What database should I use?

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If your organization is a nonprofit (and even if it’s not) you might wish to check out the website TechSoup.org to read some really great articles on databases and on technology in general. There you can read about the pros and cons of different kinds of databases, which may help you find the product that’s right for your organization.

SpringLight specializes in creating customized, user-friendly, form-driven databases in Microsoft Access, starting with a modular template that already contains many great features, and then tailoring it to your exact needs. This approach combines many of the benefits found in other kinds of database products.

But if you’d prefer to use a web-based or off-the-shelf product, SpringLight can help you choose the right software, set it up properly, and migrate your old data into the new system.

What is a mail merge?

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Most organizations need to send mass mailings at least once in awhile. Non-profits generally send annual solicitation mailings, newsletters, notices that they send their clients, and/or party invitations. For-profits use mass mailings to market to their customers.

When you need to send out a large quantity of personalized letters, it’s tedious and time-consuming to have to type addresses on individual letters by hand. A “mail merge” automates this process for you. Whether you need to write 50 letters, 500 letters, or 5,000 letters, with a mail merge the steps are the same. You write the letter only one time, and then let the computer automatically “merge” data from your database into individual copies of the letter you wrote.

With a database constructed by SpringLight, your mail merges will be a breeze! Just a couple of clicks and the letters are ready to print. A couple more clicks and the labels or envelopes are ready to go. All that’s left for you to do is stuff the envelopes and apply postage.

What is a database?

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The simplest explanation for a database is that it’s just a list, usually a list of people.

You may already make lists on the computer. You may have used Microsoft Excel to make your lists, or maybe you’ve used tables in Microsoft Word or Corel Wordperfect. A spreadsheet or table allows you to organize a list into columns and rows.

Many nonprofits need to keep lists of donors, donations and fundraising events. Most nonprofits also need to keep a list of the people they serve – their clients – and perhaps also the services they render to their clients on a daily basis.

There are problems with using spreadsheets or wordprocessor documents for your lists. These sorts of “databases” are not very user-friendly, are not well suited to multi-user environments, do not generally allow complex querying on your data, and do not generally do good data validation. (Data validation, simply put, is making sure users don’t enter bogus data.)

Unlike your spreadsheet or wordprocessor software, Microsoft Access is software made especially for databases. SpringLight can create a Microsoft Access database for your organization that is very user-friendly and full of great features to help you do things like automate your mass mailings.