IT for Charities & NFPs

 … 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…..