Basic Web Recommendations for Small Nonprofits

[Editor’s Note: This article first apperared on NPAdvisors.com and outlines ideas presented to New Orleans-area nonprofits after Hurricane Katrina. Though born of a specific disaster, they also offer sound advice for any small nonprofit looking to find a place for the Web in its fundraising efforts.]

Think cheap and quick.
There are plenty of free Web tools out there, but don’t use any that take too long to learn. … Many large nonprofits need to “have” a Web site. A small nonprofit with no budget, no tech staff, who is literally digging itself out of the mud needs to only “do” online what produces real and immediate benefits. If there’s no short-term gain online, don’t do it.

Get the fundamentals right, forget the rest.
Focus on usability, on value to the Web user and on fundraising. Integration is only a problem if you have a lot of data.

Web must follow mission.
Only do online what furthers your mission (this week). If your mission is advocacy, the Web can help. If your mission is bringing people together, think chat rooms.

Everyone wants to help you. Ask.
This may primarily be true along the Gulf Coast, but to an extent, it’s true among all nonprofits. People genuinely want to help nonprofits further their mission, and many of those people have some valuable technical skills.

Rick Christ is a managing partner for NPAdvisors (www.npadvisors.com) and keeper of the weekly e-newsletter e-Fund News.