This may be old news but I went to a website called Tech Soup. It offers software from the major developers for literally pennies on the dollar for 501 (c) 3's. Office 2007 is $16.00. Its website is
[url]http://www.techsoup.org/index.cfm?cg=header_tss&sg=home

An interesting piece of software is Giftworks for small non-profits to track donors. I'm not affiliated with this site in any way just thought it was very interesting. Does anyone have experience with it?

Regards,

Mark S. Bassett
Nevada Northern Railway
National Historic Landmark

Our organization has been buying software from TechSoupStock for a couple of years. Actually right now I am waiting for UPS to deliver our copy of Adobe Creative Suite, which we picked up for $160.

They also have refurbished computers available for low prices. That may be a way for some museums to get a low cost computer which they may otherwise not be able to afford.

There is a registration procedure to verify that you are a tax exempt charitable organization but once you have done that you can purchase whatever you need.

www.techsoupstock.org

Southern California Chapter, R&LHS also purchased software from them. We also selected the credit card system listed on their site which enabled larger merchandise sales during LA County Fair. People loosened up to purchase merchandise with plastic instead of cash or checks.

Their e-mail newsletters also have interesting articles and ideas. They also have occasional one-day specials on specialized software for grants or spam prevention.

Give it a try.

Regards,

Clyde Stoneman
R&LHS Southern California Chapter