Web Applications
We develop top-notch web applications that follow best practices and usability principals. Many nonprofit organizations have become aware of the value of web applications in the past few years, and we’ve been building application-style functionality into our content management system and web sites for years.
Many nonprofit organizations handle large datasets. A good web application will streamlinine labour processes. Very notable efficiencies can be found by avoiding double entry and reducing per-unit data handling time. A move from an out-dated, rigid, or manual data management practice to a web application and be a important and valuable step for an organization.
A common example is the database. Many organizations provide resource information to their stakeholders, either through static html pages, printed catalogues, or some kind of integration with an in-office system. Running this kind of system as a web application offers many benefits.
- Continuous improvement and tweaking to the application is easy to accomplish
- Management processes can be created that will vastly reduce operating costs.
- Your data can be stored in open formats that will ensure your data is not locked in and can easily be re-purposed – protecting your data as a valuable asset.
- Total freedom to fit the software to your purposes, rather than trying to work within the confines of a pre-packaged tool.
- You can easily delegate data entry and tier permissions for various user groups to access and alter it.
- Security can be prioritized and considered with the specific needs of your organization in mind.
There are range of database-type web applications that can be useful to a nonprofit organization – among them member management systems, document libraries, links and contact databases and knowledge bases some of which can be leveraged for revenue generation via member access or subscriptions, as well as sponsorships and advertising.
Another class of web applications useful to nonprofit organizations are communication tools, such forums, scheduling systems, and collaboration tools. We’ve developed many systems like these, and will be producing demos and descriptions here in the future. Collaboration tools can be particularly useful for organizations that do a lot of work in coalitions or in partnerships, as it can streamline document creation and revision, project management, and consensus-building.
Forums have been useful to many groups for internal communications (Your board of directors, for instance) and also to provide a public discussion area on their website (professional associations often find this useful). For organizations with specific expertise to offer users, a dynamic Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) or “Ask the Experts” section of their website can be useful both to provide service to users, and to raise the visibility of the organization.