Version 9.0

As many of you know, SofterWare offers two versions of DonorPerfect- DonorPerfect Online and a traditional installed solution, DonorPerfect Visual Edition. We actually have separate, dedicated development teams for both products, so that as improvements are made in one, they are duplicated in the other.

Well, after a year 'under wraps' our next version of DonorPerfect Visual Edition, version 9.0, is about to debut. And it's Big. Really BIG.

Version 9.0 sports a completely updated look and feel, as well as greatly improved and easy to use features such as:

• Automated Acknowledgements
• Custom Report Wizard
• 'MySpace' like Home Page
• Improved Administration Controls
• Quick Gift Entry
• More/Better Financial Reports & Analytics
• and much, much more

Here are some screen shots:

My Home Page. Each user can have their own home page which can be individually modified to include commonly used tasks such as searching for donors, processing acknowledgments, or running a specific report. Perfect for executive users who only want to see summary reports and analysis.


Acknowledgement Processing Center. Easily view which gifts need to be thanked, and automatically process acknowledgments with a direct link to Microsoft Word.

Flexibility is the key! Almost every display screen in DonorPerfect can be easily modified to track the information that is important to your organization. The ability to add your own fields, as well as delete (or hide) those fields that are irrelevant to your organization makes DonorPerfect much easier to use than other 'canned' systems that contain dozens of screens and thousands of fields that are unnecessary.

Custom Report Wizard. This wizard makes creating custom reports a snap. Select your report design template and then choose your fields, sort order and grouping options. The wizard will create the report at which point you can run the report or design it further with our built in graphical report designer.

Financial Reports made simple! Easy to follow reporting screen makes creating financial reports a snap. Choose from dozens of pre-existing reports, or create and design your own. Easily export to Excel for further analysis!

Currently, our plan is release Version 9.0 before June, so it's right around the corner!

Interested in trying out Version 9.0? We are currently looking for Beta testers who would like to test drive this new powerful version. If you are interested, please comment here!

Who moved our cheese?

Safe to say, I survived Disney last week with the family. Though there were some rather crowded days, all-in-all it was a great trip.

Now it's off to the Super Bowl of Fundraising Conferences, the Association of Fundraising Professionals International conference. This year, it's in Dallas, Texas.

For the first time, we will be hosting a wine and cheese reception for clients and prospects on Monday, March 26, at 5pm. It will be at one of the conference hotels, The Fairmont. If you have a chance, please stop on by for a some light snacks and a sneak peek into our new installed version of DonorPerfect, Version 9.0!

Of course, we'll be manning our booth in the exhibit hall. After 20 years of exhibiting at the conference, we will actually be at the front of the hall, right across from Blackbaud. :) Stop on by if you have the chance.



ps- A few people asked to comment on our Disney trip... Here were some main points:

1) We rented a 3 bedroom, 3 full bath fully furnished and stocked condo for the trip through a company called Villa Direct. Believe it or not, it was the same price per night as a single hotel room at a mid-tiered hotel at Disney! We couldn't have been more pleased with the location (< 5 minutes from Disney) and the community swimming pool. Oh yes, the condo had it's own private, enclosed swimming pool as well off the family room. The kids were thrilled.

2) Animal Kingdom should be renamed Ridiculously-Crowded-to-the-Point-of-Suffocation Kingdom. Seriously, this park was so crowded you had to wait in line just to fit through the walkways. Go early in the morning or skip it altogether.

3) Magic Kingdom is still magical. Old favourites like the Haunted Mansion were a big hit with my kids, and new attractions, such as the 3-D show Philhormagic, were stunning.

4) We did the Back Yard Barbeque with Mickey. I would recommend skipping it. A big hit was breakfast with Pooh and friends. I have never seen our kids more excited.

5) We should have planned more downtime- though we had times of just sitting around the pool, most of the time was still spent rushing from ride to ride.

As I said, the week was very special, and now it's back to the grindstone! ;)