As an undergrad I had to take an IT class where they taught me how to work all of the programs in the Microsoft Suite. It was a bit redundant because most of the programs I had learned in highschool. The only program I struggled with and really never understood was Access. The teacher tried to explain in as a digital filing cabinet but I never got the hang of it or could understand why it would be useful to me.
I have since started working in a Box Office and begun to take classes in the Arts Management field and now I understand. I currently work at the Box Office at the Center for the Arts at George Mason. At the present time we use Access to track donations that are made through the Box Office when people a purchasing tickets as well as when they are making a subscription. These donations are keep separate from the donations that are made from development and the systems do not talk to each other at all. This makes it impossible for someone like myself, the first person most of our patrons come in contact with, to know who has donated and how much they have donated to know if they qualify for certain discounted tickets.
After reading this article and watching multiple tutorials on youtube.com for Raiser’s Edge is becomes clear that we need to get out of the stone age of technology. Access can simply not track all of the variables that matter when it comes to determining who will donate to your organization and how much they can likely give. Raiser’s Edge can put all of the vital information at the staff members finger tips to ensure that no one will slip through the cracks. I have also read several reviews of the product and it seems the biggest disadvantage to programs like Raiser’s Edge is that it has a hefty startup cost. Which I personally think is a small price to pay for the relationships that Raiser’s Edge can help you cultivate with your long time donors.
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