The Zen of Nonprofit CRM

I was reading about the GetActive/Convio merger, and I have some thoughts about it…

It is clear that the CRM/Fundraising space is getting interesting, first with the entry of Salesforce, and, now, the mergers of GetActive and Convio, and Blackbaud and Target. Consolidation among vendors means that some customers will be dealing with different (and larger, potentially less friendly) entities. It also means fewer options. On the other hand, perhaps it means that these new, larger entities can provide services and resources that the smaller ones could not.

It doesn’t really change anything. Nonprofits still have decisions to make about what software to use. And, it’s still clear that CRM/Fundraising software is where the money and resources are going in nonprofit software development. And it doesn’t change any equations about whether or not to choose open source solutions – they are still open, free, useful, but can’t really compete yet in terms of usability and functionality in comparison to many of the commercial solutions, and that will remain so for as long as nonprofits choose to spend money on commercial solutions instead of pooling resources to collectively create and/or sustain and improve open source options.

In the final analysis, in the days, weeks, months and years following these, and other mergers, no fewer people will be homeless, no fewer women will be battered, no fewer children will be hungry, no less environmental damage will be done, no more people who need it will get mental health services. But a few more people will have a lot more money in their bank accounts. And this, I think, is one really important thing to think hard about. Are the means that progressive organizations use to reach their ends truly in line with their mission?

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