Amy Sample Ward

JUNE 8, 2009

I want to share a terrific video with you, but you will need to read the explanation, too. Stick with me, I’m going somewhere with this one… This video brought tears to my eyes. Okay, stop laughing at me, hear me out: One guy can start a dance party. One person can change the world. What did this guy do right? Lots of things that we can replicate in other areas of our work (though, I’d recommend following his lead with dancing, too!

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Change Social Benchmark Video 169

Robert Weiner

JUNE 21, 2009

Last week I posted John Elbare’s advice for new nonprofit consultants. Today I’m posting Karen Nyhus ‘ advice, originally posted on NTEN’s nptechconsult forum (for members only) in response to a request for “resources and tips for our nonprofit technology community to help them start things off right in 2007.&# Although Karen’s advice was focused on technology consultants, the business management tips (#4) are pertinent for all independent consultants.

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Judi Sohn

JUNE 14, 2009

I was reading the Sunday paper this morning, and I came across an ad that made me chuckle so much I had to share it with you. It’s your average Verizon Wireless newspaper ad, now touting their new LG enV phone. My chuckle was when I noticed the phone on the far right. It’s not about the phone. Frankly, I know absolutely nothing about the LG enV Touch.

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NetWits

JUNE 18, 2009

Considering my blog, Sans Profit Design , actually started out as a blog about designing for good, I really have not been writing much about design lately due to my recent social media kick. Well, it’s time to change that.Let’s start with the basics. As Creative Director at Blackbaud Internet Solutions , I have a certain vision, or some might say, mantra, that I like to follow and guide our creative work with.

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Beneblog: Technology Meets Society

JUNE 14, 2009

Last Friday I spent almost two and a half hours in a wide-ranging conversation with Maria Pallante of the Copyright Office (and two other folks whose full names I didn't write down). I came away with a much better understanding of the issues they are exploring and certainly did my part to articulate why I support the positions we have. [Long post alert!

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Copyright Audio eBook Proposal 104

Amy Sample Ward

JUNE 30, 2009

YouTube is set to publicly launch the “Call-To-Action Overlay&# feature. This will allow users to place calls to action (messages and links) on top of videos. This is huge news as it means a revolutionary shift in the video platform with the largest global audience. The Call-To-Action Overlay means users will be prompting viewers to click away from YouTube (not exactly the action a platform like YouTube is after).

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Robert Weiner

JUNE 15, 2009

This post was inspired by my colleague Kris Putnam’s advice for new consultants ( So, You Want To Be A Philanthropy Consultant? and Starting A Consulting Business? 15 Things To Do Right Now ). I received the following via CharityChannel’s Consultants forum in 2003. I was just completing my first year as a solo consultant after 9 years of working for firms.

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Consultant Advice Florida Proposal 136

Judi Sohn

JUNE 30, 2009

How did I not know how wonderful this was before? It’s not like it just came out yesterday. And it’s free!! Fluid is an application you can use to create Site Specific Browsers (SSBs) on the Mac based on the Safari rendering engine (WebKit). The author freely admits that the concept was inspired by Mozilla Prism , which does something similar for Firefox and its rendering engine, Gecko.

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NetWits

JUNE 22, 2009

The United Methodist Church recently launched a site with social media at its heart! Their new site goes far beyond a Facebook page or Twitter account. What they’ve done is create a “social media mashup” – Google Friend Connect, Twitter, Facebook, YouTube, iLike and more. Why’d they take this approach you ask?

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Speaker: Joe Sharpe and James Carlson

Payroll optimization can be one of the most time-consuming and complex factors of small business management. Yet, organizations that crack the code on streamlining employee compensation often discover innovative avenues for growth. With the right strategies in place, outsourcing and streamlining payroll processes can result in substantial time and resource savings.

Foundation

Beneblog: Technology Meets Society

JUNE 21, 2009

Enjoyed my day in Berkeley yesterday at the Craigslist Foundation Bootcamp 2009. They had more than 1000 folks show up to talk about service, nonprofits and social action. I thought Arianna Huffington did a good job as the opening keynoter hitting on the service theme. Announcing All For Good was a big piece of the event, of course. Randi Zuckerberg of Facebook had the tough gig of presenting a lunch keynote outside under a tent in lower Sproul Plaza (mucho noise and people talking).

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NCE Social Media

JUNE 19, 2009

I’m going to start a regular post every Friday that will have a video for you to build your social media knowledge. Here’s a great video on Social Media in plain English from CommonCraft. Tags: Education and Training Video media social YouTube.

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Amy Sample Ward

JUNE 24, 2009

We operate best together. Working from this premise, this travel documentary project seeks to answer the question: How is global social change made where media, technology and creative people meet? Through blog posts, photos and web video, Morgan Sully , will document the stories of creative, innovative communities found in European galleries, international events , meetups , barcamps , fabrication labs , and innovation competitions.

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Robert Weiner

JUNE 23, 2009

This Tuesday The Chronicle of Philanthropy will host another free online discussion about how nonprofits can use social media. The speakers include: Danielle Brigida , the social-media outreach coordinator at the National Wildlife Federation, in Washington, DC where she manages the organization’s voice on online networks such as Facebook, MySpace, Care2, Change.org, Digg, and StumbleUpon.

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Speaker: Tim Sarrantonio, Director of Corporate Brand

Is your organization ready to build a recurring giving program that not only sustains but also propels your mission forward? 🚀 In this new webinar with industry visionary Tim Sarrantonio, we’ll guide you through the critical steps to establishing and scaling a successful recurring giving program. Whether you’re starting fresh or enhancing an existing program, this session will provide the strategies you need to deepen donor relationships and secure long-term support!

