[webproducers] Re: Not-for-Profit work

1.  I agree with Rick.  If they won't pay you 1/2 up front, at least be sure
your contract stipulates that you'll be paid some sort of kill fee (on an
hourly or percentage basis) if they dismiss you before the end of the
project, or drop the project all together.

2.  It's common for not-for-profits to ask vendors for discounts, so don't
be shy about it.  Ideally, you'll be able offer them something in return,
such as a "hosted and maintained by" link.  Even though they're doing you a
favor, make sure you ask a lot of questions -- what guarantees they provide,
turn around times, support availability, what back ends they allow, etc.

My personal experience with not-for-profits is it's hard to get them to
stick to a process, and harder still to get binding approvals.  So make sure
you're clear on who the ultimate decision maker is, that they understand the
project's milestones (be extra sure to get sign-off at those milestones),
and make sure your client understands the consiquences if they vary from the
plan (delivery date slips, they pay you more).  Also, make sure it's very
clear to the client and their team what deliverables their are, what form
they need to be in, when you need them, etc.  So, for example, if an editor
is giving you an article for content, it needs to be fully written and
edited, in plain text (or whatever) format, styled to fit the site's style
guide, etc.  I know this seems self-evident, but that hasn't always been my
experience.  Certainly this advice applies to all clients, but I've found I
need to be extra careful with not-for-profits.  Of course, this is just my
personal experience, and ymmv.

As difficult as they can be, I've also found my not-for-profit projects
extremely rewarding and interesting, and would definitely do it again.

Sue


-----Original Message-----
From: webproducers-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
[mailto:webproducers-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx]On Behalf Of Richard Whitney
Sent: Monday, May 06, 2002 1:11 PM
To: webproducers@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
Subject: [webproducers] Re: Not-for-Profit work



1)  Basically, once you have been hired to do this, your work is their
property.  If you worry about them taking your work and running w/ it w/out
paying you, invoice them for project phases, rather than the whole
project.  In other words, bill them for 1/2 your estimate on completion of
the project plan, and the rest during other phases.  They will be more
inclined to keep you on board if they have paid you for the plan and them
some.

2)  You are not out of line.  I think it might be hard, but there's no harm
in asking.  I don't have much experience w/ this.

Good luck
Rick Whitney
http://www.rickwhitney.com

At 09:58 AM 5/6/2002 -0700, you wrote:

>Hi everyone,
>
>I have recently taken on the task of being a PM for a not-for-profit
>organization where they are launching a fairly extensive project promoting
>their vision. My question is two-fold:
>
>1- The project plan that I develop, should I put some sort of disclaimer on
>there to prevent duplication and distribution of it without my consent?
With
>the nature of the project, is this plan considered my property or the
>property of the organization? Any thoughts on how to go about this?
>
>2- We need to find a web server provider and most likely an outfit that
will
>do the updates and coding (or have the use of their in-house tools) as the
>project progresses. There's a definite end to the project. I've never
worked
>with a non profit group before, so I'm not sure what the boundaries are in
>dealing with approaching businesses where their services are needed. We
>don't have the budget to pay them full price. Am I out of line in asking
for
>freebee's or discounts in this arena? Does anyone else have experience in
>this that could give me some helpful hints?
>
>Just not sure where or how to begin...
>Susan
>
>
>__________________________________________________________________________
>To unsubscribe send a blank message with unsubscribe in the subject to
>webproducers-request@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
>
>To access our webform (instead of sending e-mail) for popular commands
>including subscribe, unsubscribe, digest, and
>vacation  visit  www.WebProducers.org. You can also access the list
>archive at the website.
>
>Questions and comments are welcome just e-mail me, morry@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

__________________________________________________________________________
To unsubscribe send a blank message with unsubscribe in the subject to
webproducers-request@xxxxxxxxxxxxx

To access our webform (instead of sending e-mail) for popular commands
including subscribe, unsubscribe, digest, and vacation  visit
www.WebProducers.org. You can also access the list archive at the website.

Questions and comments are welcome just e-mail me, morry@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

__________________________________________________________________________
To unsubscribe send a blank message with unsubscribe in the subject to 
webproducers-request@xxxxxxxxxxxxx

To access our webform (instead of sending e-mail) for popular commands 
including subscribe, unsubscribe, digest, and vacation  visit  
www.WebProducers.org. You can also access the list archive at the website.

Questions and comments are welcome just e-mail me, morry@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Other related posts: