HoundsGood: Chronicles of a Virtual Volunteer

Many people are pinching their pennies and curtailing many of their usual donations to organizations right now, especially in areas that have industries that are hardest hit.  What is a charity to do?  Is it time to let people go?  Should the annual fundraiser be toned down?  Is it a time to disband and regroup later? The greatest asset that a group has is their volunteers.  The greatest thing you can do right now as a group is to recruit more.  That may seem counterintuitive as returns seem diminishing.

Just think about it. Charity work is about networking.  One person equals an additional circle of friends that can catch the “fever” when they see their friend find a cause that is worth volunteering for.   You gain a whole new personal network.

Secondly, not all volunteers have to work at it 40 hours a week to make a difference.  If in the past, your group was essentially a handful of people giving it their undivided attention and sometimes burning out, find ways where volunteers can help out in one shot opportunities, or in a lesser capacity.  If their time was enjoyable, they will be more likely to sign up again.  This also gives you the peoplepower that you need at the time you need it.  There are also people that are retired, or laid off, or looking to meet new people.  They may not sign on to your organization forever, but while they are exploring their interests or expanding their resume, it is a win-win situation.

To retain volunteers, show appreciation.  A verbal “thank you” or “I enjoyed working with you” is important.  Also, recognize individuals who are capable of self direction and allow them in some capacity to make decisions for the job at hand.  Nothing feels worse than when a new volunteer comes in and they are shuffled around like cattle, especially with an organization that has a small band of volunteers and especially if they have helped for a long time.  You never know when the old standys are going to move away or have a life change that curtails the time they have to devote and fresh perspectives are always needed to keep a group, large, small, or beyond tiny, to flourish for years to come.

I have been looking to expand the readership of this site by organizing my articles a little better so people can browse by category, joining more social networking sites, and adding myself to directories. Actually, I would be adding my site, not myself, but you know what I mean. There are some directories that I just can’t seem to crack. A consideration has been to try a promotion service. However, I like to track my own numbers and statistics. Though there are a few things I can handle myself, I wondered what the best option for a busy non profit would be. No matter if you are big or small, you want to concentrate on doing the actual work rather than be tied up chasing your tracks around the web.

AdPropel is an “all in one service” that I recently discovered gives you directory listings, coupon codes, and reputation tracking all in one fell swoop. Sometimes it is hard to break in to local directories like the Yellow Pages online. You can pay for it, but registering for all the different sites and keeping track of payments uses up a lot of resources.

Reputation tracking keeps tabs on what people are saying about you or your organization on the internet.  Sure, you can do an internet search once in awhile, but you may not be getting the full picture.  This is a service that would be more beneficial for a non profit organization to have.  By knowing what the buzz is about your group,  you can adjust your FAQ page and produce materials that you know will exactly address the concerns of consumers, potential donors, fans, and critics.  It may be there is some confusion on exactly what you stand for and you could easily clear it up instead of scratching your head later wondering where all of the interest in your idea went.

It appears that the general service runs $30.00 per month for all the features, the company says
“Visit Us Here,” at adpropel.com

With only a few days until Halloween, and just about two months until Christmas, it is time to think about what Holiday Greetings you are going to send.   A great idea for charities is to send out Christmas Photo Cards. What about that group photo you took of the adopted dogs and all of their new families at the summer party? Or, what if you are involved in a cause like Habitat for Humanity? Wouldn’t it really be special to send out a photo card of the new home’s front door decorated?  Mementos like that are saved for many years to come and bring about happy memories when they are looked upon again.

Vista Print has a wide variety of print products, including Christmas and New Year’s cards that you can select from.  You can upload your own photo to personalize it and order small or large quanitities.  There are varieties that range from the flat postcard style to folded and foiled.  The only limit is your imagination.  The prices on even small quantities are competitive even against generic boxed cards that one might buy at the store but so much more personal.

Present the idea to your board or committee now to be sure to order in plenty of time.

If you have a charity website, you are often tempted to look for volunteer help and deep discounts to maintain fiscal responsibility. There are some things, however you have to pay for to make sure that there are no breaks in service. Webhosting is one of those things. It is great to get a website that is hosted free, or a local business provides you, but then no one is accountable should your site go down, or the person granting the service leave the company. You may have to start all over.

