Are your users having issues with reCAPTCHA?

reCAPTCHA image from Google

Seems like there are occasions when our hosting clients are experiencing trouble on their Tendenci site due to reCAPTCHA. This doesn’t necessarily mean it is a Tendenci software problem but rather a Google issue. ReCAPTCHA is a service provided by Google to protect websites from automated bots and spam. If you are experiencing issues with reCAPTCHA, such as your users having difficulty completing the verification process or encountering errors on your Tendenci site, it is typically related to the Google reCAPTCHA service.

Our suggestion is the following: Make sure the browser is up to date and try disabling extensions. Here is an article with more details https://www.businessinsider.com/guides/tech/chrome-recaptcha-not-working.

If you haven’t already, get in touch with us so our team can set up reCaptcha V3 on your Tendenci website to better protect your site against spam, and at no cost. If you continue to run into reCAPTCHA issues, please don’t hesitate to contact us via our support team for further assistance.

Stay groovy,
Team Kinect with Tendenci

Tendenci AMS Logo

As featured in Associations Now – Tech Talk: What Can Open Source Do For You

A few days ago we were featured in Associations Now. Learn more on What Can Open Source Do For You, as our president Nicole Davis talks about Tendenci and the global community of developers behind the code.

From the article Tech Talk: What Can Open Source Do for You

The capability of choice. Because you have direct access to open-source code, you can modify it to your needs. The result: a customized platform unique to your organization, without the price tag of a custom-built solution. From there, it can be modified to integrate with other platforms, including those recommended by the original open-source developers. “Every client is unique, and thus they each have unique needs and desires for their websites,” Davis says. “The choice is in their hands.”

Enjoy and cheers to softwares built on community!

We want to help your organization succeed on the web. 

 Give us a Call at (281)497-6567 

Six Reasons to Switch Your Proprietary Software and LOVE the Open Source with Tendenci AMS

Tendenci is a gift to the world. And during this month of love, we want to share with you six reasons why you should switch your proprietary software and LOVE the open source with Tendenci AMS.

Open Source wins over closed proprietary softwares. Check out our list of closed source alternatives to Tendenci.

Adobe Stock Image File:279876642
Love Open Source Software with Tendenci AMS
#https://stock.adobe.com/images/heart-shape-made-of-binary-numbers-tech-love-concept-vector-illustration-eps-10/279876642?prev_url=detail


You have a lot of options when choosing an MMS or AMS. But if you need to scale to support hundreds of thousands of members, have recurring individual and corporate level memberships, and need the full features of a seasoned large scale enterprise AMS, it’s possible you might hit some limits with the new kids on the block.

Proprietary vendors are companies first and communities second. Tendenci is a community first, and though there is a small company behind it, with the support of the Open Source community, Tendenci software has grown far bigger than we ever expected. And given it started in 2001, when you switch from a proprietary solution, it’s an upgrade!

Open Source is the voice of the people – a shared language that brings everyone together.

Think Free In Terms of Freedom with Tendenci AMS

  1. Free Software, Free Society – In the selected essays of Richard M. Stallman Second Edition ‘Four Freedoms’ he wrote “A program is ‘free software’ if the program’s users have the four essential freedoms:
  • The freedom to run the program as you wish, for any purpose.
  • The freedom to study how the program works, and change it so it does your computing as you wish. Access to the source code is a precondition for this.
  • The freedom to redistribute copies so you can help your neighbor.
  • The freedom to distribute copies of your modified versions to others. By doing this you can give the whole community a chance to benefit from your changes. Access to the source code is a precondition for this.
  1. Tendenci Software Means Greater Functionality and Usability on a Global Scale – Tendenci is a very large project with robust functionality. But it’s still a great low-cost AMS solution for small Associations too! You can easily disable modules you don’t need and keep it simple. Functionality will be there as YOUR small association needs to expand in the future! Freedom is actually pretty cool. Pay less with Tendenci and get greater functionality. 

