2. Agenda Summary Original Priorities Our Process (Part 1) Your Feedback General Comments Issue by Issue Conclusion Costs Summary Our Process (Part 2)
3. Summary Proposals in response to original RFP came in at $40k. Too high! We thought: Drupal was wrong choice. Our mission: Reduce costs AND look at all tech needs comprehensively.
4. Original Priorities New website Streamline the candidate application and selection process Searchable alumni database Look at overall communications with and between alumni
5. Our process (part 1) Serve as ‘consultant consultants.’ How would we solve it? What do our colleagues in nptech think? Interview BYFI staff and Alumni Advisory Board members: Wayne Jones - PresidentDanny Greene – member of communications committeeTova Serkin – member of communications committeeAva Charne – Administrative DirectorRachel Eson – Administrative AssistantDeana Silverberg – Communications and Project OfficerMatan Barak – Director of Amitei Bronfmanand of course Becky Voorwinde.
6. Your Feedback Unify websites. Alumni should be able to look each other up and update their profile. Desire to ‘do more’ to knit alumni together using social media, but uncertainty about exactly what would be worthwhile. Current method of processing applications is problematic, in part because of strain on staff. The use of Mail Chimp and Salesforce should be looked at; there are issues with ease of use, training, and access to specialized help. The Alumni Fellows Grants program might benefit from methods to expand involvement in the selection process. There is a strong desire to overcome the geographic and social distance between the Israeli alumni (Amitim) and the North American alumni.
7. General comments Satisfaction with the alumni experience was high. The staff and board members we consulted were enthusiastic, knowledgeable and solution oriented. We aren’t entirely clear on what BYFI wants to achieve through increased visibility of the program. Is ‘visibility of the alumni network and BYFI’ a goal worth investing in? The desire for a stronger connection between Israeli and North American alumni is a real one, but most agreed that this was partly an ambition; alumni rarely seek contacts for the ‘other’ program.
8. Issue by issue Making Three Websites Into One: $10,000 Alumni Lookup: $2,000 Social Media for More Connection: $0, Staff Time Using Mail Chimp and Salesforce: $2500, plus ongoing Mail Chimp costs Candidate Application and Review: $2,500-$5,000 Alumni Fellows Grants Selection Process: $1,000 not recommended Amitim+Fellows Integration
9. Website redesign: $10k Single domain for all sites Israeli subdomain – separate CMS installation, Hebrew interface, same design Lower cost explanation: BYFI responsibility for transferring and updating content, use current architecture, bid for advanced features separately Outside project management could add $2-$5k
10. Alumni lookup: $2k Use native Salesforce functions to create password protected search page. Use A Drupal or Joomla module that is manually updated with Salesforcedata Use Drupal or Joomla native functionality
11. Social media for more connection: $0 What you are doing works LinkedIn – not recommended Incorporate social network campaign during search for candidates
12. Assist with Salesforce: $2500 Mail Chimp and Salesforceare working – but there are issues with using advanced functions and matching goals with procedures. We suggest a review of business functions with an expert Salesforceconsultant who gets to know BYFI.We recommend finding an independent Salesforce consultant who can’t code or offer expertise in app selection, but who knows the system well and will serve as a ‘help desk’ for 2 months. Someone on call for 5 hours/week over 2 months might cost $2500. A Salesforce developer can easily cost $125 an hour; but an experienced Salesforce user should be half as much - or less.
13. Candidate applications: $2500-$5000 There are multiple software packages, often used for hiring, that can be used. These tend to cost $thousands per year – and don’t always work well. Many of them are designed for larger numbers, more centralized reviewing, or add-on services like psychometric tests.We think that a Drupal/Joomla developer can create an application form that includes the ability to upload documents, such as resumes and recommendation letters. Such a system would have the look/feel of the general website. The biggest challenge would be uploading all recommendation letters and transcripts and organizing directories of candidate clusters.
14. Alumni venture fund: $1000 Not recommended A combination of modules and Google Moderator would allow for greater ‘crowdsourcing’ of proposals. Cost would be $1000 of developer time.
15. Amitim + fellows integration Use automatic translation module for both Israeli and N.A. websites. Move Israelis in N.A. to the N.A. alumni database and vice-versa. Coordinate quarterly newsletter so that N.A. version includes some Israeli content and vice-versa. Consider web video events that include speakers from both sides using webinar software. Have staff (continue) to mix it up on Facebook and the listservs. Look for stories reflecting the Israeli/N.A. connection.
16. Conclusion Web projects for nonprofits often cost much more than what we are proposing. We think BYFI can save significantly because: Your site architecture already exists and is serving your needs. You do not need a fancy website with all the bells and whistles the way a donor driven or content driven website might. You can present a very detailed work plan to a web developer, allowing them to feel confident that you won’t be a ‘bad client’ that doesn’t really know what they want at the outset and is going to be a time-suck. You can use a freelancer active in the Jewish or nonprofit community instead of a full service firm that requires projects above a certain price level to say in business. You can articulate what the solution looks like in advance instead of shopping for overly customized solutions.
17. Costs summary $10,000 Website, including new design and CMS construction to mimic current site (with small changes.)$2,000 Copy site for a Hebrew version to serve the Amitim.$2,000 Alumni lookup function$2,500 SalesForce consulting for the office for two months$5,000 Candidate selection and reading tool$1,000 Grants review and voting process within the websiteTotal: $22,500. Add a consultant to manage the web development content transfer and project manage this entire project, and the total is $27,500. A cost savings of $12,500 - at least.
18. Our process (part 2) We started off rejecting Drupal as the correct web and special feature solution for two reasons. First, the proposals submitted by vendors were very high; and second, Drupal is a very serious platform that can relatively more expensive to build and maintain that other platforms. Our initial thought was to suggest a less unwieldy Wordpress site, and then use off the shelf services instead of integrated apps that work as part of the website.We looked at some of the existing collaboration tools we know of (such as Basecamp.) We asked about membership management software, HR resources software for applications, and specialized Salesforce apps that require customer portal licenses. At first, all the responses referred to licenses and custom development. We came to understand that Drupal and Salesforce have features that only need to be tweaked so that they can do the work BYFI needs done for a searchable membership directory and an applications submission and review tool. Not being experts in either Drupal or Salesforce, we asked folks to explain to use how they would solve our problems. In effect, we were persuaded to go back to Drupal.
19. Our process (part 2) Joomlais another open-source content management system that is mid-way between Wordpress and Drupal. It is easier to use, had many of Drupal’s features but fewer modules and a smaller developer community. One consultant (PicNet) with a stellar reputation presented a Joomla/Salesforce integration solution that is worth looking at as an alternative to Drupal.All these systems - Drupal, Joomla and Wordpress - have user types’ built in. This allows for the native, built in functionality of the site to be used creatively to get what you want.Salesforce, as mentioned, has customer or member portal licenses that cost a few dollars per year per user - a prohibitive amount. But it also has a feature set that (in the hands of a moderately skilled developer) can be used to create a membership directory hidden behind a password. We’re saying that Drupal or Joomla or Salesforcecan address your needs without extensive development The main cost is in trying to link Salesforce to the website or building and configuring complicated apps and modules. Freelance developers can certainly handle the tasks under discussion. We consulted with our community. Worth mentioning as possible bidders: Ryan Ozimeck, Picnet.Jon Wheeler, Green Media ToolshedFureigh, freelance Drupal developerSean Watson, Tech Effect (Salesforce developer)Jessie Grenfell, Platy IT (Salesforce developer)Trish Perkins, HandyCapableSolutions (Salesforce developer)
