When my two business partners and I first started The Fuel Team in early 2003, we had some noble goals.

1. As seasoned, veteran marketing communications professionals, all three of us wanted to "apply our experience" to helping non-profits.

2. As owners of a proprietary software platform, we wanted to "leverage our technology" to help non-profits.

3. As contributors to several non-profits on an individual basis, we all wanted to "organize our giving" into a more cohesive and effective effort. 

As a small marketing firm, we focused our efforts on small-medium-sized independents or Colorado-based Chapters of larger, nationals. As we began to develop our client base, we came to several key realizations.

1. Our solutions had to be incentive or commission-based. Real ROI had to be demonstrated. Our ability to get paid for our efforts was largely dependent upon our ability to either raise or save the organization money.  

2. Any technology introduced had to be extremely simple and easy to use. Resources and man-hours are extremely thin in these organizations.

3. Technology could actually alter the demographic profile of the organizations' contributors.

Throughout this week, we'll share some case studies and examples of how we've been successful and some lessons that we've learned. We encourage your comments and your questions here at IAOC Blog.