, chatting on IM is a means for people to do the same thing without getting caught. Co-workers and supervisors may assume the person was discussing serious work matters but in practice it could actually be plans for the weekend or the latest episode of EastEnders!

It may be quick and convenient but is it secure? Different IM applications use different protocols and standard firewalls may not block or detect them. Some IM clients can use ports other than those associated with IM even commonly open ports such as 80 (normally associated with web browsing).

IM programs such as AIM, Yahoo and MSN Messenger pose additional possible security issues. These programs often allow more than just chat: they allow file transfers as well. Not only could users send documents – a recent study revealed that around 32% of companies have found employees passing confidential information to a third party – but users can also receive files that may possibly contain viruses or malicious code. Not to mention the liability nightmare if employees use the file transfer feature to share copyrighted music, movie or software files in violation of the law.

Is there an answer without an all-out ban? It could be a simple case of allowing one type of IM to be used over another. There are two basic types of IM technologies: peer to peer (P2P) and client-server. With a P2P system, IM clients communicate with each other directly hence they are less secure as there is no centralised control. With a client-server system, communications go through a central IM server from which it is passed on to the recipient. With client-server systems, IM communications can be monitored and logged at a central location (which also conforms to current compliance regulations). Not only do you have an audit trail but employees will be deterred from engaging in non-work related chit-chat and file swapping if they know they could be found out and held accountable!

Many places already have employees using IM at work, and the automatic assumption – that it cannot be used safely or is hindering productivity and therefore should be blocked – is probably unfair. Used and monitored properly, IM can be a great tool – but, like most other modern tools, it does need to be controlled and monitored if you are to ensure that productivity doesn’t suffer and that your network and data is to be kept secure. Like most other things out there, you just need to know what you are dealing with and know how to control it.

Any comments, queries or suggestions for follow up topics that you would like us to cover? Just leave a comment or contact us (details on the About Us page) and we will do our best to help.

Last time we took a slightly cynical look at the mountain of green rhetoric we are all being subjected to these days. This week we are trying to cut through the marketing propaganda to give some suggestions that are practical and usable for all organisations – not just the huge ones with large budgets and resources.

First of all, forget about the hype and get back to basics. Remember the recycling mantra:

• - Reduce
• - Reuse
• - Recycle

Reduce is an easy one. Ensuring your computers and printers are shut down at night and not just left on standby will cut down on wasteful power consumption and immediately improve your green footprint. Remember to also switch off monitors when not in use – you can adjust the settings to switch off after a certain period of inactivity. Laptops (and even some PCs) can be set to go into a standby lower power mode if not used for a set period.

Reducing your office paper consumption is another hot issue. You could use less by using both sides and thinking before you print – do you really need ten copies in full colour? Using cheaper low-grade or recycled paper for general use and keeping high-quality paper usage to a minimum is another simple green solution.

Also, don’t forget that a lot of the simple greener changes you have probably already made at home can be carried over into the office – like using low energy bulbs and rechargeable batteries.

Reuse your IT equipment for as long as it is practical and economical. Upgrade only when extra features, speed or processing power is essential – or if the equipment is particularly old and “power hungry”. Some organisations use snazzy new computers that are far more powerful than necessary to run simple office applications. Older machines with less powerful processors could simply be fitted with additional memory or bigger hard disks to remain in service. If you do need a new computer, check the manufacturers website to how green (both in terms of power consumption and the components used) – and when choosing a manufacturer, consult independent organisations such as Greenpeace (www.greenpeace.org/electronics) who regularly monitor how well the main manufacturers are truly doing on the green front or visit the EPEAT website (www.epeat.net) where an increading number of PCs, notebooks and monitors are evaluated and scored according to set environmental criteria.

