Offsite Services

This page is a summary of all the off-site/third-party/cloud services utilized by Asmbly and how we use them.

Current Systems

Neon

Neon is our member management system. We intend for it to be the sole interface for administrative tasks and the source of truth for member authentication and authorization. We've been pretty successful at the latter, less so with the former -- board members and some volunteer leads still juggle multiple dashboards to some extent.

Neon account creation starts with the Join Form on the website. Existing users may log into Neon at https://asmbly.z2systems.com/login.jsp

Neon is a cloud service and has an API

OpenPath

OpenPath is our access control system. It has its own user database, but that database is automatically synced with Neon account information. Board members and some stewards have permission to access the OpenPath dashboard to modify user permissions, view access logs, and suchlike.

OpenPath is a cloud service and has an API

Skedda

Skedda is the group calendaring tool we're using to schedule access to the space.

Skedda has its own credential database that requires manual management of user permissions. It also unfortunately lacks any kind of published API. We have a medium-term goal of implementing some mechanism to update Skedda automatically based on member status changes in Neon, but no work is being done on that project at this time.

For permission to book Asmbly spaces on Skedda, you must first sign up using the private invitation link you can find in your subscription acknowledgement email or the members-only message area of Discourse. https://yo.asmbly.org/t/skedda-invite-link/203. You might be signed into Discourse and you must be a member of the "makers" (paying members) group to view the link.

Once you have created your Skedda account, you can log into Skedda directly at https://asmbly.skedda.com.

Discourse

Discourse is the software that powers the Asmbly discussion site https://yo.asmbly.org/

Discourse maintains its own credential database that requires manual management of user permissions. We have some periodic maintenance scripts that update Discourse users automatically in response to member status changes. As of now we don't plan to change Discourse to authenticate directly against Neon, because we can have Discourse users who are not and have never been Asmbly members and we don't want to put a bunch of non-members in Neon.

Asmbly's Discourse instance is managed by Communiteq and has an API

SignNow

Some time back we switched our e-sign stuff from Smartwaiver to SignNow. New-and-improve features include emailing signers copies of their documents, and uploading them to Asmbly's Gdrive. SignNow *kind of* has an API -- it can trigger Zapier, which is good enough for us.

Zapier

Zapier is a sorta no-code cloud workflow automation service. It supports limited webhook-style automations, but fortunately one of the actions is "execute arbitrary Python code" so we can do whatever we want in response to a SignNow document or Google Forms submission.

Mediawiki

The Asmbly wiki runs on Mediawiki. The ATXHS wiki did as well, but became a maintenance sink so we're no longer keeping that online.

The Asmbly wiki authenticates users via Discourse -- if you have an Asmbly Discourse account, you also have a wiki account.

Both wikis are self-hosted off site on AWS.

Wordpress

The public-facing website runs on Wordpress.

Wordpress is hosted off site and has an API

QuickBooks

We use QuickBooks for our banking and accounts payable. Instructors are paid via QuickBooks.

PayPal

We use PayPal for generating miscellaneous invoices, including Co-Working and storage rentals. This is partially a workaround for the fact that Neon doesn't support multiple concurrent subscriptions for a user (ie you couldn't have both a membership subscription and a storage rental subscription that both automatically renew month-to-month).

Square

We use Square for easier checkout of supplies that can be purchased onsite at Asmbly.

Google Workspace

Space leadership uses Google Workspace for mail, document sharing, the usual office stuff. As a non-profit organization we can use it free of charge. Many volunteers also use Asmbly's Google Workspace and we have a Shared Drive that is open for all in the Asmbly domain.

Slack

Space leadership uses Slack for day-to-day operational communications.

1Password

1Password is a password manager which Asmbly uses to store all passwords for Asmbly accounts and securely share them with relevant parties. Asmbly has a Teams account with a limited number of seats.

Clockify

Clockify is a free time tracking software. We use it for our hourly staff to track time for wages.

TechSoup

TechSoup is a nonprofit organization that provides other nonprofits with access to software and technology at discounted prices. We use this resource for discounts on AWS and other subscription services we use. Each time we consider adding new services, we check TechSoup to ensure we're getting the best option for the best price.

Mailchimp

Mailchimp is used for our email announcements and monthly(ish) update / newsletter mailings. We are currently evaluating Flodesk and may migrate away from Mailchimp.

Users may sign up for the list here Users may unsubscribe from the list using personalized links in the footer of each Mailchimp email.

( Administrative question: Are users automatically added to the mail chimp list at some point in the signup process? Answer: No, not currently. We periodically export all Neon users as CSV to update our mailing list.)

Mailchimp is a cloud service and has an API

Flodesk

Flodesk is used for our email announcements and monthly(ish) update / newsletter mailings.

Users may sign up for the list here Users may unsubscribe from the list using personalized links in the footer of each Flodesk email.

Flodesk is a cloud service and has an API

Canva

Canva is a web-based content creation app that allows for creating a wide range of types of content and directly ordering prints. We use Canva for branded content creation including flyers, social media posts, animations, slide decks, signage, and more. As a non-profit organization we have a Pro account free of charge. Our Canva is loaded with all of our branded content including brand colors, fonts, logo variations, photos, graphic elements, templates, and more. Canva also has a large library of content that can be used in creations.

Hootsuite

Hootsuite is a social media management platform that we use to schedule posts across multiple social media platforms.

Basecamp

Basecamp is a simple, web-based project management platform. We use it for coordinating and planning tasks for special events and various ongoing projects.

SignUpGenius

SignUpGenius is used for organizing volunteers for special events. It allows us to create a page for the volunteer event and list options for tasks volunteers can easily sign up for without having to create an account.

Deprecated Services

Smartwaiver

We used to use Smartwaiver for tracking liability waivers from members and visitors. All active e-sign documents have been moved to SignNow, but we maintain our SmartWaiver account so we can access the document archive.

Freshbooks

ATXHS used to use Freshbooks for member invoicing before they switched to Neon. We still have some old-school members who never bothered to make Neon accounts, so we're keeping Freshbooks around as long as they keep renewing their memberships.

Since a Neon account is required for facility access via OpenPath, any remaining Freshbooks members are basically inactive supporters. We appreciate them!