CiviCRM misconceptions: "It's free!"

More CiviCRM misconceptions to deal with — Thanks again to all of you who are sending these in!

CiviCRM misconception #3: "It's free!"

This one is totally understandable. As a community-funded organization, every expenditure counts. So a CRM that demands no fees is naturally an attention-getter.

And it's really tempting to take that at face value. Because it just sounds so great.

But of course, there's a cost to everything.

• The time you and your staff spend learning managing anything is a limited resource, and it's precious.

• Any online system has to live somewhere, so it requires hosting and infrastructure, which will have some kind of cost.

• Hiring outside help is an investment of time and money, and there's a good chance you'll want to do that with CiviCRM, at some point.

It can help a lot to have some idea of what those costs will be before you dive in. But the irony is that, without experience, it can be hard to predict those costs.

Here's the thing:

CiviCRM is free, in all the meanings of that word:

• It's free as in "free beer." Since there are no licensing or subscription fees, you can install and use it without paying a dime, ever.

• It’s free as in "free speech." Because it's released under an open-source license, you can always do whatever you want with it, or modify it however you like. The sky's the limit.

• It's free as in "free kittens." It's fun to play with in the beginning, and then it's up to you to take care of it as it grows. Feeding, vet bills, scratched furniture, and the rest.

And as with anything, the important question is not, "How much does it cost?" but, "What is the value of it, and is that worth the investment?"

All the best,
A.