Tech Tip: Using a Database Effectively in Your Organization

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A database is an application that runs on your computer thathelps you keep track of your organizational information. Think of it as a filing cabinet that lives in your computer.Most common uses of a database are to generate labels for mailing butthey can do so much more.

If your organization is thinking about using a database it'simportant to do an assessment of the information you need to keep track of.Gather together stakeholders (staff, board, leadership) and ask thefollowing questions:

· What kind of information are we (organizers, members, other staff) collecting about new people? (Examples: contact information, dues paid, attendance at meetings, whether or not we've done a one-on-one, leadership roles they have taken, etc.)
· What other kinds of information are we collecting? (Examples: campaign information, voting record, areas of outreach)
· Why are we tracking this information?
· How does tracking this information affect how we do our work?
· What information are we not collecting now that could be useful?
· What do we want to know about our members?
· Who has access to the information?
· Who else should have access to it? Do we have goals in terms of recruiting new members and/or developing a leadership development process?
· What are these goals?

Once you've created a list of the kinds of information to keep track of then it's time to conduct a sampling of available database solutions. Common Database programs are Microsoft Access and Filemaker Pro -- both come with templates for common databases used in businesses. A database template that is written specifically for the progressive non-profitcommunity is ebase (www.ebase.org) and it isa free program. The LINC Project has a modified version of ebase available on it's site (www.lincproject.org)specifically geared for low-income organizers. After you've looked at a couple of programs, assess whether you have the expertise available on staff to modify the database to meet your needs or if you need to use a volunteer or consultant with expertise.

Produced by the LINC Project in association with the NYCOSC.