Grassroots.org

Hi, folks!

So last month, I said that I was going to start blogging about tips for Grassroots.org members. Well, the first thing that I'm going to start blogging about is establishing an online presence for nonprofits. This post is mainly focused on people who are just starting out and don't know the first thing about establishing a web presence. These are some points that I think Grassroots.org members should start thinking about as they start staking their claims on the world wide web.

Internet Presence

Let's start off. Nonprofit organizations have websites to maintain a presence online. At its very minimum, a website should be an electronic brochure with all the necessary information that people can access at any time 365 days a year. Added to that, people who don't know of your organization can do an online search and find you! If you have a site up that answers all of the basics about your organization, then congratulations: you have internet presence. However, that doesn't mean you're done with your website. Read on.

”Simplicity, simplicity, simplicity!“

This is a quote from Henry David Thoreau's Walden <http://thoreau.eserver.org/walden00.html> which was published in 1854. Though Thoreau may have thought he had been talking about the joys of simple living in 19th Century America, he wasn't. In my opinion, he was actually speaking to good habits of developing a nonprofit website. When you start developing content to put on the website, remember to answer these and any other pertinent questions.

• Who (or Whom) [Who are you? Whom do you serve?]
• What [What do you do? What is your mission?]
• When [When did your organization get started? Basically, give a history.]
• Where [Where are you located? Does your location affect you mission?]
• Why [Why is your organization doing what it does?]
• How [How do I help (volunteer, donate)? How does your program operate?]

You don't want a site that gives readers a lot of junk. Keep it simple right now and develop as you go. So how do you keep it simple? To start off, just answer these questions that I have listed.

Afterwards

Making a website is not an end in itself. Your organization needs to maintain its site. Websites are wonderful but not magical. They need work like anything else. So to draw and re-draw people in, your organization should update its site with new content at a regular rate either weekly, monthly, quarterly, etc. Regarding additional features, does your organization have the time to maintain this forum/blog/etc? If so, then go for it! If not, then you might want to make your goals more modest. Do some research and see what the next best option is for your organization's website. Is it a blog, a forum, a newsletter, a listserv, an online donation page? There are seriously a lot of options, so see what works best for you and your mission.

I know it's been a long time since I posted, but I'm ready to make good on my tardy New Year's resolution to blog more.

I am going to begin a help blog to offer people visiting the site a chance to find out how to use the tools that we are offering in a better way. Possible topics include domain name basics and nonprofit website fundamentals. Of course, if you have any questions that you're dying to know about (or a better title), then please email support@grassroots.org and we will try to answer your question in the best way that we can.

You all should also know that I am ready to celebrate because Chicago has finally warmed up to the point where I am able to bike to work. In the past few months, I have been working on a variety of projects ranging from client intake to a huge member inventory to some work with Drupal that gives you folks a gallery where you can see the sites that volunteer designers have made for clients. (http://grassroots.org/membergallery) Aside from that, I will be attending the Better Deal Conference (http://www.abetterdealconference.org/) in Washington DC in May and possibly giving a talk about nonprofit technology tools there.

So get excited everybody. See you soon!

In the past two weeks, I've spent an hour a day making phone calls to different organizations all across the US and Canada to tell them about our Social Ventures Consulting Program—a very cool program, in my opinion. I did this earlier in the year, which means I'm nearly a pro, despite the fact that it's hard to not sound like a genuine telemarketer out to rob from the poor and give to the rich.

But it's worth persevering because it's for a good cause (or it's a good cause for a good cause). We're offering free business consulting in partnership with the Dingman Center at the University of Maryland Smith School of Business. We can't offer service to everyone who applies since we only have a limited number of students in the program. We can offer consulting services from business focused individuals to organizations with a specific business need. I am learning that running a nonprofit includes dealing with a lot of unwanted but necessary overhead and organizational issues. It's nice to know that I'm part of an organization that tries to help others getting through this so that our members can work on doing what they do best.