An Introduction to ebase

These frequently asked questions introduce ebase and some of its pros and cons. For more information, see the ebase Web site.

What is ebase? 

ebase is free database software designed for nonprofits. As the training materials explain, "the primary purpose of ebase is to provide a central place for tracking names, memberships, donations, activities, voting history, and responses to organizational mailings." It was originally created in 1998 by an organization called Desktop Assistance to help environmental activist organizations effectively manage their data. As of October 2000, over 9,000 organizations worldwide had downloaded ebase.

What are some of ebase's main features? 

ebase is designed to help an organization track its relationship with members and constituents. Built using Filemaker Pro, ebase provides a complete user interface to enter data, search, sort and create reports. Beyond the basic tasks of tracking contact information and pledge information, creating letters and mailing labels, and generating reports, ebase is specifically designed to facilitate online communication and activism through the use of e-mail.

Some of ebase's capabilities include:

• Tracking Contacts:

  ebase allows you to track standard contact information about individuals. Its "Householding" function allows you to group individuals by their household, so that you can send just one appeal to each family.

• Communications:

  ebase allows you to select a specific set of contacts and create e-mail messages or letters addressed to each of them. You can send the messages directly from ebase, or you can forward them to your e-mail client and send them from there. Similarly, you can write and print letters in ebase, or you can export the data to another application such as Microsoft Word. ebase also makes it simple to create mailing labels.

• Reports:

  ebase includes a number of report templates, including an Individual Giving History report, a List of Names report, a Pledge Report, and a Fiscal Year Totals report, to name a few. One great feature of ebase is that you can mark in the database each time you contact a client. You can then use a "source code" to track the response to your contact. You can then report on the effectiveness of a specific call to action or fund appeal.

• Advocacy:

  ebase's e-mail connectivity enables you to send out e-mail alerts to members interested in specific issues.

• Fundraising:

  ebase allows you to record pledges and payments. You can track how these pledges and payments correlate with the appeals and renewal notices you send out. You can also use a template to send thank you letters. Many of the report templates track such data as giving levels and histories.

What Are The Drawbacks Of ebase? 

Like any software package, ebase is not right for everyone. Here are a few concerns that might lead you to decide you need something different:

• ebase is not an accounting package. While it does allow you to track and report on pledges and payments, the calculations you can perform on these numbers are limited. ebase security is not high enough for you to store sensitive financial information or credit card numbers. Its capabilities do not approach that of sophisticated donor management and accounting software like Raiser's Edge . You will probably want to use ebase in combination with your existing accounting system.
• Security is not one of the strengths of Filemaker Pro, the underlying software for ebase, especially if the database is shared over a network. ebase does not offer many extra protections. See "Will ebase keep my data secure?" for more information.
• Because ebase is free, there is not a wide, comprehensive support network for it. You may or may not have luck finding a consultant who knows ebase and can troubleshoot or customize it. There is no technical support phone line. However, the makers of ebase have done their best to put together a range of support and training options.
• ebase might look too complex at first. There are a lot of features and layers to it. The good news is that you can use only a subset of the ebase functionality and ignore what you do not need.
• Conversely, if your needs are complex and extensive, you may want to consider more high-tech options such as a custom SQL Server database. ebase may run slowly or encounter problems with a very large database. FileMaker Pro may even impose a limit on the size of the database file. It is worth estimating the size of your database and researching what ebase can handle.

Despite these drawbacks, be sure to bear in mind that ebase is free and customizable. Even if it does not meet all your needs, it may be a good starting place to develop something that does.

Is It Really Free? 

Yes, ebase is really free (except for a $10 handling charge if you want it sent to you on CD). However, there is one catch: ebase was built in Filemaker Pro. You don't necessarily need Filemaker Pro to run it, because a runtime version of Filemaker is included with ebase; however, if you want to customize ebase and use some of its advanced features, you will need at least one copy of Filemaker Pro. In most cases, you will want the option to customize, even if it is only in simple ways. If your organization purchases one copy of FileMaker Pro, FileMaker will donate your additional licenses (you need multiple licenses in order to have multiple simultaneous users of ebase). Complete donation information can be found on the Filemaker Web site.

Can I Customize ebase? 

Yes! You will probably want to if you begin to use ebase seriously. Customization is necessary even for certain simple tasks like editing value lists of Donor Types or Action Preferences. If you have Filemaker Pro, you can go in and change anything you like. Be careful, however. You should be extremely familiar and comfortable with both ebase and Filemaker Pro before you begin to make changes, since they can impact ebase in ways you do not intend. ebase recommends that you document all changes using the "Document" button under "Tools." One concern with customization is that you may lose your custom features when you upgrade to a new version of ebase in the future. To avoid this problem, try to modify only the data and not the layouts themselves whenever possible.

Can I Load My Existing Data Into ebase? 

You can load information from existing data sources, however the ebase training materials admit that this process can take "anywhere between 4 to 16 hours." ebase can only read data from a tab-delimited text file. If your data is in Excel, FoxPro, Lotus 123, dBASE or some other application, you will need to export it to a tab-delimited text format. Then you can import it into ebase and map the data into the correct fields, a complex task that requires good Filemaker Pro knowledge. In some cases it may be simpler just to re-enter the information.

Where Can I Get Ebase Training And Support? 

First, you should download the User Manual and the Administrator Manual from the ebase section on the ebase Web site. The ebase support site offers a variety of other resources. There are also support listservs, monitored by ebase staff, where users can often get answers to specific questions. A list of ebase consultants is also available.

Will ebase Keep My Data Secure? 

If you set ebase up for multiple users to access over a network, you are effectively letting anyone who can access your network in to the database. This makes it relatively easy for hackers to get in. If you are sharing ebase over a network, you should not store social security numbers or credit card numbers.

One problem with ebase is that it currently does not allow you to maintain various users with different passwords and different levels of access to the database. There are user, administrator and master passwords, but you cannot have different passwords and profiles for different users. If you are storing sensitive information in the database, you may have difficulty restricting access to it. ebase also does not track who made a given change to the database. If you have serious security needs, you might want to consider a more advanced product, like SQL Server.

How Can I Get A Copy To Use Or Preview? 

The easiest way is to Download ebasePro for free.

If you're not sure if ebase is for you, chances are it is worth your while to investigate. Educate yourself about its limitations, but remember that once you download it, ebase is yours to modify at will.