Have You Helped Your Non-Profit Save on Telecom?

One of the certainties of modern life is that the world around us always seems to be changing in some facet.  This is especially true of the telecom industry. The Ma Bell world of our parents is completely gone and now a myriad of choices sits before us as individuals and businesses.  Yet with all this change the telephone and internet service are two things we rarely think about as long as they work.

Perhaps it is time to think about these things not only at home or work but at places we volunteer our time and energy.  Most non-profits have some sort of phone service and internet access.  They probably have had the service with the current provider for years.  If it isn't broke then there is nothing to fix or is there?  Even if your non-profit only has one provider available there may be some savings available to the organization.  The traditional phone market is still one of the most over-regulated markets in the country.  Plans available to the business change fairly frequently and if your non profit is in a competitive market or on the fringes of it there may be a lower rate available.

Talk to the Treasurer who is usually looking for ways to save a few dollars and volunteer to take a copy of the bill to call or go by the local office of your provider to see what is available as options.  Review the invoice for plans and rates and highlight key things like long distance, services and internet speeds along with the corresponding costs.

When starting this conversation with the sales person make sure that you let them know up front that you are on a fact finding mission and need to report back to others about the best cost options along with any required contract commitments.  Most sales folks will be happy to save your company money if it means that you extend your service even if it lowers monthly revenue for the provider.  This seems counter intuitive but locking your group in for an additional time span is preferential to the non-profit changing providers.

The longer it has been since your organization last reviewed its account with its provider the more likely they are still paying too much for things like long distance or paying for unused or out of date services.  In the area of internet service speeds the available speed is usually higher than it was just a 2 to 3 years ago.  If the current plan is that old it is quite possible that an increase in speed is available for less money.  This is the ultimate win-win for a non profit.  You not only save money on cash outflow but likely increase productivity for that part time staff person or volunteer who is sitting there watching the hourglass go round while waiting for the page to load on a browser.

So volunteer to save your organization some money they can better use to help others.  You will spend a couple hours but the improved lives of countless others will benefit all of us.