February 20, 2003 | Read Time: 2 minutes
A new report attempts to answer one of the questions posed most frequently by fund raisers — what software to use — by rating more than 100 programs and database services.
The ratings are based on the results of an online survey of 2,124 nonprofit employees in September. Respondents rated the fund-raising software on 18 criteria — such as ease of use when importing data from another program, accuracy, and system reliability — using a scale of 1 to 10. The company then averaged the ratings each participant gave to arrive at the participant’s overall satisfaction rating for each product that person had used.
Among software programs that were rated by 50 or more respondents, Donor2, manufactured by Systems Support Services, in Charlotte, N.C., was rated highest, with an average overall satisfaction rating of 7.78 out of 10. Raiser’s Edge, distributed by Blackbaud, in Charleston, S.C., and ResultsPlus, developed by Metafile Information Systems, in Rochester, Minn., followed with scores of 6.82 and 6.70, respectively.
Software programs designed for smaller nonprofit organizations tended to be rated by fewer people. Matchmaker 2000, manufactured by Heritage Designs, in Phoenix, had an overall satisfaction rating of 8.41, receiving the highest marks among software programs that were rated by 10 to 49 respondents.
For Internet-based software distributors — often called application service providers, or ASPs — eTapestry, in Indianapolis, received the highest overall satisfaction rating at 7.35.
The survey also found that 18 percent of respondents said that their organizations evaluate their fund-raising software each year.
The study was conducted by Campbell Research, a company in Santa Maria, Calif. The company recruited participants for the survey by sending e-mail messages to 29,000 nonprofit workers asking them to rate the software programs and database services that their organizations use.
The company used e-mail addresses from its own databases and from fund-raising associations like the Christian Management Association and the Association of Fundraising Professionals, in Alexandria, Va., which is co-publishing the report with Campbell. The company notes that the statistical accuracy of the report’s ratings is greatest for software programs that have been rated by 50 or more people.
Copies of the report, “Donor & Member Software Study 2003,” currently cost $195. To order, contact: Campbell Research, 218 West Carmen Lane, Santa Maria, Calif. 93458; (888) 722-6723 or (805) 922-0880; http://www.campbell-research.com
HOW NONPROFIT GROUPS RATE FUND-RAISING SOFTWARE
RATED HIGHEST BY CHARITIES WITH LESS THAN 10,000 DONOR RECORDS
Donor2 (Systems Support Services)
Automated Church System (Computer Dimensions)
GiftMaker Pro (Campagne Associates)
RATED HIGHEST BY CHARITIES WITH 10,000 TO 99,999 DONOR RECORDS
Donor2 (Systems Support Services)
Raiser’s Edge (Blackbaud)
Millenium (Best Software/MIP)
RATED HIGHEST BY CHARITIES WITH 100,000 OR MORE DONOR RECORDS
PledgeMaker (SofTrek)
Advance (SunGard BSR)
Raiser’s Edge (Blackbaud)
Note: Software is listed in order by ranking.
