Joomla+CRM for a Nonprofit, Predecision Questions

[bchoc]

Greetings,

I’m presently evaluating options for CMS for our nonprofit.  We desperately need to move from our in-house database and badly re-re-re-redesigned website to a CMS, as the nature of our organization means we’ll have nontechnical people running the show (and the site) as often as not.  To this end, Joomla seems great.  I’ve played around with it a bit and I think even my boss could run the site once I got it going.  That’s saying something, and that’s a big plus.

However, I have a few questions about capabilities and limitations, and I figure it’s better to get that out there before making any jumps.  I’ll try to be specific (I’ve read enough of this forum to see that generalities don’t get very far).

Firstly, we are a nonprofit that serves other nonprofits.  Joomla does not natively include CRM, but I see CiviCRM and Tiger and Community Builder and the like.  I’ve read that this CRM data cannot be used for login authentication, which is unfortunate.  However, what I’ve not seen addressed is whether these permit the ability for authenticated self-editing of contact information.  In other words, can an organization/individual update a phone number when it changes, or whatever?

Also, is it possible/easy to pull data into a dynamic page (for example, a list of the names of all organizations in the database for an “our members” page)?  I can code this in JSP/ASP, but PHP is not my thing (yet, I suppose) so I’m wondering if I can be lazy or not, I guess.

Lastly, do simultaneous instances of Joomla run comfortably?  Can I run two sites off the same MySQL DB and the same domain (in different directories) and not have them kill each other?  And does Joomla accommodate different access levels for users?

I’ve been reading all sorts of materials, and if anything there’s too much out there.  So I’m hoping to cull down to a few products and extensions I should really be looking at.  I’m also sure some nonprofits out there have answered these questions themselves already, and have a great idea of how the integration issues really pan out, so I’m hoping I can glean some of that wisdom to make better decisions!

Thanks for any answers or direction-pointing anyone can suggest!
Brian

[cozimek]

Brian,

Thanks for posting, great questions that I'm sure lots of folks have here as well.

First, regarding integrations with CRM systems, I think the key here is what kind of integration you need with the CRM.  Two summers ago, we (PICnet) worked with the CiviCRM team to port CiviCRM to Joomla, which has been a great success for the community.  You're able to administer your CRM through the Joomla administrator, and have lots of front-end features.

As for Tiger, I unfortunately don't have much experience there.

Two other systems you should consider as a non-profit are Democracy in Action and Salesforce.com.

DIA is open source, but is normally purchased through DIA in a hosted environment.  It essentially does most everything a non-profit could use, while at the same time avoids breaking the bank.  We're set to release the open source J!DIA component, which will integrate Joomla and DIA, providing members the ability to update profile/data that is stored in DIA directly through Joomla.  Pretty powerful stuff.

In addition to this, we're working closely with the Salesforce Foundation, which is now providing the Salesforce.com system FREE to non-profits in the US.  Our soon to be released J!Salesforce component will be another open source connector between Salesforce and Joomla, providing similar functionalities that the J!DIA component already includes.

There's lots of routes to go down in this situation, and its best to get a good evaluation of all the available systems for your needs.  I think if you were to limit your search to the three in this post, you wouldn't be disappointed with the results.  I'm looking forward to you continuing to share your thoughts with us, as I'm sure there's others just like you in the forums here.

Best,
Ryan

[Slixter]

In other words, can an organization/individual update a phone number when it changes, or whatever?

Community Builder allows users to update/change their own information.

Also, is it possible/easy to pull data into a dynamic page (for example, a list of the names of all organizations in the database for an “our members” page)?  I can code this in JSP/ASP, but PHP is not my thing (yet, I suppose) so I’m wondering if I can be lazy or not, I guess.

You could use the wrapper component, which uses iframes, to insert that I would think.

Lastly, do simultaneous instances of Joomla run comfortably?  Can I run two sites off the same MySQL DB and the same domain (in different directories) and not have them kill each other?

Yes they do, you just need to change the prefix on the tables.

And does Joomla accommodate different access levels for users?