Note: Tendenci AMS, as measured by an independent third party ranking firm, is the only top 5 AMS on the market that is Open Source on a global scale. We are people who understand the power of associations. And the importance of freedom from centralized platforms and the tyranny of regimes limiting access for all. 

  1. Tendenci Is Community First – Open-source is in line with our core values at Tendenci. Our mission is to Connect and Organize the World’s People. Do good. We are change makers who understand the power of associations, which is why we built a software to help NPOs anywhere with any budget to further their cause both nationally and internationally.
  1. Freedom to Choose With Tendenci AMS – Looking to make real changes in the world? Host your site and your data on your own server if needed. We dig that! Tendenci, however, is not just for hosting websites. Tendenci is an investment that results in a financial gain to our clients. And while you can certainly host with us, you don’t have to. It’s okay to support local open source developers in your own country and community as well. Or even get started with our Tendenci AMI and grow!  
  1. Freedom to Customize Tendenci To YOUR Associations Needs – You have innumerable ways to customize Tendenci. Association Management Software is complex because associations are complex! So if you are looking to make some minor changes, do it! Looking to write an entire app specific to your organization that integrates with Tendenci? We love it!

Tendenci scales  to support large national and international organizations with multiple chapters, who may also benefit from a custom server configuration. 

Need even further customization for your organization’s unique needs? You can fork Tendenci AMS on GitHub at https://github.com/tendenci/tendenci/. Every Tendenci site lets you pull down and customize existing templates as well. You can try that out on our free Demo site.

  1. Tendenci Is Accessible To The World – Languages, languages, languages! Translation and localization of your AMS is possible because the community uses the amazing Django Project web framework and thanks to the people at Transifex who support open source. The world is anxious for growth and because your organization needs to communicate with different constituents in the language of their choice, Tendenci  allows each individual user to specify the language of their choice. 
Disruptive Technology Adobe Stock Image File#242937992 
Love Open Source Software with Tendenci AMS
https://stock.adobe.com/images/disruptive-technology/242937992?prev_url=detailDisruptive Technology and Science Engineering in Robotics

Lastly, our CEO Ed Schipul has attended enough board meetings to understand your organization is likely made up of volunteers and the rules for nonprofits are different. Tendenci – The Open Source AMS software is a relationship marketing application that fully meets the needs of large organizations. Have any doubts and concerns? Contact us today. We are here to serve you. Join us

We want to say THANK YOU to all of the developers out there who are contributing, translating, updating and maintaining a very complex piece of software. Tendenci AMS software is inclusive of other languages and cultures, and run by a team that believes in security and privacy. We love and very much dearly appreciate you all. Let’s continue to do good today, and tomorrow even more, together. 

Remember, all of the code is on githubdocumentation is on readthedocs, and translation is crowd-sourced on Transifex. Self-host or host with us – your choice, your data, your association.

Give us a call, let’s talk at (281) 497-6567 or visit us at www.tendenci.com 

Much open love always,

Team Tendenci
<p>heart</p>

Tendenci Puppy Logo
www.tendenci.com/open-source

Tendenci AMS Software Market Projection Continues to Thrive Worldwide

It is great to see yet again HTF Market Intelligence Consulting Private Limited – an independent third party rank Association Management Software from a global perspective! As a part of the Tendenci AMS Community, we will let the summary from HTF on market growth and Tendenci’s Global Share speak for itself. 

Tendenci – The Open Source AMS continues to grow globally, we believe, because it is a community much more than anything else. Open Source is the voice of the people – a shared language that brings us together. 

Source: http://www.marketjournal.co.uk/association-management-software-market-to-see-huge-growth-by-2025-personify360-tops-professional-raklet/99646/

View here the comparison from prior months growth

THANK YOU to all of the developers out there who are contributing, translating, updating and maintaining a very complex piece of software. AMS software that is inclusive of other languages and cultures, and a team that believes in security and privacy. Lets continue to do good today, and tommorrow even more, together. 

All of the code is on github, documentation on readthedocs, and translation is crowd-sourced on Transifex. Self host or host with us, your choice, your data, your association. 

