Database Tips for charities

Whatever database software you chose the following pointers may help the process of deciding what you need. A lot of these points really will depend on the size of database and your spend level, for example - it's just not economic sense to expect a supplier to do a demo, if your budget is tiny. They are all based on looking at it from a charity/fundraising angle and I would suggest you seek help from someone within your organisation who is good with technical things.

THINGS TO THINK ABOUT BEFORE EVEN LOOKING
  • Create a 'business case' which should involve an internal ‘needs analysis’ –understanding why you need it, will help determine what you need. Get your users involved at this stage and keep up the 2 way communication
  • You may be able to fill your needs without spending anything on specialist software.
  • Ensure you have your fundraising/membership strategy in place before buying
  • Remember that the software is just another tool and only as good as your inputting

NARROW YOUR CHOICE DOWN TO THREE
  • Ask the suppliers what experience they have of fundraising, do they understand what it is, how hard it is and what the latest fundraising trends are?
  • Ask all suppliers to show you the same things, so you can compare more easily
  • If you create an Invitation to Tender, (ITT) ask open questions, to encourage fuller answers
  • If you are looking at a big spend - consider asking 2-3 short-listed suppliers to 'dummy run' a specific element of your requirements
  • Future proof yourself - by asking for system requirements and performance figures for at least twice your expected numbers of records


AT THE DEMO
  • Try and see your supplier demonstrations, or at least review them all, on the same day
  • Suppliers usually send a sales person but do ask if they can bring a support staff member with them - as a real 'user' will have a different take on the software
  • Phone the supplier’s help desk - at the demo just to see what sort of response they give!
  • Ask what their software can not do
  • Ask for references and not just from their happy customers


COSTING IT OUT
  • Make sure you allow a budget for hardware and IT infrastructure costs
  • Ask for costs in a structured way so that you can compare them more easily
  • Make sure you can see how to create reports, do queries, create mailings – how to actually get data out of the system
  • If you create an ITT at least you can use it to form the basis of your contract with the supplier
  • If you have data in various databases, think about the cost and difficulty of synchronising the data -is there any pre installation prep to be done
  • Ask the suppliers directly what costs are not included in their quote
  • Don’t expect the supplier to give a fixed price on data migration until they have seen the state of your data (it may be in a multitude of places and formats you didn't even know about)
  • If you have one, think about the cost (real and perceived) of getting rid of your existing database (people can become quite precious when change is imminent)
  • The best time to get discounts is at the point of buying, so if you think you may need more user licenses later, bargain now!
  • Consider the cost of integrating any existing third party applications in your budget, e.g. accounting software
  • Check whether future upgrades are included in your annual maintenance costs
  • Invest in training, it may seem costly but it will speed up the learning curve
  • When comparing costs, look at the total cost of ownership (TCO) cost model, not just the software but all costs, i.e. staff time, training etc and ideally look at it over 3-5 years http://www.solutionmatrix.com/total-cost-of-ownership.html

DATA INTEGRATION AND MIGRATION
  • Find out how flexible the system is for importing data from different sources
  • Don’t under-estimate the time and effort needed for data migration and remember that your data will not magically be cleaner or more accurate just by buying a new database
  • Find out how the supplier will help with data migration & what their experience is
  • Consider how to integrate the database with your web site -it can be costly and time-consuming to set up but having data collection at point of contact could be invaluable
  • Check that you can segment the database on any & all fields you have in the database, including user-defined fields

THINGS TO ASK THE SUPPLIER
  • What they think the key risks are for your cause/project/implementation?
  • How they will project manage your approach, then ask the references how they really did.
  • How will they go about fixing any bugs?
  • How well do they train their own staff?
  • How, within their organisation do they manage Quality Assurance?
  • Where they see themselves going? Be wary if they don’t seem to have a strategic plan - will they be around in 2/3/5 years to support you?
  • For their advice regarding change management with your new database?
  • How would they recommend you create and structure your implementation?
  • Why they have lost customers in the past?
  • About their other clients - how many/who and how they have grown in the last few years?

OTHER THINGS TO CONSIDER
  • If you can – visit their offices before you make a final decision - it can be quite enlightening
  • See if you can attend one of their user groups/forums before you actually buy it
  • Never base a buying decision on just software, just costs, just the salesperson –take it all into account