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PeopleKnowledge: One Solution to Nonprofit Data Management
By John Hannan Director of Strategic Planning New York Cares Over the last twelve years I have developed PeopleKnowledge, a solution that addresses the needs of many nonprofits in one program. Working at an organization with less than a million-dollar budget, we couldn't afford prepackaged solutions; they were expensive yet each did only one thing. We needed something that could track funders (both individuals and foundations), volunteers, "thons" (dance-a-thons, phone-a-thons, etc.) and our other special events. And since our volunteers were our funders, we needed the volunteer and funder components integrated. I looked at just about every database engine and chose Filemaker Pro because of these basic criteria: inexpensive; fully networkable out of the box; relational; cross-platform (able to run on just about any Macintosh or Windows operating system); user-friendly; and Y2K compliant. Solution Implemented at New York Cares New York Cares' primary activity is volunteer management. It needed a solution that tracks biographical information about individuals and shows when and where they volunteer. People often volunteer as a corporate or association team, so the corporate entity needed to be recognized as well, showing which individuals are connected to a corporation, foundation, civic group, or agency, and what that connection is. We needed to fundraise, so the system must track all in-kind, matching or straight financial gifts from individuals, foundations or corporations. Next to be created was the capacity to track the logistics for "thons," keep inventory control, document human resources needs, manage check requests, supply and print orders, and print out expense reports. Then, ways to batch e-mail, paper-mail merge, and batch fax directly from the database, while constantly tracking what correspondence has been sent to which people. We manage all special events mailings, RSVPs and guest lists directly from the database. In summary, the concept was to create one networked solution that most staff uses for practically all office functions other than simple word processing. This means most staff need far less training, and go to only one networked source for all information or requests. Making Solution Available for Other Nonprofits PeopleKnowledge has been adopted as the database standard by the City Cares of America Network and is currently running in ten of the 26 affiliates. In the last year, other nonprofits have contracted with me to acquire custom solutions based on this model. They're picking this solution because it's designed by and for nonprofit professionals, takes nonprofits' needs and budgets into account, and is built to handle organizational growth. The next step I'm working on now is to provide ongoing tech support so that systems and manuals can be updated and revised at the lowest possible cost to the client. Those familiar with the Web will be able to download updates, keep PDF files of manuals on their intranet, using technology to acquire and maintain solutions that meet their ongoing organizational needs at minimal cost. A listserv, just set up, will provide responsive answers to questions and support needs. John Hannan can be reached by e-mail Jnhannan@concentric.net or telephone (212) 477-5150. |
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