Nonprofit Technology - 2008

The Participatory Museum Process Part 1: Overview and Statistics

Wed, 10 Mar 2010 12:34:00 PST

Please let me know in the comments if there's anything in particular you want to know about - I'm happy to share whatever interests you. Overview: Stages of Development and Participation Types The Participatory Museum was written over a 15 month period that began in December of 2008. This is the first of a four-part series on the behind-the-scenes experience of writing The Participatory Museum . This week, we'll look at the overview of the process of the creation of the book and some overall statistics for user participation.

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Is Your Nonprofit Reaching Diverse Activists and Donors

Thu, 25 Feb 2010 07:53:07 PST

An estimated 40% of the US is comprised of people of color, according to 2008 US Census data. During the 2008 Presidential election, voter turnout increased by about “2 million more black voters, 2 million more Hispanic voters and about 600,000 more Asian voters, while the number of non-Hispanic white voters remained statistically unchanged,” according to the US Census Bureau. The demographics of the US are changing. Yet many nonprofits online lists aren’t diverse.

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First Screenshot of New Office for Mac Interface

Tue, 23 Feb 2010 14:08:03 PST

Why is MacBU adopting Ribbon now, after defending its absence in 2008 ? The Elements Gallery, which was introduced in Office for Mac 2008 , had tremendous untapped potential, especially for users who have experienced significantly improved productivity gains after using the ribbon interface from Office 2007 for Windows. Here's a story Mac users might get a kick out of: while the rest of the world patiently awaits a definite release date for Office 2010 , there's been relatively little information from Microsoft about the suite's Mac sibling, Office 2011, aside from the announcement last August that Entourage will be replaced by a Mac version of Outlook .

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Great reads from around the web on February 23rd

Tue, 23 Feb 2010 02:13:27 PST

Check out this great resource – a database of collaborations! "The first phase of this database of nonprofit collaboration models (currently consisting of the 176 nominations deemed eligible for The Collaboration Prize in 2008 ) contains the information submitted by each nominator in response to specific questions about the nominated collaboration. While the contents of the first phase are limited to data contained in the nominations submitted in 2008 , the next phase of the database, to be launched in the next few months, will have an interactive component, whereby the existing

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Cause Marketing: Selling Products Or Social Good?

Mon, 22 Feb 2010 14:26:15 PST

According to t he 2008 Cone Cause Evolution Study, 79% of respondents said they would switch brands (provided price and quality were equal) to the one that is associated with a good cause. Nothing But Nets successfully leveraged the UN Foundation's expertise in infectious disease with their corporate sponsors money and celebrity resources to create a vibrant campaign that distributed over 2 million bed nets in 200 Since the days of Edward Bernays , marketing has attempted to convince consumers of their hidden desire to buy products. Have fifty years of manipulation run their course?

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Do You Have the Best Nonprofit Video of the Year?

Mon, 22 Feb 2010 08:41:05 PST

You may remember " Children Need a Bailout " from 2009, or " Breathe In, Breathe Out ," from 2008. Flicker photo: mastermaq Every year at the NTC , we partner with See3 to bring you the DoGooder Nonprofit Video awards. We're at it again in 2010, this time with more YouTube -y goodness! Check Check out today's announcement from

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Interviews with 48 Changemakers: 4th Anniversary of the Big Vision Podcast

Sat, 20 Feb 2010 07:51:00 PST

2010 Rebecca Kousky, Founder, Nest Listen Read 2009 Jennifer Lee, Owner, Artizen Coaching Listen Read Bryant Terry, Eco-chef, Food Justice Activist, Author, Vegan Soul Kitchen Listen Read Seane Corn, Co-Founder, Off the Mat, Into the World Listen Read Zainab Salbi, Founder and CEO, Women for Women International Listen Read Kjerstin Erickson, Founder and Executive Director, FORGE Listen Read David Cohn, Founder, Spot.us Listen Read Jose Corona, Executive Director, Inner City Advisors Listen Read

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The Social Media Response to Disaster in Haiti

Wed, 17 Feb 2010 08:06:53 PST

Mapping Ushahidi was originally designed as a tool for mapping reports of violence in Kenya after the post-election unrest in 2008. Amy Sample Ward, NetSquared When When disaster strikes, we want information as soon as possible and we want to help just as quickly. How can we do that?

