Nonprofit Tech for Good

JULY 20, 2010

There are now over 143 million blogs on the Internet and when I launched Nonprofit Tech 2.0 in September of 2009, I had very low expectations. I wasn’t convinced at all that the world needed another blogger. But within a few months it was clear that blogging was the missing piece in my online communications strategy. 80% of my ROI (Return on Investment = webinar registrations, new clients, speaking engagements) comes from my e-Newsletter, and thanks to blogging my e-Newsletter list has jum

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Robert Weiner

JULY 25, 2010

I get a lot of emails like the following from small nonprofits: We desperately need to get a new donor database and most of them are totally unaffordable!! Looking at the Idealware Low Cost Database report , I find that there are so many considerations that it is quite complicated to make a choice. I am tending towards (system x) because it would seem to match what we need right away, and we could afford it.

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Beneblog: Technology Meets Society

JULY 22, 2010

This has been a really exciting week in Washington, DC, with the focus of today's 20th anniversary of the Americans with Disabilities Act. It's hard to imagine a world without the ADA, which was passed during my first year in the disability field. It became a model of civil rights legislation for people with disabilities, and I'm sure paved the way for the UN Convention on the Rights of People with Disabilities.

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Amy Sample Ward

JULY 21, 2010

This afternoon I had the pleasure and honor of spending a few hours with members of the Charity Technology Trust/Charity Technology Exchange team, part of the TechSoup Global network , exploring their options for creating programs or services to build and foster community throughout their network. Below you can find notes and ideas from today’s session – would love to hear your thoughts and feedback!

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Case Study Studies Charity Community 162

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Zen and the Art of Nonprofit Technology

JULY 2, 2010

I’ve been working with nonprofit organizations on technology issues (strategy, implementation) for about 15 years now. I remember the heady days, when most nonprofits didn’t even have networks, and some of them still didn’t have internet access. In those days, most nonprofit techies were progressive, and we were sure that what we were doing was going to change the world for the better.

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Nonprofit Tech for Good

JULY 13, 2010

One in five Americans now access the Mobile Web daily. Smartphones are transforming the Internet and how individuals access the Web. This means nonprofits and their web communication strategies need to transform as well. Desktop and laptop computers have become essential tools for nonprofit communicators over the last decade, and now we are entering the era of smartphones – a tool that nonprofit communicators should definitely be writing into next year’s budget for key communications

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Communication Mobile Nonprofit Laptop 211

NCE Social Media

JULY 6, 2010

Online applications are very helpful tools. The programs are based online and can allow you to do work just by plugging in basic information. Once example is Mention Map. It is an application that shows you current connections for any Twitter username (including your own). Here’s an example: Mention Map for ACHIEVA’s Twitter feed. It works by looking as hastags you use and connections your Twitter account has to create a visual image of your “map&#.

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VisionLink

JULY 13, 2010

'We are pleased to welcome another new customer to the VisionLink network. This is the Crisis Call Center of Nevada, established as an outreach effort of the University of Nevada, Reno, due to the high rates of suicide across the state. The center is supported by individual donations, government sources, corporate and foundation grants and the United Way.

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Amy Sample Ward

JULY 28, 2010

Last month, I moderated the June #4Change chat with the topic of “community building&#. There were some excellent ideas and tips, and generally great conversation. The problem for me with the chat was twofold: 1. Twitter fail. It has become a regular occurrence for our monthly #4change chats to find Twitter not even working. This has meant some chats haven’t happened, some have stopped early or operated on a very slow conversation, and others (like last month’s chat) have moved

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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

Zen and the Art of Nonprofit Technology

JULY 19, 2010

As you know, I left twitter 3 months ago today. I figured it was a good time to do a reflection of my experiences over this time – what I miss, and what I don’t miss. What I don’t miss. Distractions: I find myself more productive, for sure. I never was very disciplined about turning twitter off, so I was constantly distracted. The lack of distraction has been a really good thing.

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Twitter Reflection Feeds Collaboration 146

NetWits

JULY 28, 2010

On May 18th, 2007 at 5:18pm I tweeted for the first time, saying "@Ruby. I vote teleporting." I was at the 2007 Personal Democracy Forum , and if memory serves correctly, I was replying to a general question another attendee, Ruby Sinreich, was asking of other attendees. Twitter was a backchannel for conversation throughout the day's activities, and I met many new colleagues and friends via this channel.

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Nonprofit Tech for Good

JULY 7, 2010

I like to think of group text messaging campaigns as the e-newsletter of the Mobile Web – just much shorter. Over the last decade nonprofit communicators have been perfecting e-newsletters to drive traffic to their organization’s website, blog, Facebook Page, etc. and to keep supporters informed and engaged. Now that same concept is emerging in mobile communications.

