29 Questions Nonprofits Should Ask when Evaluating Scheduling Calendar Software

Nonprofit software developers, managers and other professionals who develop nonprofit software gathered in February, 2007in Oakland, California, to discuss potential synergies and collaborations. Organizers of this Nonprofit Software Development Summit identified the primary event goals as strengthening connections between those serving the technology needs of nonprofits, share skills, map and discuss gaps in offerings and to identify points of entry for new software.

In general, attendees identified three key issues driving technology decisions within nonprofits as:

- Skill gap of staffers and the time to learn

- Ability to integrate new software or customize tools

- Affordability of nonprofit software

Much is already available to help nonprofits address needs in the context of these three key issues when selecting accounting software or fund raising software. One new and emerging area of need for nonprofits is that of scheduling calendar software.

The following questions help nonprofits qualify scheduling software within the context of these three criteria, whether the need is for scheduling software to stand alone or scheduling software to complement existing systems.

Skill gap and lack of time to learn to use new calendar software.

1. What kind of support is available for nonprofit volunteers or staff?

2. How easy will the product be to install and get up and running?

3. Many of the volunteers may have had limited exposure to scheduling software or event planning software , what tools are available to help them learn?

4. Is support available by email, by phone, by IM or by fax?

5. Are there on-line tutorials available for to do self-paced earning?

6. Will staff or volunteers be able to experience the features of the software before purchasing through a product tour or a limited time trial?

7. Who specifically will use the software and what is the skill level of users?

8. Is there a cost for training? How will that impact the budget approved by the board?

9. Will new IT staff be needed to support the program?

Ability to integrate or customize the tools to meet needs