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Online Engagement and Giving: Making the Most of Real Numbers

Wed, 17 Feb 2010 07:32:31 PST

Many of these organizations continue to see 2X to 3X the daily traffic of average days in 2008 . (A Email and direct mail from nonprofits have virtually the same influence on consumers' decisions to give at 27% and 28% respectively -- email closed a 10% gap from 2008 to 2009.1 Alan Cooke, Convio There There is little debate that online communication, fundraising, and advocacy have become important parts of the modern nonprofit's fundraising and marketing mix.

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Interview: Marshall Kirkpatrick on the Real Time Web Report

Wed, 10 Feb 2010 01:26:24 PST

Probably middle of 2008. The Real-Time Web and Its Future , a new report from ReadWriteWeb , focused on the changing ecosystem of the Web, one that runs in real-time. “For the following report, we interviewed 50 companies, developers and executives building or leveraging real-time Web technology. We combined that research with insights gained from more than 300 industry leaders that participated in our Real-Time Web Summit in October 2009.

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NTEN Data Ecosystem Report Now Available

Tue, 09 Feb 2010 14:05:17 PST

2008 , NTEN began asking the community to tell us what they thought of the tools they use. Today, we are very pleased to announce the release of the Data Ecosystem Report . Life Life would definitely be easier if there was one piece of software that could do everything we needed it to, from donor management to email blasts. Of course, life is rarely that simple.

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Help Idealist.org so it will be there for us in the future

Tue, 02 Feb 2010 05:01:28 PST

By September 2008 , after years of steady growth, these little drops were covering 70% of our budget. Author: Corey Pudhorodsky I am willing to bet just about anyone that has worked in the nonprofit sector for a notable amount of time has benefited from the work of Idealist.org. Just glance over their Resources

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Blackbaud NetCommunity 6.15 - Release Preview

Mon, 01 Feb 2010 09:03:00 PST

This release also requires and only supports Microsoft SQL 2008. Blackbaud NetCommunity 6.15 represents a major step forward for our Internet Solutions based on thousands of hours of research, customer feedback, usability design, application development, testing, and validation. The updates and new features in this release are another sign of Blackbaud’s commitment to improve our online solutions. From a technology perspective, BBNC 6.15

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Top 5 Lessons Learned in 2009: Multi-Channel Engagement

Thu, 28 Jan 2010 14:58:23 PST

Since he started there in 2008 , my family has made several donations to support the school. Author: Emma Zolbrod I’m connected in different ways to numerous nonprofit organizations. On the professional side, I’ve interviewed many industry professionals for articles, case studies, best practices guides, white papers and more.

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Online Giving Trends from 2009 and the Haiti Earthquake

Wed, 27 Jan 2010 07:45:45 PST

Blackbaud’s research found that online revenue grew by 46% in 2009 compared to 2008. This was a decrease of only 2% compared to December 2008 . Another Another very positive sign was that online giving in December 2009 grew 32% compared to December 2008 . The analysis also looked at a subset of the same 1,703 nonprofits in 2008 Steve MacLoughlin, Blackbaud The The September 2009 issue of NTEN Connect had a review of trends in online giving.

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Online Giving Trends from 2009 and the Haiti Earthquake

Wed, 27 Jan 2010 07:45:45 PST

Advancing Your Mission With GIS Tools

Wed, 27 Jan 2010 07:45:32 PST

2008 , post-election violence erupted in Kenya. "Citizen Jim Craner, MapTogether Geographic Geographic information systems (GIS) and online mapping applications continue to become more powerful and easier to use every year. Mapping applications that used to require sophisticated software and time-intensive training to create can now be completed in a matter of minutes with user-friendly tools.

