And the adventure continues!

Hello everyone and welcome to the Biedermann Group!

My name is Jon Biedermann and after a nearly 25 year career at DonorPerfect, I decided to start a new chapter in my life, and work for myself.

For those that don’t know me, I created, marketed, sold, implemented, and supported DonorPerfect Online, one of the first 100% web-based, SaaS (Software as a Service) fundraising software programs.  I launched it in 2001, and that year we only had 3 customers.  The next year, we had more than 50, and the rest as they say is history.  I left DonorPerfect having helped more than 20,000 nonprofit organizations raise more than $100 Billion.

And I didn’t do it alone- I was supported by a fantastic team of developers, sales & marketers, trainer’s and data conversion technicians, support staff, admins, operations, and accountants.  And, after two decades, I decided to move on.

It’s been quite an interesting ride!  I think it took 3+ weeks just to let my family, friends, and colleagues know I was leaving.  It took another 2 straight weeks- of 24/7 processing- just for Google to extract my personal life from more than 16 years and 400,000 emails, plus another 200GB of personal files (mostly photos and videos).  

Talk about a mad dash down memory lane!

Then another two weeks to setup the paperwork for creating a new corporation (not that hard, I used Legalzoom), and another two weeks to create a business bank account.

Wow- what I thought would take maybe 45 minutes took more than 3 hours at the local bank branch, plus they wanted several more documents for their own KYC (Know Your Customer) rules that they follow.  But, by the beginning of March, everything was set.

Next was this website.  It actually was pretty easy- I am using GoDaddy’s website builder, and while it has some flaws and bugs (for example, it was impossible to upload an initial picture… I had to use Internet Explorer (not Edge) to upload the first one), since then it works fine.

I’m also proud to say that I have already picked up 4 clients, with another couple in the wings.  To track all of the setup costs, legal fees, and this new found revenue, I use Wave Accounting, a free accounting software (for now) that is very user friendly and does a great job at the basics.

So what is the purpose of this blog?

Here are the the top three:

1. To inform.  Get up to speed on the latest ‘behind-the-scenes’ in the fundraising world.
   And there’s no such thing as over-communication, especially in this day and age.
2. To share intelligence.  I’ve been blessed to surround myself with people much, much smarter than I am.  These include my colleagues at the Giving Institute/Giving USA Foundation and Association of Fundraising Professionals.
3. To challenge.  I’d like to say that a healthy dose of contrarianism keeps one on their toes and prevents one from falling into groupthink.  Too many times I have heard people say or live by certain ‘truths’, that when either analyzed or empirically tested, actually reveal the opposite conclusion.

So my goal is to update this blog with a post every three days, share content, and provoke the status quo, so-to-speak.  All so that we, as a community, can build a better world.

I know it sounds corny, but I’ve realized a long time ago that I don’t care- it’s what I believe in.  

I hope that you do too.

-Jon