Having said all that, I think it’s relatively safe to say that I know telecommunications.

Imagine my pleasant surprise when I went to setup a new account and get a toll free number with Kall8 last week for my business, so I could have a convenient incomig fax service for my business. Why pay eFax $16.95 a month when I can pay Kall8 $2 a month plus usage, when I only receive a couple of faxes a month at most? I already have multiple toll free numbers -- some of them quite good, actually -- through a previous employer that I’ve been hanging onto through that service because they weren’t charging me any monthly fees. That, however, is about to change I think.

My initial impression of the Kall8 website was one of Simplicity. This is a site that anyone can understand, and easily navigate. Whoever designed this site knew what they were doing, and they definitely knew their audience. AT&T this is NOT! The options are easy to understand, easy to navigate and you are not hit in the face with a bunch of fancy advertising for services you don’t need.

I already knew what I wanted up front, because a business associated referred me to them, so I knew exactly what to look for -- I wanted to sign up for a new Toll Free number. The options were clear, as were the prices: $2 a month for a basic 888, 877 or 866 number or $5 a month for an 800 number, plus 6.9¢ a minute for usage. They have some other options for custom numbers, like vanity number searches, “repeaters” (numbers where the digits repeat), premium numbers, etc., but for a fax number I didn’t need any of that.

So I click on the “Get your own toll free number now” link, pick the $2 a month option and I’m present with a list of around 30 numbers each of 888, 877 and 866 numbers to choose from. Yes, you get a whole list of numbers to look through and choose from to find one that fits you. I had a bit of time, so I looked through the list for numbers that didn’t have a 0 or 1 in them and used the hand http://www.phonespell.org utility until I found one that actually spelled out something that worked for me, then clicked on the number to reserve it. I mean, come on -- how could an Internet consulting company resist a number that ends in “83-I-Help”?

From there, it was a simple online registration process, just like so many others we use all the time. There are a few extra steps specific to the service, like choosing whether to send your calls directly to voicemail or forward them to a regular phone, but the web pages are clear and easy to understand. Less than 5 minutes later, with my Business Visa card number entered, I had been charged $4 ($2 setup and $2 first month fee) and my number was active and ready for incoming calls! That’s right -- active and ready to go in 5 minutes. No waiting for someone to “review my application” or anything, no long waiting periods, just instant activation. I was even automatically setup with a $100 credit limit for usage, with a handy link available on the page to an application I could fill out and send in if I thought I would need more than that.

My welcome email arrived almost immediately with my login instructions, where I was able to go in and setup the options on my new Toll Free number. In my case, I already have a toll free number on my business phone line, so I easily turned off voicemail and turned on the fax service (included in the basic service at no extra cost!) in just a few seconds. This is the same place that you can also setup/change where your number rings to, if you don’t use the direct-to-voicemail option, set how long the phone rings before going to voicemail, set how long voicemail recordings can be, or even set a maximum length on how long phone calls can be.

Worried about paying for charges on your Toll Free number from pay phones? Kall8 offers the option to block pay phone calls -- there is a one time $10 fee to setup the blocking, but once it is setup, you never have to worry about that again (since you have to pay a $0.60 fee for all pay phone calls, mandated by the FCC).

Running a small business with Customer Service? They offer Hunt Group service, too. You can define multiple destinations and the number will ring to “extensions” just like a professional call center. Setup your number for Call Recordings, so you have an audit of the calls placed to your organization (check your state laws regarding 2 party consent!), get International Numbers to expand your business, even get local numbers in new markets without having to deal with the local phone company.

Need more than a few phone numbers? Check out Kall8‘s Virtual PBX offering. Their VOIP Virtual PBX service is just like having a full scale professional PBX in your office, but without any of the headaches or capital outlay -- perfect for the small business with limited resources, or businesses with multiple remote employees. Don’t worry about the quality -- I use one every day and nobody will know the difference, believe me, as long as you have a relatively decent internet connection (e.g., not dialup).

This may sound somewhat like a sales pitch, and it a small way it is -- I liked their service so much that I did sign CIC up to be an Affiliate for their services. However, that does not change my opinion of their quality of service or the products that they are offering. With my experience and background in the industry, I have and still do deal with a lot of companies and a lot of services -- yet this is the only one I have felt the need to write my first official blog post about on my company blog. Yes, it’s that serious.

