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DO YOU NEED A DATABASE?
What is a database? A database is a tool used to keep track of data or information and allows you to reproduce the information in a number of ways relevant to your purposes. Eg a mailing list can be sorted by postcode to reduce the postal charges
Do you need a database?
- Do you have contact details that several people in the organisation need access to?
- Do staff keep their own contact details for their own contacts?
- Do you find it hard to track down up-to-date contact details for people?
- Do you record details of enquiries made to your organisation?
- Do you produce statistical reports to funders?
- Do you evaluate your services, internally or to produce reports to funders?
- Do you have a membership and need to send out renewal letters etc?
- Do you send out mailings to members / clients?
- Do you run events that you need to take bookings for?
- Do you store information and documents in a variety of places?
If you have answered YES to most or all of the above, your organisation most likely requires a database.
What can a database do? Remember always that technology should be led by your requirements. You need to find out what you want to do and then look at how getting a database can help or if it will help. A database can perform a number of functions including:
- Developing contact history and monitoring your relationship with your clients / members
- One central point for data entry accessible by all.
- Control information within the organisation in a structured manner
- Additional features could include a shared Diary, Calender, Tasks section
- Capture work plans and evaluations of your service
- Development of Catalogue library of books
If you have decided that your organisation needs a database there are 3 questions that you need to consider:
- What type of database?
- Do you need one database or more (and should they be linked)?
- Should you make your own or buy one off the shelf?
What type of database? There are a variety of databases that you can set up for your organisation depending on what you do or what you need. Here are a few:
- Contacts Database for names, addresses and contact details
- Membership Database for organisations / individuals that are members
- Monitoring and Evaluation Database for collecting data on the services you provide
- Staff Database for recording staff information, emergency contact details, supervision and appraisal records
- Budgets Database allowing you to create a purchase order system to authorise, allocate and monitor expenditure on different projects.
Do you need more than one database? Some databases do more than one thing but sometimes you may have different needs and find it easier to manage 2 databases for separate functions. For example a community group may choose to use Filemaker Pro for a monitoring and evaluation database but find it easier to use Progress for their contacts database. You will need to decide what is manageable and does not add a burden. Remember technology is supposed to help.
Should you make your own or buy a database off the shelf?
Generally the deciding factor tends to be how much you can realistically spend, money and time. Other factors are looked at below.
Making your own – you will need to buy database software (Eg Microsoft Access or Filemaker Pro are the main software packages and come with templates but shop around). You will often need to customise your database to meet your needs.
Pros: hopefully you will have a system appropriate to your needs.
Cons: internal training / staff skills required to develop and risk of spending more time and money
Off the Shelf – Some software programmes have been pre-designed specifically for voluntary sector organisations. Examples are Raiser’s Edge or Exceed.
Pros: quicker to get set up, lower up front cost, tested by other people and larger training resource, upgrades /fixes standard.
Cons: you might end up with extras you don’t use or might need to invest more time and money to adjust programmes to what you need, less flexibility, internal training/ staff skills needed to implement, too much choice, dependent on provider for sustainability (ie if company goes bust, database and support disappear)
Custom Built: Sometimes you may recruit a Database Developer to specifically create a database customised to your organisation and its needs.
Pros: will be exactly what the organisation needs, less staff time/ training, transferable (ie if developer goes bust can find a new support contract for same database)
Cons: high start up cost,
Examples of Databases to consider:
AIMS – www.lasa.org.uk/aims , Raiser’s Edge, Exceed
E-Base – open source free Database (but you will need to pay for appropriate licenses required)
Upcoming Database conference: 21st February 2006, http://www.preponderate.co.uk/database/index.htm
Sourced:
www.techsoup.org
Womens Resource Centre (IT Training) – www.wrc.org.uk
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