Hi everyone-

I just started as the administrative assistant and I have been given a task by my boss. We are currently using Microsoft Outlook for our non-profit's email and are not able to use the "Out of Office Assistant" function. From what I've been told, that function is only available through Exchange. So my question is this: what products will I need to order in order to be able to upgrade our 10 office computers to be able to support the use of Microsoft Exchange as our email system and thus utilize the "Out of Office Assistant" and group calendar functions? Any advice would be greatly appreciated. Thank you.

Andrea

We are a NFP organziation that is looking for a inexpensive and user friendly HR software.
At this time we have less than 100 active employees but we would like to have the capacity to keep archive information on terminated employees.
We would like the database to host the basic personal info (name, address, telephone #, etc.), position specifics (position, wage, date of hire/termination, etc.), completion of education/training and the ability to run certain reports (length of service, telephone lists, etc)
Does anyone have any recommendations?
Thank you for your assistance,

Are you planning to upgrade to Microsoft's new Office 2007 productivity suite? Why or why not?

Still debating the issue? Check out TechSoup's article Microsoft Office 2007: An FAQ For Nonprofits, which may help you make an informed decision.

If you have additional questions about Office 2007, please share them here.

Not in any way trying to endorse a product, but after dealing with spam at my agency for some time, I started to research an anti-spam product that would assist. We use MS Exchange 2003 (recipient filtering/IMF) and Symantec Mail Security for MS Exchange. IMF and Symantec Mail Security worked okay at best, but still a lot of spam got through. Utilized the Junk Mail feature in Outlook, but the spam got to the server.

I was ready to make the jump to a Barracuda Spam filter (pretty expensive) but thought I would give Postini a try. We have about 20 employees and the product has worked fantastic. We have not had one spam email come through and no legitimate email is being blocked. The nice thing (to me) is that any incoming emails are sent to Postini first and then on to your mail server. Thus, Postini handles the spam filtering and only legitimate emails are sent to the mail server. A lot of robust features (web-based admin) and advanced security which is updated on their end constantly. We pay only $2.50 a user a month which is pretty much cheaper than splurging on the Barracuda appliance and over 3 years. It also helped with bandwidth issues as you are only allowing SMTP traffic from one IP range vs the entire Internet.

I'm sure there are some who hesitate on using a third-party service, but based on our experience and the cost, its pretty affordable and does a great job.

Our organization indexes information in publications for benefit of users of materials that have no index. Can anyone suggest a good free program that will make this process more efficient than Excel.

If your nonprofit carries out a avariety of types of transactions on its Web site -- for example, accepting donations and event registration -- what tools do you use to do so?

In TechSoup's article A Few Good Online Payment Multitaskers, we'll show you expert-recommended tools for processing various types of payments on an existing Web site.

Tried any of these services or others? Share your feedback below.

Has your nonprofit used Craigslist? If so, how? What was the best thing you've found on the site? Do you recommend it as a resource for other nonprofits?

To learn more about this worldwide phenomenon, read TechSoup's article Craigslist: A Community with a Conscience.

Share your own thoughts -- and any noteworthy "found on Craigslist" stories -- here.

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For help on deciphering sites' terms of service agreements and privacy policies, along with a comparison of the fine print of eight video-sharing sites, read TechSoup's article Understanding Video-Sharing Sites' Terms of Service.

I am upgrading the network here to wireless to accomodate out adoption of electronic medical records (eclinical)so have to satisfy HIPAA rules.
HIPAA requires "best effort" solutions to technical security issues but for wireless security that is a moving target with WEP and WAP2, etc.
Has anyone done this already or is anyone planning a similar thing?
I am in the idea gathering stage right now but plan to have this running by mid April.
We have about 30 clients, 4 printers and 2 servers and are run dsl for internet access.

Ron

Have you ever had to test your backup system? In an emergency, do you think you could recover lost data quickly and easy? What measures has your nonprofit taken against data loss?

If you're looking for ways to make your backup system stronger, check out Backing Up Your Data on TechSoup. Written by ONE/Northwest and recently updated by Kevin Lo of TechSoup's Healthy & Secure Computing initiative, the article identifies tools and strategies for protecting your organization against data loss.

Do you offer point of sales software? I couldn't find it in your catalog.

(Oh, and thanks for giving us non-profits a break!)

My agency needs a telephone system. We need four telephone extensions and voice-mail. We do not have a receptionist nor a full-time person dedicated to answering the phones. Due to our small size (four staff members) we need an efficient, affordable solution. Any ideas?

Have you ever struggled over whether to save an image as a JPEG or a TIFF? What tips and tricks have you learned over the years when it comes to selecting the right file?

For a list of common file formats and best practices, check out TechSoup's article Understanding Images: A Guide to File Formats. Share your feedback and questions here.

Have you tried a Web-conferencing application? How long did it take to set up, and did it run smoothly? Did you encounter any challenges using it?

If you are interested in learning more about Web-conferencing apps, check out TechSoup's article Web-Conferencing Tools: Right for You?, which offers considerations for selecting a Web-conferencing tool. A downloadable spreadsheet compares the features found in 10 popular products.

Have you tried any of the tools on this spreadsheet? Are we missing a product that you recommend? Share your feedback here.

TechSoup has updated its Donor-Management Software Comparison chart.

Look to this chart for a side-by-side comparison of the key features of eight popular programs, including The Raiser's Edge, DonorPerfect, and eTapestry.

Information on the chart is self-reported -- and the list of donor-management systems is by no means complete. If you have experience with these or other donor-management applications, please share your feedback and recommendations below.

What diagramming software have you used, and what have you used it for? Based on your experiences, would you recommend it to other nonprofits? For what types of projects?

If you're considering a diagramming app for your nonprofit, check out TechSoup's article Visual Presentations Made Easy With Diagramming Software. Tried one of the applications listed? Tell us what you think about it here.

Do you use an automated online backup service? What vendor do you use, and what has been your experience? If you don't use an online backup service, what methods (if any) do you use to secure your data?

In TechSoup's article The No-Excuses Guide to Automated Online Backup, we show you how to select and set up a backup service that will help keep your nonprofit's critical information safe and secure. Have you tried the programs mentioned here? Share your feedback and comments.

I have roughly 17 GB of data that needs to be stored on an offisite backup. It's across 3 servers but I can map network drives if need be so only 1 server actually would need to do the backup. Any suggestions for this amount of data? Thanks as always!

Hello,
Our web site has grown so large that it is impossible for us to check all the links. Does anyone know about a program or vendor who check links?
Thanks - Alan

Has your nonprofit incorporated open-source software into its desktops? How did you make the transition, and which applications worked for you? Do you have advice for other nonprofits about to make the leap?

Those who are considering migrating to a full or partial open-source desktop may want to read TechSoup's article Creating an Open-Source Desktop, where we provide an overview of adopting open-source desktop software, one component at a time.

Find out which open-source applications we recommend for Web browsing, email, calendaring and task lists, word processing, and databases -- and use our additional links and resources to find open-sourcesoftware.