So if you need a Toll Free Number from a company that provides quality service, or if you already have toll free numbers and aren’t happy with their service or their prices, check out Kall8. I know that I will be moving my other numbers to them as soon as possible. For what I was paying eFax each month to maintain a fax-only account I can move all my toll free numbers to Kall8 and get all the additional services they offer and still save money.

Of course, if you do check them out, I would appreciate you using one of the links here to give me the referral credit. After all, you heard it here first!

Before you go jumping in and start supporting a charity, however, you need to do some homework, first! Not just for tax purposes, either, although as a business that is important. For ethical and humanitarian reasons, you need to make sure that you are picking a charity that is both legitimate and going to make a difference.

There are some very basic questions that you need to ask about any group before you decide to support them, whether it be financially or through your time & effort.

• Are they incorporated or registered? Federal registration as a 501(c)(3) non-profit is not necessary unless you plan to deduct your donations from your Federal tax return.¹ They should, at the very least, be registered as a company with some local civic authority, which in most states means registering with the Secretary of State ² as a non-profit Corporation. If they are a legitimate non-profit, they should have absolutely no problem providing you with this proof of registration upon request!
• What is their stated purpose? Do they have a Mission Statement? I know this sounds like a silly question, but think about it. Lots of groups can claim to be non-profit, but have they actually taken the time to write a Mission Statement and then follow it? Are their activities in keeping with their Mission?
• Do they have financial statements available for inspection? By law, non-profit groups must file, at a minimum, annual financial statements that are made available to the public showing how their money is spent. Do they make these financials available on the internet where you can easily find them, or do they make you ask for them and wait? The ease of getting these documents is, to me, an indicator of how open the group is and how much they may have to hide.
• How much of their budget actually goes to support their cause and how much goes to “administrative overhead”? How much are the employees and officers of the company being paid to run this non-profit? For example, according to one website recently checked ³ the national average compensation for a CEO of a non-profit agency is approximately $350,000 a year, plus bonuses and benefits, including health care ! Over 1/4 of a million dollars a year in salary to run a non-profit, taken off the top from your hard earned money, while they beg for money to support their cause? Change that to places like the Metro New York City area and you are looking at salaries in the range of $890K per year.
• Do they actually want your help? This may sound like a silly question, but it is actually quite serious. In 20 years of working with non-profit groups, you may be surprised how many times I have approached non-profits and been told that “we have it covered” when offering services and/or labor in lieu of cash contributions. In the world of 501(c)(3) non-profit groups, Cash Is King and Ego Is Everything. Just like any other large organization, bureaucracy tends to take over and the civil servant runs the show. Monkey with their system and you will piss them off. I recently contacted a large animal care organization known mostly by letters (you can probably guess who in two tries) and offered assistance with their website, which is sorely in need of help, but was turned down because I didn’t know the right people to kiss up to in the organization. Like I said -- Ego Is Everything.
• How long have they been operating? They may sound great in concept, they may meet all of the above criteria but unless you know the people running the show personally and really trust them, be wary of any group that has been running for less than a year. Non-profit registrations are granted without any type of background checks by the government, as long as the paperwork checks out, so it’s up to you to do the checking yourself.

Ultimately, it’s going to come down to your gut feeling. As a small business, it will probably be easier for you to work with a small charity, because there will be more opportunities for you to participate. However, that doesn’t mean you can work with a big, recognized charity through a local branch. In fact, if you are just starting up as a business, especially a home-based business, this may be your wisest move of all so you don’t get burned. On the other hand, larger charities tend to have more overhead while smaller ones make a more direct impact, so working with a smaller non-profit can give you “more bang for your buck”, so to speak.

Whatever you decide to do, do your homework first before you jump in with both feet. Not only is your money on the line, but so is your personal an professional reputation.

It is worth your time and effort, though, because the rewards are limitless. The satisfaction, the completeness, you feel after supporting a worthwhile cause -- be it an hour or several days -- cannot be adequately described in words. It simply has to be experienced. There is nothing else in the world like it.

1. Check with your accountant regarding deductions for tax donations and reference IRS guidelines for Charitable Contribution Deductions (see http://www.irs.gov)
2. Search Google for “Secretary Of State Non-profit Registration”. Many states of online searchable databases of registered non-profits. The IRS also has an online search engine of registered 501(c)(3) groups available here, which is normally kept up to date within approximately 30 days.
3. Non-profit executive compensation search conducted 7/26/09 at SalaryExpert.com