Synagogue Management System vs. Dedicated

Your Synagogue Management System (like Chaverware, Shulcloud and others) offers a built-in Purim module. So why not use it? The advantages are obvious: your member information is already updated and you're already proficient at using it. These advantages are real but there are some significant advantages to using a dedicated (or standalone) website for your Purim fundraiser such as HappyPurim or Purim Project.

Updating your Member Information

Updating your member information is a necessary step before launching your campaign. And while there is an effort to update this information on the dedicated websites, some, like Purim Project, will offer advanced matching technology to easily update your member information from year to year. Ultimately the effort is not significant relative to the overall effort of managing your Purim fundraiser and in our opinion well worth it.

Features

The dedicated websites will offer more features than those that you'll find in your Synagogue Management System and offer a better design. The reason is that the Synagogue Management System view the Purim fundraiser as a module among several others. If all you need are the very basics then you might consider the Synagogue Management System but you should be aware of what you're forgoing.

Costs

Originally Synagogue Management Systems didn't charge for Purim fundraisers but once they started to offer an online version they began to charge for it. Shulcloud, for example, charges a flat fee for their Purim module, which is sometimes even higher than the cost of using a dedicated website (Purim Project, for example, has no minimum fee). And even if the dedicated website costs more, you'll often find that the added features of the dedicated website will translate into extra dollars that will cover the extra costs. So if you're switching from a Synagogue Management System to a dedicated vendor we suggest you keep track of the difference in collected funds to confirm that you're making the most of the added features.

Administration

Lastly, we found that more often than not those who manage a Purim fundraiser (or Rosh Hashana or similar) are not the same people who are the administrators of the Synagogue Management System. And the latter are often not happy to have seasonal volunteers entering their portal. And while there are permission-based solutions for Synagogue Management Systems, we often hear that synagogues prefer when these systems are kept separate.