Tendenci Exports – Plus Easy Ways to Make Static Copies of Your Site

Today’s Tendenci community knowledge share. Here are three very easy free or low cost methods of making a static copy a web site. Use with caution, just know you have the power.

On Windows you can use HTTrack https://www.httrack.com/

HTTrack_Website_Copier_-_Free_Software_Offline_Browser__GNU_GPL_
Download a static version of a web site to your PC

On a Mac computer you can use sitesucker ($5) http://ricks-apps.com/osx/sitesucker/index.html

SiteSucker to download a static site to your Mac Computer
SiteSucker to download a static site to your Mac Computer

On the go? You can also use sitesucker from the app store to download to your iphone or ipad for $2 http://ricks-apps.com/ios/sitesucker/index.html

Use IOS to download your site for $2
Use IOS to download your site for $2

Of course for structured data in Tendenci, there are TONS of ways to export including exporting a copy of your entire database. There are help files on common exports like How to export your membership . There are too many options to list them all, but I’d encourage you to visit the support center or just google “tendenci exports” for more.

If you are on version 5 and want to “kick the tires” on Tendenci version 7, use https://demo.tendenci.com – you can login here https://demo.tendenci.com/accounts/login/ using “admin/admin” or “user/user”. It does reset every hour or so because of spammers but you can still get a feel for it. A HUGE upgrade from version 5.

Tendenci Admin Default Dashboard
Tendenci Admin Default Dashboard

There is also a previous post on making a static copy of your site here that is a bit more technical as well.

Why do we point out all of the ways to copy your Tendenci site (or most sites really)? Doesn’t that make it easier to leave?

Yes. Yes it does. BUT people rarely leave. Or if they do, they typically stay on Tendenci and self host. They’re still part of the Tendenci community which helps us all.

Another reason we promote exports and offsite backups is because we know the more freedom you have, realizing you have that freedom especially on the Tendenci open source platform, makes it less likely for clients to leave.

Think about it. Why would anyone who actually understands their product is open, does far more than other options, is lower cost, and they can self host if they want… why would that person make the decision to leave? It’s illogical.

I mean, who wants to be the President of an Association that takes it backwards in time to proprietary technology or an older open source software built on an unpopular programming language? That’s not in the best interests of the association long term.

Tendenci is written in Python and uses Java and Javascript libraries. This linked chart says it all.

programming-popularity-2016
THE 8 MOST IN-DEMAND PROGRAMMING LANGUAGES OF 2016

Popular programming languages means more coders for open source projects written in that language. And more capable people to modify and customize your install if you choose.

One of our goals is FREEDOM from the tyranny of per-user-licensing, proprietary products that want to own YOUR DATA, long term contracts, sites that post your events on THEIR site so if you leave then the history of that event is gone in the blink of an eye. Companies don’t own your data and they shouldn’t trap you.

We think that is unethical and just wrong.

Membership Management Software should be Open Source, Accessible, Responsive, and Search Engine friendly by default. Tendenci does all of those things.

Further we believe that Open Source Membership Management Software should be written in a Modern Programming Language like Python (watch out for bunnies) and the software should documented and open source (free, as in beer.) Even the US Government likes Open Source!

Want to change something? Get involved! Post on the forums at https://ww.tendenci.com/forums or post an issue at https://github.com/tendenci/tendenci/issues . If you are a programmer or into documentation, submit a pull request.

We make it easy to leave because we hope you don’t. Hence Tendenci has an incredibly low churn rate. That creates stability you can count on.

#peace

Turning a Blind Eye to Good Usability: a 2014 SXSW Interactive Talk

SXSW Interactive 2014 Logo

Rachel Magario Smiling Portrait
Rachel Magario

Every year at SXSW, thousands gather for the music, film and interactive portions of the annual conference in Austin, TX. This year, Tendenci is speaking at Interactive.

Ed Schipul, CEO of Tendenci – The Open Source CMS for Nonprofits joins forces with Rachel Magario, a blind motivational speaker and the Assistive Technology Specialist at PACER Center’s Simon Technology Center to discuss Turning a Blind Eye to Good Usability, a workshop dedicated to improving web development and design for accessibility.

