[consulting] Volunteering / NPOs (was: Keeping Web Sites Updated)

[Matt Chapman]

On Tue, May 11, 2010 at 10:04 AM, Emma Irwin <emma.irwin at gmail.com> wrote:
> As a volunteer Drupal developer in my community, I often find that my
> frustration is getting organizations to follow through on *their* role in
> the process.
>  Everyone agrees ( in the beginning)  how great it would be to update their
> own content,  it all sounds *wonderful* and everyone is in love . But, once
> we get to the point where that's possible they still want help - they don't
> have time...it's more work than they bargained for etc.

I've had the exact same experience more than once.

>  but it's
> almost made me want to *charge* something, as sometimes money means people
> will follow through.

Charging "something" doesn't actually change the situation either,
because when you're working with an organization you care about, you
end up going above & beyond the financial agreement, and probably
charged below market rates to begin with, with the same end result as
above.

And I've also seen money-based relationships ruin non-profits because
of corruption or the evolution of a sense of entitlement to the funds.
I don't want to risk seeing myself become (or be percieved) that way,
so now I refuse to accept money for my labor from non-profits that I
am personally involved with; but because of the phenomenon that Emma
points out, that often means sub-par projects. It's a lose-lose
situation. (Full disclosure: I still have paying NPO clients; but they
came to me seeking paid services, without my prior involvement in
their work. They aren't in my community, and I don't use their
services myself.)

At this point, that really means the best I can do is serve as a
consultant, providing advice on who to hire or what services to use.
And I've even seen that fail, when the org uses some other volunteer
to lead the project, who then loses interest despite my support. Has
anyone else found a better solution to this dilemma?

Lastly, to avoid painting too bleak a picture, I've had just as many
wonderful relationships with NPOs and Volunteering. But I'd like to
see even fewer frustrations and failures. Any thoughts? The best I've
got is to try to adapt an Agile process to NPO work, where you give
them something minimally acceptable as quickly as possible, as see how
it goes. But you don't want to be stuck with an open-ended hours
arrangement when its volunteer or below-market work either. Argh....

All the Best,

Matt Chapman
Ninjitsu Web Development

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