Answers.Body: <p>Welcome to CiviCRM.</p>
  
  <p>There are a lot of online resources which hopefully you have already discovered eg the <a href="https://docs.civicrm.org/user/en/latest/" rel="noreferrer">User Guide</a> and there is also a <a href="https://civicrm.org/blog/cividesk/getting-started-with-civicrm" rel="noreferrer">Dashlet</a> that gives you helpful links</p>
  
  <p>There are also training videos and <a href="https://civicrm.org/webinars" rel="noreferrer">webinars</a> and <a href="https://civicrm.org/events" rel="noreferrer">meet ups</a> available, which would be a cheaper (or free).</p>
  
  <p>There are many providers/partners who provide paid support for Non Profits getting started with CiviCRM - which probably isn't the answer you want, but the list of Partners is <a href="https://civicrm.org/partners-contributors" rel="noreferrer">here</a></p>
  
  <p>If you make an interesting pitch you might find that someone around here might just offer to give you a one hour sprint through core features to give you a quick start. (PM me if you want, I can probably squeeze something in over the next few days - the weather is shitty here so not going far!)</p>
  
  <p>Also worth getting on <a href="https://chat.civicrm.org/civicrm" rel="noreferrer">https://chat.civicrm.org/civicrm</a> for free support in a chat environment. </p>
  
Answers.ContentLicense: CC BY-SA 3.0
Answers.CreationDate: 2017-07-13T06:20:26.050Z
Answers.LastActivityDate: 2017-07-13T06:33:16.157Z
Answers.LastEditDate: 2017-07-13T06:33:16.157Z
Answers.UserDisplayName: petednz - fuzion
Answers.Body: <p>You don't need to be an expert in Drupal (I was not when I started) : Drupal is just there as an infrastructure, mostly to manage identification, roles and permissions (extended to civicrm features), and generic web features.</p>
  
  <p>The great advantage of Drupal is in Civicrm Webform Integration (to build forms), and Drupal Views (to build reports).</p>
  
Answers.ContentLicense: CC BY-SA 3.0
Answers.CreationDate: 2017-07-20T08:16:45.143Z
Answers.LastActivityDate: 2017-07-20T08:16:45.143Z
Answers.UserDisplayName: Jacques-Marie Moranne
Body: <p>My boss wants to start using CiviCRM.  We are a nonprofit organization for veterans.  I am not familiar with Drupal and I am toying with a demo of CiviCRM and I am wondering how do I customize it to our needs. I am computer savy but do not like coding too much.  Just wondering if any one can help once we download it and implement any changes we deem fit.  Any advice or help will be greatly appreciated.</p>
  
Tags: <civimail><drupal><installation>
Title: How do I get started using CiviCRM?
ThreadText: # How do I get started using CiviCRM?
  
  (Asked by: username_0 on 2017-07-13)
  
  My boss wants to start using CiviCRM. We are a nonprofit organization for veterans. I am not familiar with Drupal and I am toying with a demo of CiviCRM and I am wondering how do I customize it to our needs. I am computer savy but do not like coding too much. Just wondering if any one can help once we download it and implement any changes we deem fit. Any advice or help will be greatly appreciated.
  
  **Tags:** civimail, drupal, installation
  
  
  ---
  
  ## 2 answers
  
  ### Answer by username_1 on 2017-07-13. Score: 5
  
  Welcome to CiviCRM.
  
  There are a lot of online resources which hopefully you have already discovered eg the [User Guide](https://docs.civicrm.org/user/en/latest/) and there is also a [Dashlet](https://civicrm.org/blog/cividesk/getting-started-with-civicrm) that gives you helpful links
  
  There are also training videos and [webinars](https://civicrm.org/webinars) and [meet ups](https://civicrm.org/events) available, which would be a cheaper (or free).
  
  There are many providers/partners who provide paid support for Non Profits getting started with CiviCRM - which probably isn't the answer you want, but the list of Partners is [here](https://civicrm.org/partners-contributors)
  
  If you make an interesting pitch you might find that someone around here might just offer to give you a one hour sprint through core features to give you a quick start. (PM me if you want, I can probably squeeze something in over the next few days - the weather is shitty here so not going far!)
  
  Also worth getting on <https://chat.civicrm.org/civicrm> for free support in a chat environment.
  
  
  ---
  
  ### Answer by username_2 on 2017-07-20. Score: 1
  
  You don't need to be an expert in Drupal (I was not when I started) : Drupal is just there as an infrastructure, mostly to manage identification, roles and permissions (extended to civicrm features), and generic web features.
  
  The great advantage of Drupal is in Civicrm Webform Integration (to build forms), and Drupal Views (to build reports).
  
  
  ---
  
  