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Group Campaign Free Mobile 206

Wild Apricot

JULY 30, 2010

Ready for a bit of professional development, before Labor Day brings the start of another busy fall season? August is a great time for online learning – in fact, this month we’ve rounded up more free online seminars than ever before! There’s something for everyone from board members and administrators, to fundraisers and volunteer coordinators, to active members of all interests and levels.( read more ).

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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

VisionLink

JULY 30, 2010

'When disaster strikes, trying to find out how your friends and family are doing can be agonizing. Not knowing is an awful feeling. To meet this need, the American Red Cross offers Safe & Well. Those who are hit by a disaster large or small can register on the Safe & Well site, and then their friends and family can search the database and receive information about a loved one''s most recent status.

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National United States Disaster Homeless 100

Amy Sample Ward

JULY 29, 2010

I’m really excited to [finally] announce that I’m going to be redesigning this blog/website. And, I hope it will come as no surprise to any of you when I say that I’m hoping to make it an open process! Why. This website has been a great place for me to post ideas and share lessons learned, store content from presentations, and share resources.

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Zen and the Art of Nonprofit Technology

JULY 19, 2010

I became sold on version control fairly far back in my programming life. Back when CVS (C0ncurrent Version System) was the standard. I learned it, although there were varied gaps in my use of it, so it never became second nature. As I learned more about newer version control systems, I tried them out. For a while, I was using SVN (Subversion), which is similar enough to CVS, but has some nice improvements.

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Open Source Comparison Life System 120

NetWits

JULY 20, 2010

You may have inherited a vast pool of web content written “before your time” … or you frequently receive lengthy “expert” articles and other contributed pieces to add to the web site you now manage. Not every expert who contributes to a web site is also an expert in writing for the web. Fortunately, in most cases it’s easier to “clean up” existing writing than to create the original piece.

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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

Nonprofit Tech for Good

JULY 2, 2010

Peak water is reached when the rate at which water demanded is higher than the rate at which the supply is replenished. By 2025, 1.8 billion people will be living in countries or regions with absolute water scarcity, and two-thirds of the world population could be under stress conditions. The nonprofits below are committed to reversing this trend through education and conservation in hopes of preventing the looming global water crisis: Twitter: Water.org.

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Wild Apricot

JULY 12, 2010

Volunteers will stay longer and work better for your non-profit organization if you can match their personalities and passions with appropriate tasks. Could a simple quiz help you to ensure your volunteers are matched up with the kind of work they'll enjoy for the long haul? ( read more ). Tags: Non-profit technology General non-profit interest nptech Volunteers.

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VisionLink

JULY 30, 2010

'VisionLink has completed another review of our compliance with the Alliance for Information and Referral Systems (AIRS) standards, version 6.0. We are pleased to report that we are just so slightly shy of the 100% benchmark. We''ll have the last bit taken care of very soon. We strongly endorse operational, technical, and data exchange standards as each increases the efficacy with which information and referral organizations can connect needs and assets across communities and states.

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Taxonomy Benchmark Test Review 100

Amy Sample Ward

JULY 30, 2010

Beth Kanter and Allison Fine ‘s book, The Networked Nonprofit , is now out and starting lots of conversations. But what’s everyone talking about? Below I’ve shared some excerpts and resources to get you started and ready to join in! Getting Started. Let’s start at the beginning: what is a “networked nonprofit&# anyway? As Beth and Allison explain: Networked Nonprofits are simple and transparent organizations.

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Network Slides Review Nonprofit 123

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.

Nonprofit

Judi Sohn

JULY 23, 2010

I don't know exactly what they're called, but I hate those new Facebook auto-bot-stupid generated pages. No one creates them, they're just generated by Facebook around a term or idea and it auto--bot-stupid aggregates content around the topic or idea and it auto-bot-stupid suggests to folks (who are neither bots nor stupid) to like the page. . Long ago I submitted the official page for the auto-bot-stupid page created for C3.

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Brain Facebook Aggregator Generation 100

NetWits

JULY 22, 2010

The question “how do I put a video into an email?” comes up from time to time in discussions with clients. This question inspires me to set down some basic “how to” recommendations (since a full video really can’t/shouldn’t be put into an email!).

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Nonprofit Tech for Good

JULY 28, 2010

Social networking communities are migrant communities. They move with you to The Next Big Thing i.e., from MySpace to Facebook to Twitter to Foursquare. Social media skeptics often say that it’s a waste of time to utilize social networking sites because they are here today, and then gone tomorrow. While it is definitely true these sites could be here today, and gone tomorrow, your supporters will indeed migrate with you on to The Next Big Thing.

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Wild Apricot

JULY 22, 2010

A tweet or status update is so easy to publish – and “Please vote” is such a small favor to ask of your social network. It’s just a quick click, right? But as Chris Brogan points out, in The Problem with Social Only Nonprofit Campaigns,there’s a cumulative effect of all those social media requests.( read more ). Tags: Non-profit technology Fundraising nptech Social networking crowdsourcing social media contests.

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