Tools
These are the tools we used to build our website and manage the event:
EventBrite
EventBrite allows us to easily manage sales of booth spaces, giving our vendors and local groups an easy way to register online. Though some fees may be involved, we have gone from having vendor checks trickle in until the very day fo the event, to complete sell out and all funds in the bank before June. The convenience and peace of mind is well worth it. I think they have free or trial accounts as well, so check it out.
CMSMadeSimple
This is the content management system (CMS) that was used to create this website. Rather than one person building the website with tools on their computer and uploading it to the server, a CMS is uploaded to the server instead. Then multiple editors, authors and administrators can all sign on to the site and make changes with nothing but a browser. Though more complex to install than a traditional HTML text file based site, maintenance and changes spread out to the people with the information instead of funneling through a single webmaster is well worth it. CMSMadeSimple is only one of many of these systems, each with its own advantages and disadvantages.
PaganStory.com
PaganStory is offering free ad-free commercial hosting to all PPD web sites. If you want to take advantage of this offer, call the parent company at +1-866-456-8232, dial extension 81 and ask for Johnson. If you already have free hosting somewhere you should probably stay there, though. Just check with them for suggested CMS software or to confirm the one you like is compatible with their systems.
I assume everyone knows about Google, but you may not be aware of the huge variety of online applications they offer, everything from private domain email to online spreadsheets for collaboration. We are using "Google Apps for Domains", "AdSense", and "Google Checkout". They have hundreds of other services and features...
OpenOffice.org
This is a great open source office suite, including word processor, spreadsheet, database and presentation applications, all compatible with MS Office. Since it is open source, though, it costs nothing to deploy it to your entire team. No more fighting with different versions of MS Office, and no more risk from using unlicensed versions of commercial software for PPD business.
PayPal
Though this is a widely accepted service for credit card processing, we no longer use it unless we must. PayPal policies are not designed to protect you, only them. As an example, when Google Checkout briefly suspended our relatively new account to confirm not-for-profit status, they ceased to accept new payments, but allowed all payouts to complete to our bank account. Though we were able to quickly provide the documents they needed, there was a huge comfort in the knowledge that, had we not been able to resolve the issues, at least they were not holding any of our money hostage. On the other hand, a similar situation with PayPal occurred and they only froze outgoing funds. In other words, they locked up all the money in the account and continued to accept more, providing no way to access it! Again, we were able to satisfy them with the appropriate documents, but had we failed, we would have lost all our money, forever. I understand that PayPal must protect themselves in the disconnected world of the internet, but their policies are unilateral and draconian. So, like I said, we now use Google Checkout almost exclusively, keeping our money in a real business checking account at a real bank.
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