Thanks for asking--answers are with the questions.
Sally Zaino
At 09:59 AM 03/14/2001 -0800, you wrote:
Hi -
My name is Eric Leland I am a consultant working with CompuMentor in San Francisco on a review of ebase. In addition to conversations with Techrocks and ebase developers, I am gathering input from current users on their experience using ebase. The goal is to provide a comprehensive review of ebase for the benefit of nonprofits who are faced with the chore of database planning.
For those of you who are able, I would greatly appreciate your input on the following questions. I encourage you to include details where appropriate, and any other comments you have that may not be covered by my questions below. You can send your answers directly to my attention at [EMAIL PROTECTED]
I hope to have the review done in April, which I will forward to the list.
Please feel free to contact me if you have any questions or concerns. Thank you all for your time,
Eric
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Questions
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Choosing Ebase
Did your organization draft a database plan prior to choosing ebase?
No.
Did your organization evaluate other database packages/services or custom options? If so what were they, and why did you choose ebase over them?
Our president used Quickbooks for a year or so, but we decided to try ebase because of its features geared toward non-profit membership organizations.
Did your organization upgrade to ebase from another database system? If so, please list what system and explain what ebase has to offer over your prior system.
Same as above.
Using Ebase
What do you use ebase for (e.g. contact list, donor tracking, member/activist profiles, etc)?
We use ebase as our main membership database, for donor tracking, endowment records, to publish updated membership lists, maintain our mailing list and email list, and to generate reports for tax purposes. We have not sent batch emails yet, because I haven't had the time to figure out how, but plan to in the future. We will use the profiles feature to keep track of volunteers.
Do multiple people in your office use ebase at the same time? No.
Do you own FileMaker Pro or FileMaker Pro Server? No.
Have you customized ebase? If so, please list the types of customizations (ie new labels, new reports, new fields, etc). No, except for what is possible with the run-time program.
Are their particular functions of Ebase you find most/least helpful? Please explain. We are a small organization, without an office, and we find it infinitely useful to have a fairly simple program that can be put on a home computer to generate professional record-keeping and save hours of time for our volunteer membership person (me). The tracking of addresses and donations over time is very valuable, and ability to generate a current membership report in a few seconds is great. The fiscal year donation report was extremely useful, as we just filed our end of probation report with the IRS to determine if we had public support. This certainly saved hours. We also appreciate the fact that ebase has the capability to grow with us, and we don't see an end to its usefulness in the future. One thing that is a bummer is the fact that we can't generate our thank you letters directly from ebase, since we don't have Filemaker. I have to write the letter in Word and then switch programs every time I add a payment. It wouldn't be so frustrating if you didn't have those sample letters in there that CAN'T BE EDITED. The inability to change the layout for the mailing labels is a pain, too. I haven't figured out how to export as a Word Document (it exports as a picture), so I have to cut off a half inch of every mailing label sheet.
Support
Do you use outside consultants to help support/develop ebase? No.
Do you find the ebase manual helpful? Why or why not? Yes, its fairly easy to understand. All I need is time to read it. It has walked me through several operations successfully.
Do you find the ebase support listserv helpful? Why or why not? The listserv is very helpful. Its great to have a place to post a question and actually get a quick answer. We once had a crash and through the listserv I was given a phone number to call and we got a personalized tweak to save our records. The support is great. Most of the people who post on the list are way more computer literate, and have Filemaker, but a number of times I've archived answers that saved me from asking them myself.
General
What are the main benefits of ebase for your organization? It was free! That's awesome. Its set up for groups like ours, and its almost simple enough for us to use.
What are the main drawbacks? None, really. See functions question.
Other comments? Thanks.
Sally Zaino
The Manada Conservancy
P.O. Box 25
Hummelstown, Pa. 17036
http://www.manada.org
"The first rule of intelligent tinkering is to keep all the pieces." --Aldo Leopold
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Eric Leland, Technology Consultant
CompuMentor
487 Third Street, San Francisco, CA 94107
Voice: 415.512.7784 x349
Fax: 415.365.2870
Email: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
http://www.compumentor.org
Bringing people and technology together to strengthen our communities
http://www.techsoup.org
Technology served the way nonprofits need it / powered by CompuMentor
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