I would also advise against having someone (a college class project, an intern, or an individual or firm you contract with) build a custom database just for you. Many times they are never finished (our experience) or the person leaves that state and there is no one to deal with problems (there are always problems with databases).
This is the hardest part: on one hand it seems like our needs don't fit with pre-existing solutions, on the other hand everything Sheldon describes is spot-on. I think the best situation is something that can have broader community support, and not be too idiosyncratic. That's hard to put together though. I think Freehub is the closest to that, but I think even that is in 'maintenance mode' at this point.
sheldon
We're still looking.
.............. Sheldon Mains SPOKES Bike Walk Connect program of Cycles for Change www.SpokesConnect.org www.fb.com/SpokesConnect Minneapolis, MN 612/618-7149 Three ways to donate to SPOKES:
- Volunteer. 2. Donate repairable used bikes. 3. Financial donations
always welcome. Check www.SpokesConnect.org for details.
On Fri, Feb 13, 2015 at 11:12 AM, Archer Sully archer.sully@gmail.com wrote:
One caution about Salesforce. While it is free, it's not easy to setup. We use it at Community Cycles, and while it has made many things possible that were not in our old system (Volgistics), it wasn't an easy journey to get it rolled out.
Sent from my iPhone
On Feb 13, 2015, at 10:06 AM, Ryne Emory ryne@thebikedepot.org wrote:
Salesforce- they donate their software via grants to Non Profits.
On Fri, Feb 13, 2015 at 10:05 AM, Sam Haraldson < sam@bozemanbikekitchen.org> wrote:
...organize our infrastructure by putting everything we can into a
database (volunteer information, inventory, bike donations, events, individual donations, memberships, etc). We've been looking into CiviCRM, and getting an external host for that, but before we commit to anything I am hoping to hear any feedback/comments anyone might have on what systems you are using?? Thank you!
Lauren,
What is your current system? Are you tracking on paper, in a spreadsheet, something else, possibly not at all? We have operated out of a simple shared spreadsheet (Google Docs) since 2009 and have found it to work acceptably and are only now 5+ years later thinking about getting more serious about that side of our operations. I am a firm believer of getting a system dialed in using as simple a method as possible and then figuring out how to map that onto a true software solution rather than finding a software first and trying to make it work for your needs. Best of luck in sorting out your needs.
Cheers, Sam Bozeman, MT
-- http://bozemanbikekitchen.org
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-- Ryne Emory Program Manager The Bike Depot 2825 Fairfax St. Denver, CO 80207 Office: 303-393-1963 x205 Ryne@thebikedepot.org
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