Richard:
I have experience in both Raisers Edge and in setting up
development databases from generic packages.
Alot depends on the size of the organization, the
sophistication of your development efforts, the need for
real-live fund accounting and the relative amounts of grant
vs. general operating vs. membership support that your
museum receives.
The long and the short of it is that Raisers Edge is a
reasonably good vertical market package. Using a package
like that, you are totally dependant on the vendor for
support, and, at least five years ago, when I was using it,
that was a real problem. To get support and bug fixes cost
some ridiculous amount each year. So, we got off the Raisers
Edge wagon, and built our own database using a DOS-based
package called Alpha 4.
It is a considerably more flexible program than filemaker
pro, but I'm sure the general issues are the same: do you
have the expertise in house to do the design of the
database. If you have experienced people around, then that
will make it much easier.
I think, on balance, that a smaller organization (ours had a
2 million budget) may well be better served by building
their own database if, and only if, the expertise is readily
available in house.
It's a tough call, but given your Mac-ness, I would think
that the investment in hardware alone would be a deciding
factor.
Eric Siegel
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