tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7783474.post7409881244482565375..comments2023-02-13T03:42:42.572-08:00Comments on Social Source: DonorPerfect getting nervous about the cloud...Unknownnoreply@blogger.comBlogger3125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7783474.post-54100154414381033212008-07-23T20:46:00.000-07:002008-07-23T20:46:00.000-07:00David,On vacation, so it took a while.Who's the mu...David,<BR/><BR/>On vacation, so it took a while.<BR/><BR/>Who's the multi-billion dollar company you talk about? It's not Salesforce, they do less than 800 MM/year. It's not Convio, either. <BR/><BR/>The Salesforce platform, while definitely impressive for the business world, is still just that- a platform. It's the updated equivalent of Microsoft Access, FileMaker Pro, or .NET, with the difference they have added a hosting solution behind it, which is neither cheap nor perfected.<BR/><BR/>Yes, it's nice you don't have to reinvent the wheel for certain tasks (like record management, and document attachment). However, non-profits have such specific data requirements that require fundamental changes at the lowest level of the database model that it makes it impractical or impossible (check out Ebase from years ago, or Google the story about a NY nonprofit spending $1 million just to build a batch entry module before abandoning the project).<BR/><BR/>Then, on top of it all, you're dependent on an independent organization/provider that if it goes down (and salesforce does), then what do you do? Play the blame game?<BR/><BR/>All I am asking is to take a closer look at these 'open' or 'free' products. I spent over 20 hours going through these products in the last 4 months and it's rather shocking- please download a non-profit template and see for yourself. Try to incorporate any of the features I described in my previous post. Try to run a query that shows the Lifetime Giving average for your major donors. If you can do it, please let me know because I couldn't find it.<BR/><BR/>There's a reason they are that way- you get what you pay for, and you have to pay A LOT to customize the rest.<BR/><BR/>Yes, we (DonorPerfect and other legacy companies (ahem, Blackbaud)) are not perfect and we all have some flaws as well. But the non-profit world is our ONLY business, and we understand both the business *and* technical issues that are unique to our mutual customers.<BR/><BR/> <BR/><BR/>-JonJon Biedermannhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11631644690717819348noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7783474.post-84236623937963126952008-07-04T20:40:00.000-07:002008-07-04T20:40:00.000-07:00You and I, I think, actually agree.My point is not...You and I, I think, actually agree.<BR/><BR/>My point is not that DonorPerfect is somehow a weak company... you have incredible strengths.<BR/><BR/>My point is that DonorPerfect's strength is not creating a technical infrastructure for customizable CMS pages, but using someone else's infrastructure to create customizable online giving pages. <BR/><BR/>I still think that leveraging DonorPerfect's impressive 20-year track record and expansive domain knowledge to build on top of other platforms is the thing that makes DonorPerfect a powerhouse in 10 to 15 years.<BR/><BR/>Watch Convio's force.com product. You'll have a hell of a time out-engineering a multi-billion dollar company plus the domain expertise of Convio.David Geilhufehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15515132554389517815noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7783474.post-27288921872749300532008-07-02T20:30:00.000-07:002008-07-02T20:30:00.000-07:00Hi David,I'm the person you are referring to from ...Hi David,<BR/><BR/>I'm the person you are referring to from DonorPerfect.<BR/><BR/>I wouldn't say we are nervous about 'the cloud'- it's just another implementation of a free or almost free solution that has appeared over the years in various forms (most recently as the now defunct eBase).<BR/><BR/>I would say that non profits should pay more attention to reality than just hype. If you look at any of these recent solutions, with whatever skin they are using, you will quickly find they lack even the most basic functionality.<BR/><BR/>Want to track soft credits? No go. What about split gifts? Nada. How about pledge payments that pay off a pledge from a different donor's record? Nope.<BR/><BR/>And yes, how about a simple LYBUNT report? Or a Recency by Frequency analysis based on common RFM criteria? What about an Honor Roll report based on different gift ranges? Not there.<BR/><BR/>Even a simple end of year statement, with multiple lines for each gift made during the year, is practically impossible to generate without custom programming. <BR/><BR/>DonorPerfect is actually growing faster than ever- over 40%/year. We're the second largest fundraising software company in terms of customers (7500+), and the third largest in unique visitors/month (check out Google Analytics).<BR/><BR/>We're also one of the few companies with 20+ years experience. Also, I know it's amazing, but we have zero debt, actually making a profit, and no venture capitalist vultures circling from above (not that there's anything wrong with that... ;) ).<BR/> <BR/>We're proud to offer an independent and affordable solution to thousands of non profits, and we're not afraid of letting people know about it (hence the posts here and elsewhere...).<BR/><BR/>I would encourage you or your readers to contact us and see the latest we have to offer, such as Open API's, Completely Customizable Online Giving Forms, and Social Network Fundraising Pages- I think you would be pleasantly surprised.<BR/><BR/>Let me know,<BR/><BR/>-Jon<BR/><BR/>Jon Biedermann<BR/>Vice President<BR/>DonorPerfect Fundraising Software<BR/>jonb (at) donorperfect.comJon Biedermannhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11631644690717819348noreply@blogger.com