Think about refilling rather than discarding your printer cartridges. (But take care to check manufacturers warranty if your printer is new because sometimes use of third-party consumables can lead to warranty exclusions.) National companies such as Cartridge World have outlets across the UK where you can take your empty cartridges to be refilled. Or, if you prefer, you can also buy special kits and refill the cartridges yourself – though this can get messy and isn’t always particularly successful. By reusing your cartridges you will not only help save landfill space but you can save money.

Recycle! Under the European Union’s Waste Electrical and Electronic (WEEE) Directive, all manufacturers of electrical equipment are responsible for its environmentally friendly disposal, and the infrastructure required for collection. This allows old equipment to be reused and recycled where possible, with any potentially hazardous components properly disposed of. Your IT supplier may well have facilities in place to recycle your old equipment, if not consult your local council website or national one like www.recyclenow.co.uk.

Once again, the recycling efforts you probably make at home can be reproduced in the office. Don’t forget that not only can your waste paper be recycled, but cans, bottles, cardboard or even plastics. It might not be as easy or cheap (unlike the private house refuse collection facilities provided by councils, most commercial waste collectors will only provide recycling collection at an additional cost) but with a bit or organisation it can be done – and a bottle or can recycled from your office will save just as much energy and resources as one from home.

There are many green options available for smaller organisations and even small changes can make a difference to the environment – and also to your finances. Here are some links you may find useful:

www.netregs.gov.uk – Waste Legislation Information

www.itsnoteasybeinggreen.org/forum – Internet forum with ‘green office’ ideas (amongst many other green topics)

www.donateapc.org – “matchmaking” service for people wanting to get rid of old IT equipment and people wanting to recycle it

www.globalactionplan.org.uk – helping organisations reduce their environmental impact.

www.greenpeace.org/electronics – highlights green IT issues and produces regular reports of how much manufacturers are truly doing to be greener

www.epeat.net - contains details of of PCs, notebooks and monitors that have been evaluated and scored according to set environmental criteria

www.recyclenow.co.uk – website is dedicated to raising recycling awareness and promoting responsible waste management

Any questions or comments?  Or any useful websites you would like to see added to our list?  Just leave a comment or contact us (details on the About Us page) and we will do our best to help.

Lets assume the ‘must have’ list of your priorities on what features you need (covered in our previous blog entries) has been reviewed and now agreed with all your colleagues.  Now you are ready to buy a database for your charity or NFP.

It’s now time to find out exactly what the database providers are offering,  and how well their products meet your needs and budget.

When choosing your database provider, here are some things to consider.

If any database provider blinds you with science and offers what they see as great must-have features, please “stick to your guns”. Compare your list of requirements against what the provider can offer, and don’t be persuaded away from your ideal specification. This way you will not end up paying for features that you will not use.

Ask to speak to some of their customers and find out what actual users think  of the software and long-term support provided.  But remember that the provider will probably only give you names of customers that will give a favourable report – so use your own discretion here!

Get a database provider to give you a demonstration of the software.  A word of warning  – find out how big a database the demonstration is based on, and the specification of the computer it is run on. If you have a larger number of records and will be running your database on a less powerful computer, your experience of the speed and power of the database might not be so impressive!

Do your research and  it will pay dividends….  Search on-line forums. Network at charity events. By talking to similar organsiations you will be able to learn from their experiences and see what worked for them.   And remember, word of mouth recommendations are worth their weight in gold.

Choosing your database provider is an important decision. Mistakes can be costly and time consuming. Some providers will be totally upfront about all features, and some won’t, but it is up to you to find out the true facts and to evaluate them against the specific needs of your organisation.  Make sure you are confident that your final choice is the right one.

Post us a comment - we would appreciate your views and welcome any questions.

Choosing a new database can be confusing – particularly if you are not an IT or database expert. You need to be confident that you can balance the needs of your organisation with the right database features and costs.

But having to look at and compare different software can be a mind-numbing experience and also very time  consuming if you are not sure what to look for.

