Starting an Online Business All-in-One For Dummies®, 3rd Edition

Designating Responsibility

You know who takes the legal heat when something goes wrong: Your board of directors is ultimately in charge of the well-being of your organization. Even so, responsibility follows an internal chain of command. Depending on the size of your nonprofit, that chain of command might include an executive director, an entire paid staff, or a group of directors and volunteers structured by committees.

Now that you're entering the realm of online donations, similar legal responsibilities and consequences apply. Although your board accepts these legal responsibilities, you should assign responsibility for your Internet initiative to a designated individual or committee within your organization. By incorporating this position, you're developing both internal expertise and an internal watchdog for your online operations.

We recommend having an internal watchdog, for two reasons:

• Branching out on the Internet is most likely new territory for you and your cause. Initially, you have to turn to outsiders for consultation and guidance. If you find good start-up assistance and develop a holistic Internet strategy, however, you find that online fundraising increasingly becomes a larger part of your overall revenues, resources, and image. Internet fundraising might grow from occupying 1 percent of your organization's pie chart to eventually meeting or exceeding the 50 percent mark. That amount is an extremely big piece of your pie to not have internal expertise assigned ...