It is difficult sometimes to determine which is the best web hosting for you. There is an article resource at WebHostingRating.com that helps you sort it all out. Look in particular at the articles concerning the benefits and pitfalls of cheap webhosting services.  I, for one, dissuade people from using free hosting services.  The primary reason is because there is no guarantee that your site will always be up, as stated prior, or it will have the bandwidth to support your traffic.  The other reason is something I have not thought about but is highlighted in an article. Sometimes “free” sites are breeding grounds for malware. Free hosts are trying to combat it by limited the number of accounts an individual can have, but it is difficult to police.

It might save you some headache researching a little bit first before venturing out with your own spot on the web.

Over the years, I have gotten one too many notes about rescues that are closing. Of course, sometimes they close for good reason - the principle parties move to another area, the organization transforms into something new, etc. In otherwords, the whole “onward and upward” reason. Also, small groups sometimes fold due to the toll it takes on people who throw so much of their life into it just burn out. The reason that sometimes rankles me is when I receive info on a group asking for donations or help because the reason for closing is that they are not allowed to have a rescue on the land or in the building they have.

A knee jerk reaction would be to say that the “system” is against them. More often than not, it really comes down to poor planning. You can’t honestly think a rescue will last long on the premises if the deed restrictions to your community indicate that you can only have three dogs. That may not seem fair, but the rules were not written necessarily by people who don’t like animals. The bottom line is, that the individual knew the rules when they decided to embark.  Another complaint is that their insurance comes after someone who lives on a half acre of land because they have twenty dogs and no kennel license. Another common misconception is that if you have a big backyard, you are qualified to run a rescue from it. Wrong again. In some neighborhoods, when housing that many pets, you would be required to have a kennel license. Or, the other scenario is if you are having meetings, having adopters come in and out, and having dogs come and go, you may be considered a business.

Before getting carried away with a vision, it is a good idea to consult with someone who knows commercial space. Whether it is in a small town, a rural area or even London, Tokyo, Boston, or Austin Commercial Space. You get the idea.  There are just so many variables of negotiating a lease, or even more so, buying the place that really is zoned for what you are doing.  Nothing is worse than getting into a lease and then finding out you cannot retrofit the space. I know Don Cox Associates handles such matters in the Austin area.

The big taboo is the word “business.” Rescuers think that it means they are being lumped in with breeders who sell dogs. On the contrary, it doesn’t mean that the group is selling for profit, it just means that their establishment is a public place.   People other than the principles of the group may be coming to visit.  While you don’t necessarily have to rent a space if the pets in the rescue’s care are all in foster homes, but it sometimes helps to have a public place with neighboring establishments that compliment it.   The space could even start out at first with a volunteer to answer the phone and to meet with potential adoptive families, even if you are not at the point of being able to have a large scale shelter.   Want to fight city hall about the pet limits in town?   More people will listen if you are a good neighbor in the business district.

One time, in school, we were raising money for a trip and one of the students donated a pair of Dallas Cowboys Tickets to raffle off.   The boy’s name was Matt, and I remember him very distinctly, as he always wore head to do Dallas Cowboy outfits.   The only discordance was that we were living in Wisconsin.  As you can imagine, he bought a lot of tickets to win what his family donated, not to mention was always given a hard time on game days.

There is a charity auction coming up (details to follow soon!) and I was toying the idea of tickets as one of the items to donate for it. Since any ticket booth is too far away, I was looking at Online Tickets at Stubpass because it seemed very well organized. I expected to see sports and concert tickets, but there were some pretty offbeat selections, like the National Farm Machinery Tractor Pull.  Of course, the recipient of the tickets would have to drive or fly to Kentucky, but there is some beautiful scenery along the way.  

There are enough events on it where you could definitely find something to fit the theme of your fundraiser if you decide to buy tickets to purchase to reward a volunteer or raffle off for your charity.   I would definitely check to see what StubPass has to offer.