Here’s a simple route map to help you navigate through this IT minefield. Start with a big list of all the features you think you and your colleagues might need, want or like on your database system for example:

1. Do you need to record fund raising results? If so, in what kind of detail?
2. Does it need to integrate with other programs (e.g. Word or Excel)?
3. Does it need to include Gift Aid processing?
4. Do you need a full audit trail for all donations and transactions?

It may sound obvious, but you will need to carefully consider who will be using the system.

Do you have a small set of full time people who will be using the system all the time and so will become familiar with a complex system? Or will you be staffed by volunteers who will only use it one day a week in which case a simple intuitive system that is easy to use will be  an essential requirement to add to  your list.

A good help file and good documentation could also be a big help, but realistically will your users really look at them?

So now you  have your list, you will need to review and “grade” how important each feature really is to your organization. Sort them into:

• - Must have features.
• - Should have features.
• - Nice to have but not essential.

Review your list with your colleagues and gauge whether your views match theirs. For instance a Finance Manager might feel Gift Aid processing is the most important thing, but a Fund Raising Manager might want more extensive features on campaign management.

A word of caution… It’s easy to be impressed with super features that, in reality, won’t really be of much use for your specific needs. So be honest with your own evaluation!

Then when you and your colleagues are all agreed, it’s time to go out and look at what the database providers can offer. We will talk about this next time.

Hope this post has been useful.   Please continue sending us your comments and questions and we will try and include them in future posts.  Just post a comment below or send an email to sales@charitysolutions.co.uk.

 … and why do so many charities let them get away with it?

OK, this post could get me drummed out of the Brownies (a phrase that may mean nothing to those outside the UK – sorry!), so let’s start by saying that this post is the personal opinion of me, Anne Skinner, rather then “we” Charity Solutions.  Though to be honest it is one that most at Charity Solutions would agree with – it covers some of the core reasons we formed the company in the first place.  Disclaimers duly made, let’s continue ….

Why is it that some IT companies out there treat charities as idiots, cash-cows or both?

As someone who has both worked in the IT industry for more years than I care to remember – and also as someone who has donated their hard-earned cash to charities over the years – I am still amazed ( and horrified)  at the prices some IT suppliers & service companies charge charities and Not-For-Profit organisations, not to mention to totally lousy level of service some provide.

These days, charities are seen by many of them as a big market – with lots of cash just waiting to be spent.  For some suppliers out there, the fact that the cash they are fighting for was originally given to do good things for the charities benefactors doesn’t even seem to enter into their heads – charities are just another set of customers to be divested of as much money as possible.  How do these guys sleep at night?

Let me be totally upfront here.  As someone who now runs a company dedicated to providing IT goods and services to charities & NFPs, it would be totally hypocritical of me to suggest that no company should ever charge a charity a fair price for the goods or services they provide – or that there are not some wonderful companies out there (not just us! ) doing just that. 

Anyone who wishes to provide a good service over any period of time does still need to pay the bills and live – just as most charities need paid staff to keep them going rather than relying totally on volunteers.  And sometimes good people do cost more than the average, but more than make up for it with the time and effort that they save people. 

But when I see charities being charged ASTRONOMICALLY marked up prices for IT equipment or see providers giving charities a completely unacceptable level of service that would get them immediately kicked out of almost any commercial company, it makes me mad.

But I also have to say, these guys are going to continue doing this just as long as charities let them get away with it.  As a director of a company who dealt with organisations of all types, commercial and charity, both I and my suppliers were amazed (and frustrated) by the number of charities who wouldn’t deal with us because we didn’t deal exclusively with charities but were willing to pay up to 60% extra for the same goods or services from a **bleep** of a company simply because they said that they sold exclusively to charities – so were somehow considered “safer” to deal with.  

Charity buyers out there  - please don’t just judge a company by who they sell to – don’t trust them just because they deal with charities.  Please – make them work for the money you are spending with them.  Get more than one quote – I know your time is precious, but it could quite easily save you thousands!  Please don’t be afraid to ask for the manufacturers part numbers for any hardware or software your supplier says you need, a quick online search will then tell you if you are being charged a fair price - 10 seconds on Google could save your charity a fortune. 

If you don’t understand all of the technologies involved, please ask.  If your supplier understands what they are selling, they should be able to explain it to you.  If they can’t – or won’t – maybe you should talk to someone else before placing that order.  If you are really stuck about who to ask, then add a comment here or contact us and we will try to help you.  You won’t be the only one who doesn’t understand everything – your area of expertise is probably not IT after all – but a few well chosen questions could really quickly help identify whether you are dealing with the right supplier and (more importantly) whether the solution they are suggesting is the right one for you.

So charity buyers and all charity professionals out there:  Are you getting a fair deal from your IT supplier?  
IT providers out there:  What do you think?  

So its time to buy a database for your charity or NFP.  You have been given a budget.  Now it’s just a case of searching for something that fits the bill and getting some quotes in isn’t it?

Yes…. and No.  Whatever you do, whatever system looks best, don’t forget the “extras”.

When comparing prices, remember there are more costs to consider than just the price per user of the basic system.  Some suppliers will be totally upfront about these additional charges, some may not – but either way it’s your budget on the line, so it pays to ask questions.

Here are some of the additional areas of cost that can easily get missed.

Maintenance Fees

Most suppliers charge a yearly maintenance fee  – make sure whether this is included in your first year’s purchase price or will be extra on top.  Check to see what the maintenance fee covers:

1. Does it include all updates or just the minor ones?  (In other words, does it include just big fixes – if a wonderful new version of the database software comes out during the year, with you be charged extra for it?)
2. Does it include Telephone Support help if you need it?  And if it does, what hours is this support available and does the provider give any type of SLA? (Service Level Guarantee – i.e.  a guarantee how long it will take before your problem is acknowledged or fixed.)
3. Does it include “onsite” support if required?  (If you can’t resolve a problem over the phone, will a technical representative visit your offices to fix things.) 
4. If any of the above are not included, what price will the supplier charge to provide these services?  Are these prices fixed for the next year or when could they change?

Installation, Commissioning and Customisation Fees

Almost every database will need some initial installation and setup.  If your organisation is fairly large, or if you already have a database and want to take the data in it across to the new system, there will be additional work to be done at the start to get the new database system working as you need it, with any data you already have working correctly with it.  This work can take time and can be complex, so make sure that your supplier gives you accurate costings of what they will charge in your specific case.   This is also an area where suppliers can “hide” costs, quoting an apparently competitive cost for the actual database software then piling on a rather hefty charge for the initial setup and commissioning work. 

You also need to consider whether you currently need the database system to do anything extra or different (or anticipate you might in the foreseeable future).  This could be anything from simply requiring a few field name changes or additions right through to requiring additional features. 

We will cover this in more detail another time, but basically you need to consider whether you are likely to need any changes and, if so, you need to determine whether you or your staff can do these changes or whether you will need to pay the supplier to do them for you.  If it is the latter, try to determine the costs involved now and see if the supplier will make any guarantees as to how long these costs will be guaranteed for – it is not unheard of for suppliers costs to increase dramatically after the initial product has been purchased and paid for.

Initial User Training

Will your users and administrators need training to use the software?  We will cover this in more detail another time (another long topic!), but make sure that you take any training costs into account from the start – they can vary wildly.  And however good the database you buy, it is going to be useless if the people who need to use it don’t know how to and can’t work it out.

Ongoing Administration and Maintenance

Most database software will need some form of regular maintenance.  Before you purchase, check what tasks are likely to be required and ask:

1. What technical skills will be required to do them – will they be something you can do yourself or will they require an experienced technical administrator with skills no one at your organisation currently has? 
2. How long will the maintenance tasks take? 
3. How often will they need to be done?

