Myths About Nonprofits April 26, 2006 By Steve Fafel

Every time I talk to people outside of the nonprofit world, they repeat myths about nonprofits that just make me cringe...

Myth Number 1: Nonprofits can't make decisions
You, our customers, make your decisions to buy GiftWorks within 33 days on average. You make decisions every day. You like to make informed decisions; once you have the facts in front of you, you make decisions quickly and with input from advisors and your board. Myth busted!

Myth Number 2: Nonprofits don't spend money
Now that's a funny one: You spend over $57 bilion a year on technology, and represent about 8% of the GDP. That's quite a little more than petty cash, eh?

Myth Number 3: Nonprofit employees aren't high quality
This on makes me really mad--the 'second-class citizen' attitude. We need to start budgeting better salaries, better health benefits, and better conditions for nonprofits and our employees (I'm speaking for my own nonprofit, not Mission Research, which is mostly for-profit, it's huge Tech Soup donation aside, when I say "our"). Nonprofits sport some of the most dedicated, most committed, most talented, most intelligent people I know.

Do you have any myths to share? Click on Comments below!

My Old School April 18, 2006 By Steve Fafel

Every quarter, my old school sends its magazine, the St. Andrew's Magazine. I look forward to it because it includes class notes for every class in the past 70 years or so, and occasionally has an interesting article. This time, it featured an article from my classmate and dear friend Monica Winsor, who had traveled to Africa with another classmate on a mission to learn more about the AIDs epidemic there. It's a fantastic article.

The magazine is a heavy-stock glossy publication, with color throughout. There are no massive appeals in the magazine, which I like because they send other appeals, and I like a break from the constant ask. But I do think about the amount they spend on the magazine.

So what do you think? Do you spend more on a newsletter or magazine (or dinner or event) to appeal to potential funders who appreciate the extra care, or does that extra expense turn off donors who question the wisdom of such a spend? How do you make such decisions? Click on Comments below to respond.

Importing Online Donations April 5, 2006 By Steve Fafel

First the news: our online donations offering has been delayed a bit and we don't have a solid roll-out date. The delay is unexpected, and I personalize apologize for it, because in a very real sense, as CEO it's my fault. I overtaxed the product team and under-supplied resources, which I'm sure you can understand, if not forgive.

But getting online donations into GiftWorks is easy! Our built-in importer can import from a variety of formats, and it's easy to map your online donation file or report to GiftWorsk fields. You can then save the configuration for the next time your import, eliminating the mapping step. You can set up online donations with United eWay's Click and Give, Pay Pal, or a variety of other online donation services relatively quickly. 

When we finally do roll out online donations, you will be able to skip this step as donations will be sent directly into GiftWorks. Now that's worth waiting for (I hope!). Thanks for your understanding!

Why We're Not at the AFP Conference April 3, 2006 By Steve Fafel

Last year we exhibited at the Association of Fundraising Professionals Conference in Baltimore. This year, we chose not to go for a number of reasons. First, we love shows. We love talking with people, meeting customers, meeting new consultants, and of cource, crashing the Blackbaud parties.

But as a marketing exercise, the AFP conference wasn't really that great for us, and we're managing a growth spurt right now so we decided to stay home. Instead, we're working on a reorganization in anticipation of our next 10 employees, and moving the Volunteers add-in forward.

We really like the AFP; we advertise in the newsletter and read the articles. We go to some of the regional events. We're likely to go to next year's event, too. in the near future, you'll see us launching a roadshow of epic proportions, taking our classes on the road across the country. And we hope to see you there!