Giving

Judi Sohn

JUNE 29, 2009

There’s been a bit of talk lately in the technosphere about the role of blogs in the new real-time web. Louis Gray has a wonderful post on the subject that reflects my own opinion, “Blogging Is Still the Foundation In A World of Streams.&#. The blog is the foundation and center for who you are – either as an individual, or a brand.

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NetWits

JUNE 5, 2009

All signs point to yes….Since 2005, alumni giving have dropped each year while overall giving to higher education institutions has increased. Is there anything you can do to reengage these alumni? Of course there is – find your sweet spot.

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Course Education Giving 100

Beneblog: Technology Meets Society

JUNE 19, 2009

We had a nice piece on Bookshare in the latest AARP Bulletin, entitled: Making Books Accessible for Those With Disabilities. We've been getting lots of questions about the article, including volunteer offers (yay!) and interest in getting Bookshare for older parents. We have shared with people that it's ok for children of disabled parents to download books for their parents, just as it's ok for parents to download books for children with disabilities.

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NCE Social Media

JUNE 19, 2009

Mozilla , the group that brought you the Firefox web browser among other great web based tools, is coordinating a week of service, called Mozilla Service Week. Through this project they want to connect web based volunteers with charitable groups who nee web and or technical support. If you have a need for someone to help your group on a web based project, please visit the Mozilla Service Week site.

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Speaker: Andrew Olsen, CFRE - EVP, Fundraising Solutions at DickersonBakker | Kat Landa, CFRE, CSD - SVP, Talent Solutions at DickersonBakker

Across the nonprofit sector, organizations invest heavily in donor retention efforts, yet the struggle of cultivating lasting relationships remains. While attracting new donors is crucial, the lack of repeat donors poses significant financial risks. Through a comprehensive analysis of industry data, experts argue that there is a direct correlation between donor burnout, donor retention, and the talent retention crisis.

Donor

Amy Sample Ward

JUNE 29, 2009

This past Saturday, I participated in an experiment: Tweetcamp ! The combination of a Tweetup and a BarCamp. (Those links are to definitions!) What this created was a chance for people who use Twitter to come together offline to create community. There is no agenda to the conference as it is co-created by the participants throughout the day. It is for the community, by the community, all thanks originally to Twitter.

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Robert Weiner

JUNE 26, 2009

If you missed The Chronicle of Philanthropy's June 23 online discussion Using Social Networks to Promote Good Causes , the transcript is now available. The discussion featured: Danielle Brigida , the social-media outreach coordinator at the National Wildlife Federation, in Washington, DC where she manages the organization's voice on online networks such as Facebook, MySpace, Care2, Change.org, Digg, and StumbleUpon.

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Social Network Stumbleupon Causes Network 100

Judi Sohn

JUNE 29, 2009

When you’ve been using Salesforce for a while, you accumulate logins. You may have a login for your main instance, a login for your sandbox (a dupe of your instance without data that you can use to try new things) and maybe even logins for developer edition instances. Here’s a tip for creating one-click Salesforce logins that I picked up a few years ago.

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NetWits

JUNE 26, 2009

There are few online vehicles better than recurring gifts for donors to show their appreciation and ongoing commitment to your organization. Not surprisingly recurring gifts are also one of only a few ways to secure ongoing sustaining support from your online donors. Unfortunately, there are many ways that Murphy’s Law can conspire against you, your donors, and their recurring gifts.

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Gift Law Tips Donor 100

Advertiser: Digital Ocean

Effectively managing cloud technology is getting more complex. From cybersecurity concerns, vendor lock-in, cost increases, or lack of transparency on costs, it can quickly get out of control. Knowing what you can control and finding a platform that’s built with nonprofits in mind is key.

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Wild Apricot

JUNE 23, 2009

For every hour your non-profit invests in social networking, an hour is lost to other projects that might further your cause more effectively. How can you know if social media is the best possible use of that time, unless you’ve first figured out what you want to achieve? ( read more ). Tags: Non-profit technology nptech Social networking Non-profit Communications social media.

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Social Media Profit Goal Media 106

Beth's Blog: How Nonprofits Can Use Social Media

JUNE 26, 2009

Submitted by Brian Reich, publisher of Thinking About Media I have been critical of Facebook Causes, almost from the day it emerged onto the scene. I may just be cynical, but I’ve seen too many technology providers claim that their tools will help organizations raise money, engage volunteers, mobilize action, or generally address organizational challenges in ways that only the internet is suited to do.

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Facebook Causes Challenge Communication 99

Amy Sample Ward

JUNE 10, 2009

There is a great post from Louis Gray that I’ve been thinking about lately with an interesting view of 5 Major Stages of early adopter behavior. The Five Stages of Early Adopter Behavior include: Discovery, QA and Spreading the Word. Promotion and Collaboration. Mainstream Use and Engagement. Sense of Entitlement, Nitpicking and Reduced Use. Migration to Something New, Call to Move Followers.

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Adopt Tech Trend Social Media 120

Robert Weiner

JUNE 20, 2009

The Drucker Institute at Claremont Graduate University has posted the application for the 2009 Peter F. Drucker Award for Nonprofit Innovation. The Drucker Award is given to a social-sector organization that demonstrates “change that creates a new dimension of performance. In addition, the judges look for programs that are highly effective and that have made a difference in the lives of the people they serve.&#.

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Advertiser: Syncrony

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