Additional Hardware and Software

Make sure your supplier tells you the what kind of computing hardware and software will be required to host and run your new database.  You can’t assume that the hardware and software you already have will be sufficient.  If the new database is to be used by several users it is probably going to need to run on a server of some type - and you may be surprised how many suppliers assume that they don’t even need to tell you that their software will require a machine all of its own.  If your workstation PCs are old, you will also need to check that they are powerful enough to use the database, with a new enough operating system to work correctly with it.

And while we are on this subject, remember that your database will probably need to run on…. a database.  OK, this might sound stupid, but most custom charity database (or CRM) systems rely on an underlying “core” database (such as Microsoft SQL, Oracle, MySQL, SYbase, FoxPro… and numerous others) to do the underlying “manual work” – the “database” you are actually buying is the program that sits on top of this organising information into screens and providing the features and functions you need.  Most charity database developers (in fact most developers of any system that uses database technologies) do not want to re-invent the wheel in developing the core “manual” database functionality – apart from anything else it is a very specialised field to work in – and one that isn’t of interest to most developers out there!

Some of the “core” databases are free to use, but many cost a significant amount.   They can be priced  in a number of ways (per server, per user, per processor, per database) so make sure that your supplier tells you exactly what you need.  And remember that some manufacturers give discounts on the cost of software to charities, so make sure that you are getting the best pricing – find out what additional software is required and ask another company to quote for it to make sure that you get a good deal.

To Summarise

When comparing solutions, make sure that you are aware of the total cost you are going to need to pay out to get the database installed and running properly in your organisation.  Don’t base your decision just on the actual database software or you could be in for a nasty surprise when you get that final bill!

Any comments or questions?  Just post a comment…..

Most charities and NFPs need to manage “people” records (supporters, donors, beneficiaries for example) on a much wider scale than commercial companies of a similar working size. By the time a commercial company has got to the size where it needs a dedicated database or CRM (customer relations management) system, it will generally have the IT knowledge and support available either in-house or close to hand to enable it to be confident that the system chosen will be the right one.  But this same level of IT knowledge and support won’t always be available to a charity or NFP choosing its first database, and may still not be available in later years when the original database needs to be updated or replaced.

So if you are working for a charity or NFP and have been given the task of finding a database, how do you go about making sure that you choose the right system?

You don’t want to waste your donors money (or your professional reputation) on a system that doesn’t work for your organisation. You can’t afford to waste the time of your employees and volunteers learning to use a system that turns out to be the wrong one. You need to be sure that the final decision is the right one.

There are hundreds of companies and products out there – all claiming to be the perfect answer to your needs. But chances are that you are not a world expert on sourcing charity or membership database software – and you probably won’t have the resources to hire one to make your decision for you. So where on earth do you start?

Over the next few weeks & months here on the Charity Solutions blog, we aim to try and help you through the minefield with a series of “don’t forget to consider” posts – key questions you should probably find the answers to (or at least consider) before you buy. Not all of them will necessarily be relevant to every organisation, but we aim with each one to provide information and suggestions that are useful, factual and unbiased.

Here are some of the areas we aim to cover:

1. What is the Total Cost of Purchase?  The purchase price the salesperson gives you is only one part of your total cost – don’t forget that you also need to consider a whole load of additional (and possibly hidden) costs such as maintenance fees, installation, commissioning and customisation fees, user training. Also, will you need additional hardware and software to run the database?
2. After the system is up and running, what kind of ongoing administration and maintenance overheads are there likely to be?
3. Features – Does it do everything you need it to?
4. Will it be fast enough?
5. Will it be secure enough?
6. Who will be using your system – now and in the future? What kind of training are they going to need to use the system efficiently?
7. What Reporting features does it include? How easy will it be to get the information you need out of the system?
8. Are you going to need to customise it?
9. Will it grow as you grow? Can you add more users or extra modules easily? And if so, what kind of costs will you be looking at?
10. What long term support will be available?

… and so on – more as we think of them or you ask us!

Please check back soon as we take a more detailed look into the first topic.   And in the meantime, please continue sending us your comments and questions and we will try to include them in future posts.