Open Source for NonProfits
Boston NonProfit Center
Andy Oram, O'Reilly Media
January 11, 2016
This work is licensed under the
Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.
http://www.slideshare.net/andyoram/open-source-fornonprofits

Why Open Source? (Part 1: Data)
Andy Oram, O'Reilly Media January 11, 2016
The world depends on data
Software can help you derive important organizational
insights from data :
And so does your organization
Which of your outreach efforts are most
successful, and with whom?
Where are your clients coming from, and where
should you expand your service?
Where is your spending producing the most
benefit?
What do trends from the past few years suggest
for the future?

Why Open Source? (Part 2: Needs)
Andy Oram, O'Reilly Media January 11, 2016
Different pieces of software tend to work together better
when they are open source
To store, share, manage, and process this data, you need
software that:
Costs as little as possible (hopefully nothing)
Is open to inspection
Is guaranteed not to go away
Comes with a community who understands it

What is Open Source?
Andy Oram, O'Reilly Media January 11, 2016
Essentially a license
Most importantly, a community
(Is that what I need? Another community?)
And finally, a promise: your software will always be available
and can always be updated and maintained
You are able to view, change, and share the
source code

The alternative—beware
Andy Oram, O'Reilly Media January 11, 2016
Vendors who raise prices precipitously
Vendors who go out of business
Vendors who strip out the feature you need most
Vendors who suddenly remove access
Vendors who are slow to fix bugs and security flaws
Vendors who hold your data hostage
Vendors who spy on you
Vendors whose apps are infected with malware

Examples of free and open source software
Andy Oram, O'Reilly Media January 11, 2016
Databases (MySQL, MariaDB, PostgreSQL)
Contact relationship management (CiviCRM)
Document and image preparation (OpenOffice, LibreOffice,
Gimp)
Software for educators, health care providers, etc.

Search for “education” on GitHub
Andy Oram, O'Reilly Media January 11, 2016

Search for “healthcare” on GitHub
Andy Oram, O'Reilly Media January 11, 2016

Assessing Maturity—Models
Andy Oram, O'Reilly Media January 11, 2016
If you want software you can depend on, look beyond
features and robustness to assess the community and
services around the software
A huge number of rating systems and tools claim to
determine maturity
A typical system, the Open Source Maturity Model, rates
product software, support, documentation, training, product
integrations, and professional services

Assessing Maturity—One Essential
Andy Oram, O'Reilly Media January 11, 2016
My own top criterion (after features): how smoothly error
reports are handled
You can be almost 100% sure something will go wrong after
you adopt the software
Software comes “as is” with no warranty
Participating individuals and companies
determine priorities on their own
You want to be treated with respect and receive attention
promptly
However, in open source, no one owes anyone a bug fix

Why do people participate?
Andy Oram, O'Reilly Media January 11, 2016
Scratch your own itch (meet an immediate need)
Derive enhancements and bug fixes from outsiders
Ensure your software meets the community's needs
Catapult to large-scale use
Worked for Linux!
Do these values resemble those of your
organization?
Honor a mission devoted to freedom and universal growth
For instance, fits values of the education field
and international development

Keys to benefitting from open source
Andy Oram, O'Reilly Media January 11, 2016
Determine your own requirements in detail
Research software for quality and maturity
Become part of the community—engage with users and
developers
Give as well as take
Promote the software and open source in general
Community forums are the best source of
support—not vendor staff