Joomla! has a limited ACL built in which does allow for different levels of access but their are also extensions available that extend that further.

http://extensions.joomla.org/index.php? ... &Itemid=35

--Slixter

[lobo]

Brian:

Answers inline. Full disclosure: I'm a CiviCRM core developer

Firstly, we are a nonprofit that serves other nonprofits.  Joomla does not natively include CRM, but I see CiviCRM and Tiger and Community Builder and the like.  I’ve read that this CRM data cannot be used for login authentication, which is unfortunate.  However, what I’ve not seen addressed is whether these permit the ability for authenticated self-editing of contact information.  In other words, can an organization/individual update a phone number when it changes, or whatever?

Yes, this is possible with CiviCRM under both Drupal and Joomla. Our Drupal integration is much stronger and more unified in this regard over Joomla primarily because of the different extension styles of Drupal over Joomla. However the Kabissa project (More information at: http://wiki.civicrm.org/confluence/disp ... ifications) should fix this issue in a nice seamless manner. The CiviCRM administrator of the site determines what information needs to be collected / exposed from the end-user so its very flexible

Also, is it possible/easy to pull data into a dynamic page (for example, a list of the names of all organizations in the database for an “our members” page)?  I can code this in JSP/ASP, but PHP is not my thing (yet, I suppose) so I’m wondering if I can be lazy or not, I guess.

Yes, you can either code this using CiviCRM api's or you could use CiviCRM's profile feature (http://wiki.civicrm.org/confluence/disp ... RM+Profile) to expose small subsets of your data about a group of contacts

feel free to ask more questions either on the civicrm-dev mailing list (http://lists.civicrm.org) or on the civicrm forum at: http://forum.joomla.org/index.php/board,294.0.html. We have a pretty awesome and rapidly growing community that help each other out a fair amount

lobo

[bchoc]

Thanks for the several meaningful replies here...
In the intervening days I've spent a fair amount of time reading and another fair amount of time attemping to install things.

In particular, this thread
http://forum.joomla.org/index.php?topic ... 1132  (which involves some of the same people)
made me think about the nature of site users and CRM data, and how it actually may be more confusing to have them seamlessly integrated, rather than apart.  While it seems nice to have users login and access (a subset of) linked CRM data, the fact is that an organization may focus it's CRM data around families or, as in our case, companies/organizations.  Visitors to the site, however, would likely be individuals that may - or may not - be affiliated with groups that we would put in the CR, but may want a login/username for posts, etc.

The ability for users to edit appropriate CRM data is key, but I think separate login options would be more appropriate.  I guess I'll have to kepe poking around.

DIA and Salesforce might work, but ... I have the feeling CiviCRM is probably the closest thing to the right tool for the job.  I believe our organization has a preference for in-house vs. hosted services, for whatever reasons.  Conversely, Community Builder simply does not seem to be the right product for our needs.

Brian

[BDen1]

Most of your questions have been answered. I just wanted to toss SugarCRM into the mix as well. You can create different “Roles” for logins so people might be able to see the data but only change/delete certain items.
http://www.sugarcrm.com

There is also a live help plug-in for Sugar called Shine Live Help that you might be able to use.
http://www.sugarforge.org/projects/shinelivehelp

[AJuOnLiNE]

I just wanted to toss SugarCRM into the mix as well.

There is also a live help plug-in for Sugar called Shine Live Help that you might be able to use.
http://www.sugarforge.org/projects/shinelivehelp

Does SugarCRM  works with Joomla? As far as I remember they had some connector for some old version Mambo or Joomla.. I guess..

[BDen1]

Not sure.. On the Sugar forums they have some people saying they got Joomla/Sugar working, but they don't give specifics. On SugarForge there is a portal for integrating Sugar 4.5 and Mambo, but it's in beta.

[AJuOnLiNE]

Yes.. I have been looking at CiviCRM and vTiger..
Both for two different purpose of course.. for which they are.. Civi for Non Profit and vTiger for Businesses..
I will be testing them to see if they meet the purpose for which I need them
Regards,
AJ