[Hidden-tech] MS Access Questions

[B. Kimo Lee]

Hi Adreinne,

I missed the words "small non-profit" in your original post on my first read.
It doesn't look like anyone mentioned this in previous Access-related posts, so I'm going to throw it out there since I do this kind of consulting.

Since you are a nonprofit, have you considered the open source CRM for nonprofits called "CiviCRM"? 

CiviCRM is a full-fledged fundraising and CRM database system specifically for nonprofit organizations. It runs within Joomla or Drupal sites so if you already have a site based on those CMS systems, or are in need of a new website, you might look into it. You could also create a Joomla site without content (to start) so you can run CiviCRM.

In my experience, there are many, many small nonprofits still doing things the old way, with Excel spreadsheets, mail merging, Outlook for emailings, etc. At least you're on a database, so you're one step up from spreadsheets.

What CiviCRM does is integrate your fundraising database into your web site so all of your staff can view your donor database from a centralized solution online. Because it is integrated into your website — with a bit of training — you can quite easily manage and interact with your donors and members, create fundraising campaigns which are integrated into the site, manage events (free and paid), create personal campaign pages, do email marketing, generate custom reports, manage cases, etc.

You would definitely need a secure server to encrypt the data, regular PCI scans, and some kind of a maintenance plan to make sure the software is kept up to date with security patches.

I partner with HeronGrace.com who could help you with grant writing if you need to fund a project/migration such as this. 

Please let me know if you have questions about CiviCRM.
https://civicrm.org/

Best,
Kimo



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On Nov 20, 2015, at 9:12 AM, Adrienne LaPierre wrote:

> 
> 
> 
> Hi, 
> 
> I'm working with a small non-profit that is heavily reliant on a (split) Access 2010 database.  They're now looking to upgrade a few of their older computers but I'm confused about what the transition to newer versions of MS Office (with lots of emphasis on web apps and cloud services) will mean for the database.  
> 
> For instance, this article (If you're looking at Office 365, and you use Microsoft Access, look harder) is pretty old but it did raise some questions for me that I haven't been able to resolve.  
> 
> Mostly I'm wondering if Access 2016 will be able to open and use the existing database without needing to migrate anything to cloud servers?  The database contains HIPAA-protected information...
> 
> Is it likely that the other users on the network who will still be using Access 2010 after the transition will run into compatibility problems on their end?  (i.e. should we upgrade everyone at once?)
> 
> Any info would be helpful.
> 
> Thanks!
> Adrienne
> 
> 
> 
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