Re: [sponsorship] Fwd: [FSF] Time for nonprofits to leave proprietary fundraising software systems behind

["jamesmikedupont@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx" <jamesmikedupont@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

That would be a great project, yes. we could even use it!

On Thu, Apr 15, 2010 at 10:52 AM, Dritan Kiçi <dritankici@xxxxxxxxx> wrote:
> Should we localize this?
>
> On Wed, Apr 14, 2010 at 10:01 PM, jamesmikedupont@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx
> <jamesmikedupont@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:
>>
>> ---------- Forwarded message ----------
>> From: Peter Brown <info@xxxxxxx>
>> Date: Wed, Apr 14, 2010 at 9:29 PM
>> Subject: [FSF] Time for nonprofits to leave proprietary fundraising
>> software systems behind
>> To: info-press@xxxxxxx, info-fsf@xxxxxxx
>>
>>
>> Time for nonprofits to leave proprietary fundraising software systems
>> behind
>>
>> (News item at: http://www.fsf.org/news/nonprofit-fundraising-civicrm)
>>
>> BOSTON, Massachusetts, USA -- Wednesday, April 14th, 2010 -- The Free
>> Software Foundation (FSF) today announced that CiviCRM has earned its
>> recommendation as a fully featured donor and contact management system
>> for nonprofits. The FSF had highlighted the need for a free software
>> solution in this area as part of its High Priority Projects campaign
>> (http://www.fsf.org/campaigns/priority-projects/). With this
>> announcement, the FSF will also be adopting CiviCRM for its own use, and
>> actively encouraging other nonprofit organizations to do the same.
>>
>> (CiviCRM http://civicrm.org/)
>>
>> Nonprofits have historically relied heavily on proprietary or web-hosted
>> "software as a service" fundraising software such as Blackbaud's
>> Raiser's Edge or eTapestry. The nonprofit organizations using them are
>> locked in, have little control over the functionality of the software,
>> and are dependent on the whims of a single company. Nonprofits also face
>> costly migration if they wish to switch to a different proprietary
>> system, never achieving independence. These factors mean that tools
>> intended to enhance organizations' effectiveness have actually ended up
>> restricting their ability to accomplish their social missions.
>>
>> CiviCRM, however, shares its software code so all organizations can see
>> how it works, have the option of commissioning anyone to make
>> customizations to it, and can host it on their own trusted servers.
>> Since the code and the data format are freely available, using the
>> system does not mean being locked into it. Because it runs on the free
>> GNU/Linux operating system, it eliminates the need for another frequent
>> nonprofit proprietary software dependency -- Microsoft Windows.
>>
>> "The features now offered by CiviCRM will satisfy nonprofits seeking to
>> organize their relationships with donors, supporters, and the media. In
>> addition to storing contact information, it handles online fundraising,
>> event registration, membership management, and personalized paper and
>> electronic mailings. Best of all, it's free software distributed under
>> the GNU Affero General Public License, which means nonprofits can host
>> it themselves and retain the freedom they need to advance their missions
>> unfettered," said John Sullivan, FSF's operations manager.
>>
>> Free software ideals encouraging sharing and modification have been
>> central to CiviCRM's growth. Developer Dave Greenberg explained, "The
>> CiviCRM project was started by a group of developers and project
>> managers who had been working together on a proprietary donation
>> processing application. As folks who were passionate about increasing
>> the impact and effectiveness of the nonprofits, we came to realize that
>> there was a need for a CRM application designed from the ground up to
>> meet the needs of civic sector organizations. From the beginning it was
>> clear that this should be free software -- community driven and
>> community owned. On a personal level I find the engagement with our
>> community of users to be intellectually stimulating and rewarding.
>> Seeing folks with expertise in a particular area step up and contribute
>> their time and ideas to help improve the product is quite exciting."
>>
>> In making the switch, the FSF joins other organizations like Amnesty
>> International, Creative Commons, and the Wikimedia Foundation, who have
>> also been using CiviCRM.
>>
>> Executive director Peter Brown described the FSF's use of the software
>> and intent to publicize it: "I look forward to encouraging other
>> nonprofit organizations to escape their current proprietary or 'software
>> as a service' systems and give CiviCRM a try. As a nonprofit, the FSF
>> manages over 40,000 contacts and 15,000 donation transactions per year,
>> a book publishing operation, online store, and several advocacy campaign
>> websites with associated mailing lists -- all with free software. A
>> general purpose donor and contact management system will be the final
>> piece of the puzzle for charitable organizations looking to operate
>> using only free software. We plan to publish a guide offering our
>> experiences as a resource for other nonprofits concerned with the social
>> implications of their technology."
>>
>> Nathan Yergler, chief technology officer at Creative Commons, offered
>> further praise for the software: "CiviCRM is a critical part of Creative
>> Commons' infrastructure. We've seen the application mature and steadily
>> improve with new features and performance improvements coming in every
>> release. CiviCRM's developer community is accessible and responsive,
>> going beyond the normal call of duty to help when needed. I would
>> happily recommend CiviCRM to organizations like Creative Commons looking
>> for a CRM solution."
>>
>> CiviCRM core team member Piotr Szotkowski noted that despite the
>> project's maturity, there is still rewarding work to be done: "We could
>> definitely use more helping hands. Being able to work on CiviCRM gives a
>> lot of non-direct benefits, like the very warm and fuzzy feelings of
>> great satisfaction and fulfillment: knowing that one’s code was used to
>> help the Katrina hurricane victims, that it helps organizations like
>> Amnesty International or Front Line fight for human rights defenders, or
>> that it helps organizations like the Wikimedia Foundation better
>> organize their great work on Wikipedia and all their other projects."
>>
>> Further information about downloading, using, and contributing to
>> CiviCRM can be found at http://civicrm.org. An ongoing discussion of
>> comparisons between free software database options is on the FSF's
>> LibrePlanet wiki at
>> http://groups.fsf.org/wiki/Donor_Transaction_and_Contact_System.
>>
>> For a description of the dangers in relying on "software as a service,"
>> see "Who does that server really serve?".
>>
>>
>> About the Free Software Foundation
>>
>> The Free Software Foundation, founded in 1985, is dedicated to promoting
>> computer users' right to use, study, copy, modify, and redistribute
>> computer programs. The FSF promotes the development and use of free (as
>> in freedom) software -- particularly the GNU operating system and its
>> GNU/Linux variants -- and free documentation for free software. The FSF
>> also helps to spread awareness of the ethical and political issues of
>> freedom in the use of software, and its Web sites, located at fsf.org
>> and gnu.org, are an important source of information about GNU/Linux.
>> Donations to support the FSF's work can be made at
>> http://donate.fsf.org. Its headquarters are in Boston, MA, USA.
>>
>>
>> About Free Software and Open Source
>>
>> The free software movement's goal is freedom for computer users. Some,
>> especially corporations, advocate a different viewpoint, known as "open
>> source," which cites only practical goals such as making software
>> powerful and reliable, focuses on development models, and avoids
>> discussion of ethics and freedom. These two viewpoints are different at
>> the deepest level. For more explanation, see
>> http://www.gnu.org/philosophy/open-source-misses-the-point.html.
>>
>> Media Contacts
>>
>> John Sullivan
>> Operations Manager
>> Free Software Foundation
>> +1 (617) 542 5942
>> campaigns@xxxxxxx
>>
>> ###
>>
>>
>>
>> info-fsf mailing list
>> info-fsf@xxxxxxx
>> Unsubscribe: http://lists.gnu.org/mailman/listinfo/info-fsf
>>
>>
>
>