Good post on using open source at nonprofits

[Nicholai Burton]

It's a little sales-y, but useful. 90% of your tech needs can be filled with open source software, allowing you to keep money going into your mission, rather than your software systems.

http://www.agileapproach.com/blog-entry/benefits-open-source-and-drupal-non-profits

[Michael Carnell]

Interesting. And what are your recommended resources for people looking for more information on how to transition their organizations?

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Michael Carnell
Charleston, SC
Contact Me    

On Tue, Aug 30, 2011 at 8:40 PM, Nicholai Burton <nichola...@gmail.com> wrote:

It's a little sales-y, but useful. 90% of your tech needs can be filled with open source software, allowing you to keep money going into your mission, rather than your software systems.

http://www.agileapproach.com/blog-entry/benefits-open-source-and-drupal-non-profits

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[Nicholai Burton]

TechSoup, NTEN, and Idealware are all great sources of using open source software for your desktop, email, website, pretty much everything. If there is enough interest, I could give a webinar on specific products for different needs. With all the great, free stuff out there, no one should be using Outlook/Exchange, MS Office, Photoshop, or proprietary website software without carefully evaluating them against the open source options first.

Of course, you could always create a Tech Hub ticket for a customized evaluation of where you are, what you're spending on tech, and which items you can transition to open source to save money.

[Michael Carnell]

Very good question James.  Wonder if anyone would be interested in some demos, training sessions, or us creating some trial machines?

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Michael Carnell
Charleston, SC
Contact Me    

On Tue, Aug 30, 2011 at 9:11 PM, James Moffitt <jcmo...@gmail.com> wrote:

I am going to shock everyone and say something positive. LOL... 

 I think that Opensource software is an awesome idea for non profits. It immediately addresses the issue of having little to no funds for an OS and productivity software.  Michael came up with the million dollar question.  How can we effectively migrate the non profits from a Windows based system to Opensource software?  

James C. Moffitt 

http://www.lightourworld.com

jcmo...@gmail.com

843-633-1879

[Nicholai Burton]

Here in the Lowcountry, I feel it's all about awareness of the alternatives, reassurance these programs won't disappear tomorrow, and to some extent training. A gifted designer can give a group session on transitioning to GIMP or Paint.NET for people who currently use Photoshop. A spreadsheet whiz can help MS Excel users get familiar with LibreOffice Calc. A video editor can show FinalCut Pro users how to work with Lightworks or OpenShot. And so on.

Transitioning nonprofits who currently use Windows onto Linux takes a little upfront work and a lot of buy-in from volunteers/employees, but it's not unusual. It's easy enough for government, military, schools, and businesses to use (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Linux_adopters), so why not nonprofits? Here is a good article on why Linux can be a perfect fit for many nonprofits: http://www.techrepublic.com/blog/opensource/why-linux-is-a-perfect-fit-for-charities-and-non-profits/2209. Those 5-year-old computers you picked up from Goodwill to run the office can handle Ubuntu just fine, but they'd choke to death on Windows 7.

Luckily, it doesn't have to happen all at once; most open source software for the desktop is either cross-platform or web-based, so you can transition a program or two at a time, bringing folks comfortably into the open source fold and having the big OS change be the last thing.

[Michael Carnell]

I may set up a demo machine, or Virtual Machine, to take to offices, presentations, and do demos with....

--  
Michael Carnell
Charleston, SC
Contact Me    

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[Nicholai Burton]

Be sure to sign up soon for my 10/11 session titled Is it Worth the Pricetag? How Open Source Alternatives Can Cut Your Costs!

http://path10112011.eventbrite.com/

This session will review some of the major proprietary systems and programs, and offer open source alternatives. It's not a pitch for Linux over Windows (although it's become a great alternative), but a chance to learn about programs to help keep your tech budget in check. You do not need to be a techy person to attend, as this is a high-level overview of different apps.

Some of the things we will cover are:

Word processing, spreadsheet, and office applications
Desktop publishing
Graphic design
Audio and video recording and editing
Groupware, calendaring, and email
Intranets
Document repositories
Surveys
Financial and bookkeeping systems
Point of sale and gift shop systems
Donor and member management systems
Business intelligence and advanced reporting
Data conversion, integration, and manipulation
Computer backups and "ghosting"
Content management systems (for websites)

This session is appropriate for nonprofits of all sizes, from big enterprises to single-person organizations.

Executive Directors and IT decision makers are encouraged to attend.