Blogger Michelle Murrain was interviewed by Idealware on June 10th as part of their “Meet the Idealware Blogger” series. Michelle has her own consulting firm called OpenIssue. Additionally, she blogs on technology and writes science fiction stories. During this interview Michelle was asked, “If you had a magic wand that could transform one aspect of nonprofit technology in an instant, what would it be and why?” Michelle thinks, “Nonprofits need to get out of mindset of purchasing and buying and paying for software themselves.” She wants to see groups work together to buy these resources so they can reduce their individual costs, while still gaining all of the benefits from the resources.

“She offered an example. If 10 shelters got together and spent one tenth of the money they could set up a solution to case management or something and would get the same benefit at a fraction of the cost by sharing purchasing and development.”

By being members of GMT you are following Michelle’s advice. GMT subscribes to the Vocus database and all of our members share the system. Vocus is not diminished in anyway because it is a shared system. In many ways sharing Vocus actually increases its value to individual groups. Members are constantly adding and updating information about reporters and outlets. Because this is a shared system, all of these changes are available to every GMT user.

Also, by sharing Vocus it is affordable for groups of all sizes, may of which might not be able to afford the service at its retail price.

As the saying goes, nothing is free. While GMT members get access to the Vocus database there are additional training sessions that we require to ensure that everyone understands how to properly use the database. Therefore preventing them from harming anyone else lists or adding bad data to the system.

Requiring trainings is not a bad thing. Green Media Toolshed is proud to have members that feel comfortable using Vocus and they are able to take advantage of so many of its features.

For most GMT members the database is the most attractive feature, and it is a shared system. This model is working very well for our members. So, you should consider evaluating your other technology needs and see if you can find other groups to share the costs these services with. If it is a service like Vocus then consider groups similar to yours in mission and size. If it’s a piece of hardware, then you should consider groups that are located near you. Either way you are still benefiting from the technology for a fraction of the cost.