The American Red Cross knows a thing or two about preparing for a disaster. So it's no surprise that the agency offers a Year 2000 preparedness guide in a prominent location on its Website, along with a disclosure about the organization's own readiness for the Y2K bug.

As such, the Red Cross and other well-funded, technologically savvy nonprofits like the United Way are unlikely to be caught off guard during the rollover.

More likely to falter are smaller, independent agencies that have neither the finances nor the technical expertise to adequately deal with the problem. Agencies that provide essential services could lose records of who was served, what was delivered, and who needs to be paid.

A survey conducted by Gifts In Kind International and The NonProfit Times suggests that by late 1998, about 40 percent of nonprofits had not yet begun to address the Y2K problem. Some were not aware the problem existed. More than half of the organizations that had not taken action had a budget of less than $5 million.

To help head off Y2K-related problems, San Francisco-based CompuMentor is working with nonprofits to distribute workbooks and software that can help the agencies test and update their equipment.

"Nonprofits are more vulnerable, because they may have older equipment," says Jennifer Beckett, CompuMentor's Y2K program director. "Often equipment is donated, so they don't know what's inside their computers. They don't have an MIS person or the infrastructure to handle the problem."

So far, CompuMentor has distributed 16,000 workbooks to nonprofits. The workbooks explain how to inventory equipment and how to test the compliance of a PC. The guide also instructs nonprofits on checking software compatibility with vendors, and advises them to move older hardware to jobs that aren't time sensitive.

If a nonprofit needs to update database software, CompuMentor can sometimes obtain the needed applications at a considerable discount. And CompuMentor suggests nonprofits develop contingency plans.

"Emergency preparedness plans can be dusted off and considered in light of Y2K," Beckett says. "It's all about backup."

In the San Francisco bay area, for example, CompuMentor encourages agencies to take stock of their systems, then possibly send in volunteers to help agencies test their equipment. Nathaniel Barr is heading up Y2K preparedness at the International Institute of San Francisco. The agency offers legal services to low-income immigrants, as well as English and citizenship classes, and youth programs. Barr used CompuMentor's workbook and a PC testing utility to check the agency's hardware. Only the software turned out to be a problem, and Barr upgraded a database by installing Microsoft Office 2000, which CompuMentor provided at a cut rate.

"We're collecting due diligence from our vendors to check their Y2K compliance," says Barr. "Almost everyone has a statement they'll hand you, including our bank, payroll software, and health insurance provider."

Pat Fehlman, the director of public information and community education of a Canton, Ohio-based nonprofit, is in charge of a Y2K compliance effort that will cost almost $20,000 for consultant fees and updates to hardware and software for more than 170 networked computers.

Fehlman's agency, The Stark County Board of Mental Retardation and Developmental Disabilities and The Workshops, provides services to 2,000 people with retardation and other developmental disabilities.

"Our agency is completely computerized, so we're taking the Y2K situation very seriously," Fehlman says. "When our network goes down, we experience tremendous problems with records for these individuals."

But a greater concern is the preparedness of her clients. "We are constantly told, 'Everything will be fine,'" she says. "We are not comfortable accepting that at face value so we have undertaken a massive preparation program, hoping that we will never have to use it.

"We have a unique situation in that we provide services to people who may not be able to care for themselves in the event of a Y2K-related emergency. You can tell typical individuals to stock candles and matches, but they would pose a safety risk for individuals with developmental disabilities."

Not everybody in the independent sector is quite so meticulous. Tom Battin is a technology specialist at Support Center/NDC, an organization that provides management training and consulting to nonprofits. He sees a lack of interest in some clients, even as Jan. 1 nears.

"We canceled our last Y2K class because only one person signed up," Battin says. "It may be an effect of the hype. Most nonprofits don't realize they need to do this. People may be waiting for the actual event."

Paul Heltzel (paul_heltzel@yahoo.com) is the author of How To Use Frontpage 2000 from Macmillian Publishing.

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