Dropbox
Dropbox provides a simple (99.9% foolproof) easy to use backup for your computer’s files. It is essential to ensure you don’t lose your files if your computer breaks down, gets a virus or ransomware, or is stolen.
Cost: You get 2GB of storage for free. $99 per year gets you a whopping 2TB. so if you mess up an important file you can always go back to a previous version.
Microsoft 365 for non-profits (Recommended)
$3 per month per person buys web-based and desktop computer versions of Outlook, Word, Excel, and Powerpoint. You also get 1TB of online storage space per person.
Office 365 now includes Microsoft equivalents to Slack, Trello, Evernote, Zoom, Webex, Goto Meeting, Google Hangouts, Google Forms, etc.
And the diocese is offering to provide this with a church email address at no cost. To find out more email me: communications@diowestmo.org.
Hootsuite
Hootsuite allows you to schedule social media posts and monitor social media posting. They make it hard to sign up for the free option but it is possible (You have to sign up for a trial and then downgrade). The free option is limited to three social media accounts. So, for example, one account on each of Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter. They also offer a 50% discount to non-profits on some of their paid options.
One excellent aspect of Hootsuite is that you post to Instagram from a desktop computer. No more shaky cell phone pictures.
Trello
Get Organized. It is great for managing yourself, small teams (Ministry teams or work-groups?), I use it for editorial calendars. It’s like an electronic wall of post-it notes.
Cost: There are paid-for versions, but for most churches, the free version will be just fine.
Slack
Slack provides instant messaging for teams. Its Microsoft equivalent, Teams has cut down my email by 80‐90%.
Cost: The free version should work fine for most small groups.
OneNote
This is a note taker and organizer’s dream. It has wonderful search capabilities, it will even perform a text search in images. You can grab notes from websites, create to-do lists, organize your notes into notebooks.
Cost: free, though it needs a Microsoft account.
Freemind
An organizer’s and list maker’s dream. If you know what a mind map is – then this is for you. Structure and organize lists and thoughts. The only con – you’ll need Java installed on your computer.
Cost: Free.
Google Forms
Use these for questionnaires, sign‐up forms, polls etc.
Cost: free – all you need is a Gmail account.
Flickr
Picture storage, organization, and slideshows. Use it to integrate pictures into your websites. It has a big advantage in that it saves a copy of your picture files at full resolution (Facebook and other services can degrade your images to save space) so it acts as an image backup too.
Cost: Non-profits can apply for a free account, be sure to have your 302C details on hand when applying for a free account.
Keepass
If you do not have secure passwords (20 random characters, numbers, symbols, upper and lower case letters) then you will be hacked. Keepass is a secure password database. There are other similar tools available, some with free options. Password managers keep all your passwords secure and generates secure passwords for you. No ifs. No buts. Use one.
Outreach.com
An interesting concept. They’ve linked with realtors, and for a fee ($2-300) will send postcards from your church to new families in the area. They also offer other goodies, but so far we’ve only heard recommendations from a church using their service to contact new families. https://outreach.com