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There are two main versions of DONATION available - the full-featured, paid versions (Standard, OnDemand or Network), and the free, more limited Lite version. If you are not sure which version you have, go to Help ⇒ About DONATION in the program. If it says the Version is "Free Lite Version", "Free Lite Local Database Version", "Free Lite Standalone Version" or "Free Lite Standard Version", then it's the Lite version. If it says anything else there, it isn't.
Paid Versions
The full, paid versions have all of the features documented in this manual. They start out as evaluation versions, and they change to the full version when you pay the Annual Fee and get a license key for the program. You can go to the PRICING page on the web site to see how to pay, and how much that will cost.
The Standard version is free if you have no more than 50 donors with donations in the current year.
Lite Version
The free, Lite version of DONATION has almost all of the same features as the paid versions. It is designed for use by smaller charities and churches.
The Lite version can always be upgraded to the paid full version if you wish, by installing the full version from the DOWNLOAD page on the web site, at https://software4nonprofits.com/download-all/, or via the Tools ⇒ Check for Updates menu option, which will give you the evaluation version. Then paying the Annual Fee entitles you to a license key, which converts the evaluation version to the full version. You can also optionally switch back to the free Lite version, if you prefer.
Limitations
There are only two limitations of the free Lite version:
•It can only have up to 100 donors with donations in each year.
•You can only have one database for one organization, on any one computer.
The Lite version does not need and cannot use the license keys that are required by the full version. Thus, the Tools ⇒ Request or Install License Key menu option is not needed by the Lite version.
Support
Users of the Lite version are entitled to free support, though it may have lower priority than our support for users of the paid versions.
Previously Excluded Features
Until release 6.02b of DONATION, the Lite version had far fewer features than it does now. The following are are the features that are now supported in release 6.02b and later, but were previously excluded:
•The One Date Batch Entry window, which helps churches enter the Sunday collection more quickly
•Memorizing recurring donations
•Several Donor Details fields: the Email Address field, the Groups / Committees field, the six renameable Other Info fields, and the Comments field. Since the email address field was excluded, emailing donors and emailing receipts were both also excluded, as was the Email Sending Configuration option.
•Email Backups, Internet backups and the Cloud Storage Service
•Pledging options other than simple annual pledging
•The Limited User password (used in churches for counters or tellers to record donations, seeing only envelope numbers but not names)
•The Read Only and Donors Only passwords
•Configuring and creating bank deposits - you could instead just use various reports to help understand what is in your bank deposit.
•The Letters menu options for mail-merge letters and mail-merge versions of receipts (as opposed to the standard built-in versions)
•Custom Reports, Memorized Reports and automated Reports Scripts
•From the Receipt menu, the All Donors and Filtered Donors options
•From the Database menu, the following options: all Importing options, Reassign Envelope Numbers, Merge Duplicate Donors, Change Date of Donations (mostly only needed if you could use One Date Batch Entry), and SQL Select.
•The only available and recommended way of sharing your database between users on multiple computers with this version was Transfer your Data between Computers, the least safe way of doing so. See Multiple User Options for the other ways available to other versions of the program, and now to the Lite version.
•The Abundant online donation system integration.