Free Apps & Software for Non-Profits

According to the National Day Calendar, Feb is Free & Open supply code (FOSS) Month. Open supply (OS) code will be an amazing resource for non-profit organizations that require technology, even as a for-profit business will, however usually have fewer resources to get hold of dearly-won solutions.

So, what's associate degree open supply software? you almost certainly already use a number of the foremost in style open supply packages while not even realizing it.

WordPress (blogging and web site design)
Firefox (internet browser)
Android (mobile device operative system)
This area unit all open supply code. OS code developers (aka the copyright holders) build the ASCII text file out there to anyone to look at or edit. The code or app is additionally free for anyone to use, copy, or disclose. OS code is usually developed in an exceedingly public collaboration. as an example, if you click on concerning Firefox within the browser's facilitate menu, you'll see that the Firefox web browser "is designed by Mozilla, a worldwide community operating to stay the online open, public and accessible to any or all."
The idea behind this manner of making code is that the theory that programmers, United Nations agency work for a for-profit business and also the business itself, area unit that specializes in protective their possession and profit additionally to, or rather than, creating the code the best quality it will be. OS advocates believe that a bigger cluster of programmers, United Nations agency accept peers to seek out and eliminate issues within the code, can produce additional help and better quality product for everybody.

The big advantage of open supply code, of course, is that it's free. the actual fact that the code is public means a whole bunch or {maybe|or perhaps} thousands of programmers and users may check, evaluate, debug, and enhance the app you finally use. Here area unit the highest five reasons open supply advocates provide for the advantages of open supply code, additionally to the zero-dollar value tag:

Security: the additional people that will see and check a collection of code, the additional doubtless security flaws are going to be found and stuck.
Reliability: it's peer-reviewed, with bugs fastened in real time instead of in far-future versions.
Identity: it will be tailored.
Low-resource intensity: open supply code will ofttimes be run on the older computers common in non-profit offices.
Freedom of choice: No commitment till you're positive (try as many various packages as you want-they're free!)
There area unit downsides, however. the foremost common, in my expertise, is that there in all probability is not a facilitate table or technical school support signaling for users to decide. the assistance table for associate degree OS package is also identical journal or web site wherever programmers and testers transfer code and discuss bugs that they notice.
Below could be a list of some OS apps and code, that several non-profit organizations can notice helpful. they're all widely used, victory packages. simply bear in mind, that does not mean they're all mechanically right for YOUR non-profit. contemplate United Nations agency on your workers (whether in-office or consultants) can

install the code
maintain the code and any knowledge
train new users
use the code on an everyday basis
Consider conjointly whether or not this code has to "talk to" different code in your organization. can the packages be compatible? If you have got existing knowledge that may have to be compelled to be born-again to the new package, United Nations agency can do that?
Now that we've cautioned you concerning the risks, here area unit our favorite open supply code packages:

LibreOffice: workplace productivity suite as well as word processing system, program, presentation, database, etc. based on, and successor to OpenOffice. Awarded Best Free workplace Suite by CNET Magazine
GIMP: antelope Image Manipulation Program image and image editor. Works on GNU/Linux, OS X, Windows, and more. Named a high Free code to decide for 2013 by Laptop Magazine
Audacity: digital audio editor created by an academician and a student at Carnegie Andrew Mellon University. Chosen collectively of laptop World Magazine's a hundred Best product of 2008
Shortcut: cross-platform video editor and encoder. Named a TechRadar transfer of the Day
Thunderbird: email and chat shopper developed by Mozilla (maker of Firefox). laptop World Magazine's Best a hundred product in 2005 and 2008
KeePass: positive identification manager. counseled positive identification manager by the German government department for info Security and also the French Network and data Security Agency. KeePass has the best score within the positive identification management grid of G2 Crowd
Rocket.Chat: multi-platform internet chat, video conferencing, and team communications. InfoWorld Magazine BOSSIE 2016 Award
One of the largest non-profit desires is for a constituent relationship management (CRM) system that permits the organization to stay track of donors, prospects, volunteers, and different constituents still as communications with constituents. Here area unit the free and open supply CRMs you would possibly investigate once it is time for a brand new CRM at your non-profit.
Suite CRM (formerly Sugar CRM) is one amongst the foremost in style, though it's not specific to non-profit
CiviCRM has been developed specifically for non-profit organizations
If you wish to find out additional, several non-profit and charitable organizations promote the open supply code movement. Here area unit many of the most important and longest-lived:
Apache code Foundation: provides support for the community of Apache ASCII text file code product
The Document Foundation: German charitable foundation created by an outsized cluster of free code advocates
The Eclipse Foundation: associate degree freelance non-profit funded by member dues to permit a vendor-neutral and open community to steward the IBM-created Eclipse Project
Free code Foundation: works to confirm freedom for pc users worldwide, significantly by promoting the antelope free software package
Linux Foundation: supports several open supplies comes, as well as the 25-year-old UNIX software package
OpenCourseWare Consortium: a worldwide network of instructional establishments, organizations, and other people United Nations agency promote openness in education, as well as collection development and use of open instructional materials
OpenHatch: matches prospective open supply code programmers with communities, tools, and education
OpenSourceMatters offers money, legal, and structural support for the Joomla! content management system for websites
Open supply Initiative: represents the open supply community, maintains the Open supply Definition, and creates ASCII text file licenses
The label "open source" is claimed to own been coined at a method session command in 1998 shortly when the announcement of the discharge of the web browser application program ASCII text file. within the nearly twenty years since then, the Free and Open supply code market and product have matured. Non-profits will cash in of the high-quality, free* code out there for productivity, constituent management, and different essential tasks.
*Just bear in mind, not all free code is free or safe to use. Thanks.