It’s that magical time of year again.  VistaPrint has just released some more coupon codes for up to 50% some popular items to keep you in the black!   Self Inking Stamps are 50% off when you use coupon code Stamps50.  If your volunteers have the same penmanship style and neatness as a serf from the Dark Ages, such as I do, it makes sense to make one up to endorse checks with. If you run a rescue, it can also help getting one that says “Accepted” or “Yes” if you find a good adopter application. This way, in case you don’t have a pet that fits their family right now, you don’t have to wonder if the paper somehow gets shuffled around into the wrong folder. You can clear your mind knowing that you won’t be responsible for remembering, as your mind is cluttered enough as it is.   You can just look at the stamp to see if they passed at just a glance.

The regular price is $12.99 for one self inking small stamp, or you can buy in quantity.  It is $64.95 for give, for example.  That’s a lot of stampin’.    You can choose from the old standbys like “PAID” or “DUE” or you can make up your own design.

Quite some time ago, I talked about the Chi-In Widget (click here) as a means of raising money online.   It is an easy way for charities  to take the tallying out of the mix and let the donors watch the progress in real time.   The downside, is that it can be connected to any Paypal account.   There is no safety in place to make sure the widget is connected to the Paypal account of a non profit. I encourage you to check things out to see where the money is going to.

Sarah wrote in and asked:

Does anyone have any good alternatives to ChipIn? Somethat that perhaps do something close but have the back up of requiring a 501c3 or the like, to at least cut down on the fraud?

Sarah, there is another alternative that I almost forgot about.  Kevin Bacon’s Six Degrees charity has a widget that works through Network For Good.   While the Chip-In widget accepts a donation of any size amount, the minimum to use the Network for Good Widget is $10.00 per donation.

Anyone can put up a widget to raise money for an organization, but the organization receiving the money must be registered with Network for Good.    For example, I could decide to raise money for my favorite animalorganization (Saving Shelter Pets), or an organization that fights the disease my coworker has.  I could implement my own “challenge” to my friends, yet the charity would receive the funds.

In the past Six Degrees has issued giving challenges, where the emphasis was on the number of donations, not the size.  Saving Shelter Pets was among the top 6 charities in the past.

The Chip-In Widget may still be easier for some folks, but I thought I would mention this alternative for your toolbox.

There are a few small charities that I also know that are running on computers that are creaking along in the speed and memory department.   Sometimes they are donated, and they have little funds to upgrade the memory.

I can can definitely relate. This weekend, I spent a lot of time recombobulating Hal. To jog your memory, Hal 900 is my surly five year old PC. You will notice that my Hal’s name is one decimal point short of the famous Hal 9000 from 2001: A Space Oddyssey. The reason why is that my Hal doesn’t verbally speak and is otherwise an extra brick short of a load.

At least, I THOUGHT it couldn’t talk. The truth is, after I discovered the Port Library, I realized that Hal can communicate, I just do not speak the language. Of course, I can read html code, but the nebulous system errors are nothing that I ever experienced when I had a Mac.

One of Hal’s “Greatest Hits:”

62: ERROR_NO_SPOOL_SPACE

Looking up error 62 in the error code section, this means that I am trying to print something, but because there are so many other documents in the queue, there is no memory space to queue another one.  I have to be patient and wait.

There are code numbers that number in the thousands!  The next time your computer sasses back at you, make a note of the error code number and find out what you can do to correct the problem.  Sometimes it is human error.  Other times it is something more serious, but at least you can determine what you can easily correct and what may need a computer technician.  It can save a lot of money knowing ahead of time.

Looking for a venue for your next charity event? Try the golf course! Not only should you think of golf tournaments or “hole in one” derbys, but there are other facilities on the property worth looking into. You could have a “meet and greet” on the lawn, or what about approaching the groups that use it as a meeting place to guest speak?

There is a site, Localgolfconditions.com that reviews the conditons and amenities of golf courses in the Mid-Atlantic area: Pennsylvania, West Virginia, Virginia, Deleaware, D.C., and Maryland Golf Courses are reviewed by the public so you can find just the right location to approach.   You don’t want any surprise, such as a run down and neglected place. Good luck!