You search and search and finally find the perfect software solution for your nonprofit organization! You put together a proposal that explains all of the program’s benefits – for the board, for you, and for your staff. You’re sure to get the board’s approval to go forward with the purchase.
But, someone on the board knows someone somewhere who can get you software that does the exact same thing and it costs nothing. The board decides there’s no reason to spend money on a program when there’s software available for free. You’re disappointed, but it’s hard to argue the point when you work for a nonprofit organization.
So, you download and install the free software and now you’re ready to enter data. As you look at the screens, you have lots of questions. The data fields available aren’t the same as what you need to record, and it’s not clear whether information stored in this data field will affect that report. You decide to call the Help Desk.
After being on hold for 10 minutes, you finally get connected to someone in Customer Service. However, you’re told that Customer Service for the free version of software you’re using is only available Mondays and Wednesdays from 11:00 AM through 3:00 PM EST. Since it’s Thursday morning, you decide to go it alone. You spend hours reading the Help file, but it seldom actually helps. You glance at the clock and are shocked to see how much time has gone by. And, you’re still trying to figure out how this software works.
You sigh, log off the free software, and open the same old spreadsheet you’ve been using for years. Back to square one.
