MicroAssist Servus Volunteer Database -- Software for Community Service
Programs

At a recent conference for coordinators of community  service programs, one
workshop focused on the benefits  volunteers received from participating
in community service  projects.  Among benefits cited were: a greater
sense of  pride in the community; increased feelings of self-worth, and 
reduced levels of stress. 

At the mention of reduced stress, several of the  volunteer coordinators
spoke up, stating that reduced stress  must obviously only apply to the
volunteers, not to the  coordinators.  Coordinators, they agreed, are
constantly  faced with enormous amounts of paperwork, tight schedules, 
and often a small staff.  As a  result of these problems,  volunteer
coordinators often lack the time to communicate  effectively with their
volunteers, find appropriate matches  between volunteer skills and
community needs, and effectively  plan for the future.

Recently, however, hundreds of volunteer coordinators  have found a
solution to all of these volunteer management  problems.  The solution
they have found is  Servus Volunteer  Database Software.

Servus software, produced by MicroAssist, Inc., was  designed to be a
complete volunteer management system,  according to MicroAssist President
Keith Lauver.  It tracks  information for all of the people and projects
associated  with any volunteer organization.  From basic biographical and 
demographic information, to specific volunteer skills and  project needs,
Servus tracks all information important to  your organization.

But Servus does more than store this information.  It  also helps volunteer
coordinators put the information to use.   Its matching capabilities
provide a simple and quick  method  of matching volunteers with projects
that need them.

Servus' sophisticated reporting capabilities allow  coordinators to print
detailed reports with just a few  keystrokes.  Numerous built-in reports
include listings of  available projects and volunteers, as well as
statistical  calculations about the people and projects.  These reports 
enable coordinators to analyze their programs, plan a course  for future
development, and quickly and easily compile yearly  or quarterly reports
or write grant proposals.

Another of Servus' convenient features is its built-in  form letter
capability.  Any communication with volunteers  can be handled directly
within Servus. Servus automatically  mail-merges documents for easy
personalization, and prints  mailing labels, eliminating the need for
other word  processing programs.

Although Servus boasts many powerful and flexible  features, and is easily
tailored to any volunteer  organization, the software is remarkably
user-friendly.   According to Lauver, "We designed the software to be easy
to  learn and easy to use.  According to a recent survey  conducted by
MicroAssist, most users report spending from two  to five hours to learn
Servus.  Even people with no computer  experience have had no problem
learning and using the  software.  And if anyone ever does have questions,
our 24- hour technical support line is always available, and we're  happy
to answer any questions."

Servus is available for use with Macintosh, DOS and MS- Windows platforms. 
Minimum system requirements for a  Macintosh computer include: 1.5 Mb
available memory, hard  disk, 800K floppy drive, System 4.2 or greater and
Finder 6.0  or greater.  Minimum system requirements for a DOS computer 
include: 640K RAM (4 Mb RAM and 80386xs or higher processor  for the
Windows version), hard disk, 3.5" or 5.25" floppy  drive, and MS-DOS 3.3
or greater.

MicroAssist, Inc.
1920 Roosevelt Drive, Suite 43, Northfield, MN  55057
(800) 735-3457

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