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Foundation Report, Summer 2006:
New Membership Database
By Bill Sanda
I am thrilled to announce that the Foundation has purchased and implemented
a new and very sophisticated association-management software system,
including membership tracking. The membership system we have been using,
based on Microsoft Access, was built over six years ago and has seen
its better days. Kathy O'Brien, our office manager, affectionately calls
our current system "the Beast." With our huge growth in membership,
it was obviously time to upgrade.
We went through an extensive evaluation process of 11 membership database
systems with the assistance of database management consultants, Dani
Fleming and Marcus Collins, who also happen to be our landlords. After
lengthy review, we chose Euclid Technology of Bethesda, Maryland. Their
web-based system, called ClearVantage™, (not to be confused with
the soy isoflavone food additive AdvantaClear™) was by far the
best of all the systems reviewed (www.euclidtechnology.com).
It's interesting to note that when Euclid Technology's marketing team
was demonstrating ClearVantage™ to us at the office, our old Access-based
system crashed before our eyes. The system would not allow Kathy to
access the membership database stored on her computer's hard drive.
It "just disappeared." Perhaps the software was unhappy that
we were looking to replace it with a new and improved version. Whatever
the reason, it took a day to get the system to accept a backup file
with a lot of help from its original designer. Clearly time to change.
ClearVantage™ has integrated modules for member relationship
management, membership dues and renewal management, event management,
financial management and accounts receivable, document management and
workflow management. It will definitely enhance our membership renewal
process.
One of the nicest features is that it allows us to integrate the system
with our website so we can offer membership and renewal payment online
for those who find this a convenience. Many of our members have requested
that we provide online payment capability and now we will have it.
You will also be able to place your orders for brochures and flyers
and pay for them online. The system will enable our staff to better
track your order from receipt of the order to shipment.
We will now be able to easily segment our membership by location (state,
country, etc) so that we will be able to selectively send targeted Action
Alerts or Information Alerts, without necessarily having to send the
e-mail to all our members.
And, we will be able to update chapter leader information and chapter
members quickly and easily with the new system. Local events can be
posted to the web in a timely fashion.
All in all, we are thrilled with ClearVantage™. As we get to know
the system and implement all its functionality, we will keep you appraised
of its capabilities. So, stay tuned!
By the way, our membership now stands at over 9000, with almost 200
new memberships coming in every month. We are becoming a force to be
reckoned with!
Our Fulfillment Queen,
Cathy Raymond, Speaks!
 I
wonder whether all of you can remember the day the world changed for
you? As Sally Fallon spoke at a Florida seminar two years ago, I questioned
my naiveté about the world as we sipped kvass and licked every
morsel of the two (all right I lied, three) helpings of oh-so-creamy
chocolate peanut butter fudge made by Tampa Chapter Leader Sarah Pope.
I thought, "This WAPF stuff is great!
I wondered why hadn't I discovered WAPF when I lived in Washington
DC? I felt that if I ever returned to Washington DC, I'd love to work
and support the mission of WAPF.
Not only was my wish fulfilled--I'm back in the DC area, working at
the WAPF home office--but, my job is "fulfillment". . . satisfying
the varied requests for information that we receive.
So, as I sort, stack, count, lick, box, tape, lug and mail the information
packs, new member correspondence, orders for brochures or merchandise,
I wonder. . . . Am I now helping fulfill someone else's wish--for more
vibrant health, for more robust families, for more customers?
I now see fulfillment as part of the full circle. There's the heart's
desire, then waiting (in my case two years) and then fulfillment. Much
like our farmers would describe the journey from seed to produce. .
. plenty of waiting involved.
Many of you have noticed that there is a bit of waiting. . . waiting.
. . and sometimes more waiting involved in receiving your orders, journals
or info packs. A coincidence?
 At
the WAPF home office, we're a small and merry band, loving our work,
and doing it with dispatch. However, we send most of the mail out via
"Media Mail," which costs much less, but does involve a bit
more waiting, especially for our west coast friends.
Our friends overseas may find a month added to the delivery time for
international mail. We call it the Slow Boat Mail, and, we may not be
far off. It's true, our mail takes a while to get where it's going.
Perhaps Slow Boat Mail is a companion idea of Slow Food. Good things
take time (fated to never be a UPS or FedEx slogan).
We have options to send things out quickly, but they cost oodles. So,
for an up-charge, you can opt to receive things quick-as-a-bunny.
But why not consider something a bit slower and enjoy the anticipation
of your wish being fulfilled?
In service with pleasure,
Cathy Raymond
About the Author
 Bill
Sanda, BS, MBA, served as Executive Director and Director of Public
Affairs for the Weston A. Price Foundation. Bill was a partner and co-owner of
The McAdam Group, a lobbying company specializing in elements of education policy,
and was a consultant to Primezyme, Inc., a nutrition and healing clinic. He has
extensive experience in Washington D.C. politics and government, having served
as a professional staff member in the US Senate.
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