Project Management in the Cloud

In a world rocked by recession, Barack Obama’s stirring “Call to Service” has been resonating like never before.  More people than ever are inclined, or just available, to help - and the recently passed national service bill reinforces the new community spirit.

But you don’t get to feel smug if you’re already doing charity work - because you can do better. And you’ll have to.  Although good wishes are all well and good, funding makes the world go round.

While the economic downturn has brought the spotlight on the need for change, it’s drastically reduced the amount of money available for that change.  People will always see “repaying the mortgage” and “eating” as worthier causes than whatever your not-for-profit is working on, and with less cash in the social sector, any increase in government aid will be offset by increased competition.

The thing about filing for federal funding is that cute pictures of kittens don’t work - you need to show you’ll do something worthwhile with the money.

The key?  Businesses might be out for profit, but not-for-profit doesn’t mean not-a-business.  The disorganized, ragtag crew with hearts of gold who change the world - well, do you have any animated talking animals helping you?  If not, you’re not in a Disney movie and that just won’t work.  Proper business practices like clear records and accountability are vital for anyone trying to make a change.

Following we explore some of the reasons to use a good tool that provides both transparency and accountability and then share a way to do it all for free.

You do more of the Real Work

The tired battle cry of the disorganized charity worker is that what they’re doing is just more important, okay, they just can’t spare the time from research/funding requests/adopting kittens to organize proper task tools.  They then waste five hours looking for a vital form, getting increasingly annoyed the entire time.

Big business doesn’t invest in online task management tools for fun, or because they enjoy playing with virtual project software - if you want to play with a computer, Nintendo offer far better options.  Proper project management saves energy and time all round after a short setup - and if you can get someone to help you with that, all the better.

Charity, not Charlatan

Say you can’t find the invoices because your office looks like a tornado ate a library, and you were out helping the homeless with cancer.  How would you explain that to a funding agency?  Now, how would someone who spent the money at Larry’s “Hot Girls and Roulette Parlor” explain it?  See the problem?

Some truly terrible people have poisoned public will, and it’s not just guys going door to door with twitches, track-marks, and a miss-spelt sign saying “Pleese give 4 the sikk children or sumfing” who are affected.  United Way CEO William Aramony famously stole one point two million dollars, and by “famously” we mean “all the people you ask for donations from know it.”  And by “stole” we mean “to pay for a girl less than a third his age.”

Stealing is one thing, but when you’re stealing from the homeless for limousine-money to romance a truant you’ve moved past “crime” and into “rehearsing to be the Devil.”  And that’s what you have to battle against.  Clear, accountable organization will show you’re clean as an obsessive-compulsive whistle, and save you frantic filing through a small South American forest’s worth of folders come application time.

Filing for Funding

It’s truly terrible that you have to put a number on good deeds, mathematically proving why it’s actually a positive thing to cure cancer or help the homeless.  Those are terrible things too - in fact, the whole reason your not-for-profit exists is because the world is stuffed with terrible things, and unlike those the numbers one is easily solved.

Proper project management software means that as manager, you don’t have to sit scratching your head about how to quantify “Good vs Evil” - the balance report will show that money went in, you can prove where it went, and you can prove that that place is “Making the world a better place.”

And you can do all this for free.

Qtask is now offering free services for a limited number of accredited non-profits.  Simply contact Qtask to tell them why they should help you. Good luck!

Tags: accountability, charity, transparency

You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.