 

Picture of Ed Schipul, CEO of Tendenci
Ed Schipul

The workshop, Turning a Blind Eye to Good Usability, will go into depth about how to optimize your jQuery, HTML and images for true accessibility.

The workshop will be held at the AT&T Conference Center, Room 105 from 11am to 1:30pm on Tuesday, March 11. Turning a Blind Eye to Good Usability is reservation only. Participants can sign up here and will need a valid SXSW badge and an activated SXSocial account. Don’t forget to hashtag! #sxsw #blindeye

To learn more, visit the event page or take a look at the article on our website.

We hope to see you there!

 

 

 

 

Facebook Donate Button for Non-Profit Organizations

Rather than redirect your visitors off of your Facebook page in order to collect a donation, you can now collect a donation on your Facebook page.

Facebook Donate Button

Currently it’s available to only a select few.
Charities with a donation button as of December 22 2013

All Non-Profit organizations should take advantage of this opportunity, no matter what your size or how long your organization has existed.  In fact, non-profits benefit more if the purchase is made through Facebook, mostly because 100% of the transaction is transferred.  Facebook covers the convenience fee that most traditional payment gateways require.

You can sign up for the Facebook Donate button now, but this does not guarantee that you will be accepted.

Once a visitor donates to your organization, their credit card information will be recorded as well as the item that they purchased.  It is possible to remove your payment method information from Facebook  but it does require some extra clicking.

Donations are currently limited to users located in the United States with their preferred currency set to the US dollar.

All visitors will receive a receipt to their primary Facebook email address which include information in regards to tax deductions.

Collecting credit card information is the goal.  Removing the friction and focusing on incentives is the strategy.  Amazon One-Click purchases, Apple’s iPhone TouchID, and Google Wallet are some of the other services in this race.

So what does this mean for the traditional website?  Is it necessary?  One might evaluate the value that can be provided by a traditional website vs a Facebook page.

Once again it is very important to recognize that a Facebook page and traditional website are not mutually exclusive; you can have both.  As I stated earlier; you should take advantage assuming your customers pay with the US dollar.

I like to think that it’s less a matter of if you’re going to want a website and more of a question of when you’re going to need a website.  If you’re just getting started, then I would start with a Facebook page first.  It’s quick, it’s easy, it covers the basics and it’s free.

The basic needs of a non-profit organization are awareness and an avenue in which to donate.  Facebook gives that to you.  Once you’ve grown large enough, now you can start to consider more robust events, more reporting, and access to your member data.

Currently, I don’t believe there is an easy way to export member data but I could be mistaken.  If your non-profit is a smaller version of a parent non-profit then you might require access to export your member data in order to share it with your network.

You might also want to offer more to your members such as discounts on events, job postings, or resume listings.  Or maybe you want your own domain where you have more control over your organizations brand.  A place that offers a subscription service; allowing you to more easily get into the inbox of your members.  You might just be looking to collect more information via a custom form.

In summary, a Facebook page with it’s new donate button is a great place to start and is also a great extra resource to leverage once your website requires more features.

This blog post is intended to get you started.  If you have more insight I would love to hear it.  Thank you in advance.

Tendenci Programming Manager John-Michael Oswalt on CW39 NewsFix

CW39 NewsFixLast night, Tendenci Programming Manager John-Michael Oswalt was on the 5 PM CW39 NewsFix newscast commenting on the government’s maintenance of the Healtcare.gov website – and what it takes to make changes to a website of that scale while it’s active.

Watch the online video clip now!

“With a website of this scale, with all the different pieces that are talking to each other, there’s lots of little things that can go wrong and slow things down.”

“When people know the road’s going to be out, they plan for an alternate route. And they plan around that. So this is going to give them some time and relieve hopefully some of the pressure of the public trying to get into that site and really hammering them with traffic.”

JMO Tendenci on CW39 NewsFix

Watch the video on newsfixnow.com!