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Advice on CiviCRM Spark?

Emily Fraser Parent Infant Foundation Posted 4 years ago

Hi all,

I was wondering if there was anyone here who had used CiviCRM Spark?

I've been tasked with looking at CRMs for our charity. A few years back, I looked at CiviCRM for another organisation and they decided that the hosting/partnering situation was too much expense and faff for what they needed. However, this time around I notice that CiviCRM have introduced Spark which looks easier to implement and offers the CRM (albeit with limited contacts and functionality) for a much lower cost. I've had a play on the demos and it looked like it might serve our purposes. However, I wondered if anyone else had any pearls of wisdom to share - specifically with regards to CiviCRM Spark. If anyone has started with Spark and subsequently upgraded I would also be interested in your experiences.

Thanks for any insights! It's a pretty nerve wracking thing to have to press the button on!!

Thanks,

Emily

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Hywel Watts Staff PANEL

Business Analyst at various IT/CRM consulting roles 4 years ago

Hi Emily,

I'd originally asked a question, which I've updated with my answer here; https://www.charityconnect.co.uk/post/crm-databases-your-real-world-use-and-your-thoughts-feelings/7749

I've just replaced a CiviCRM (non-Spark) system with Donorfy. Part of the reason came down to both the cost and effort involved with the hosting/partnering situation.

While the annual fees for CiviCRM are lower than any of the SaaS (Software as a Service) providers, you are on your own in a sense; in that you need to organise any upgrades, implementations etc. with the hosting partner. I guess it comes own to budget, but also what price you put on a "managed service" against managing your own service and paying for any changes on an ad-hoc basis.

I haven't used CiviCRM Spark so I can't comment on that; I think it has a limit of 2000 constituents and for comparison Donorfy would be about £2,000 per year (inc VAT) for that number.

Thanks,

Hywel

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Bari Pollard Staff PANEL

Databses Manager at GMCVO Databases 4 years ago

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Hi Emily,

We implement CiviCRM and I do recommend Spark for people who have a limited budget. There is no commitment to trying it out, you can cancel at anytime so risks are minimal for giving it a go.

As for upgrading it, the Core Team would direct you to one of the partners (like us) who would then install your site on a server and remove all the restrictions. However the costs jump up at this point to between £50-£100 per month depending on the partner infrastructure. Though hopefully your organisation would have grown to accommodate that increase in overheads.

Not sure if that helps or not!

Bari

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Emily Fraser Staff PANEL

at Parent Infant Foundation 4 years ago

Bari Pollard Sorry I only just picked this up. Did you record this by any chance or are you doing another at any point?

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Bari Pollard Staff PANEL

Databses Manager at GMCVO Databases 4 years ago

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Emily Fraser Sorry William hadn't uploaded the Video until last week. I haven't watchd it back as I hate listening to myself. Which is weird, because if you ask any of my friends they would disagree with that statement! :D

https://civicrm.org/blog/wmortada/webinar-scheduled-reminders

Cheers

Bari

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