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Advancing Your Mission With GIS Tools

Wed, 27 Jan 2010 07:45:32 PST

2008 , post-election violence erupted in Kenya. "Citizen Jim Craner , MapTogether Geographic Geographic information systems (GIS) and online mapping applications continue to become more powerful and easier to use every year. Mapping applications that used to require sophisticated software and time-intensive training to create can now be completed in a matter of minutes with user-friendly tools.

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Guest Post by Tom Dawkins: Ashoka’s use of Twitter

Sun, 24 Jan 2010 18:07:36 PST

This called for a new approach to outreach and communications and led to me joining Ashoka in late 2008 in a new position of Digital Marketing Strategist. Changemakers.com is the most high-profile example of Ashoka’s new approach to building community and fostering innovation, but so too is the work we are doing in social media and, in particularly Twitter. Note from Beth: Ashoka's Twitter account was placed on the Twitter Suggested List about the same time as my account . Tom Dawkins, who is responsible for Ashoka Tweets, offered to write a guest post reflecting on some best practices for using Twitter.

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Browser Security and Choices

Sun, 24 Jan 2010 11:23:00 PST

37Signals announced way back in the fall of 2008 that it would phase out support for IE6 in Basecamp and its other web services. "Supporting Browsers have been in the news again lately. The open conflict between China and Google has brought front page/national news attention to Internet privacy and censorship lately. Google announced that Chinese cyber spies had hacked into Gmail accounts

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Independent Fundraising Event Trends

Fri, 22 Jan 2010 11:00:00 PST

Based on a Blackbaud assessment, there was an estimated $300 million raised in 2008 in the United States from these types of events, indicating that organizations should find better ways to cultivate these fundraisers and provide the solutions they need to succeed. Blackbaud and Event 360 have released a new white paper based on a joint research project to better understand the common denominators of a successful programmatic approach to third-party fundraising. Independent fundraising events (IFE) are activities designed and run by volunteers to raise money on behalf of a specific

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Guest Post by Anne Mai Bertelsen: Contests for Good - An Insider's View

Tue, 19 Jan 2010 05:00:00 PST

Amazon, in 2005, and Google, in 2008 , learned the hard way. Photo by Ben Golub Note from Beth: Anne Mai Bertlesen and I had a quick exchange at the end of year after I blogged about the Pepsi and Chase Giving Contests in December. She offered to write a guest post that provides an "insider's perspective" having run a number of cause-related ventures including contests. Just before the holidays, a debate emerged among the greater cause community

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NTEN Member Buzz Round-Up: First in 2010!

Fri, 15 Jan 2010 13:41:05 PST

SPAM and sharing with the community since 2008. (Note: This is a weekly round-up of NTEN members doing and sharing their their nptech awesome. Members are in bold. Tag your own news with "nten member"

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HOW TO: Launch an iPhone App for Your Nonprofit for $25 a Month [Offer Extended to July 31, 2010]

Thu, 14 Jan 2010 06:41:47 PST

We saw that with social media in 2008 and 2009, and the same will be true of mobile technology in 2010. In October 2009, I wrote about a build-it-yourself iPhone App development service called SwebApps that was waving set-up fees (normally $400-800) for nonprofits until 12/31/2009. I personally

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An Interview with Robert Chatwani on Giving Works Trends 2009

Fri, 08 Jan 2010 17:31:27 PST

According to the report, the eBay community gave $50 million to nonprofits, a 17% jump over 2008 despite the ongoing recession. The Right before the holidays, eBay released 2009 figures for Giving Works , its fundraising program and marked a historic record for total funds raised for non-profits through ebay.com. The program allows individuals to donate while using eBay.

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How I'm Celebrating My 53rd Birthday: Cambodia, Chocolate, and Class

Thu, 07 Jan 2010 16:57:39 PST

Beth's 51st Birthday : This was part of an overall campaign for the America's Giving Challenge in 2008 for the Sharing Foundation that raised over $50,000. 2008 ) What was my birthday Wish At Age 6 ? Monday, January 11th is my 53rd Birthday! This year I'm indulging in three of my passions: raising money for Cambodian children with social

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Favorite Have Fun Do Good Books of 2009

Wed, 06 Jan 2010 15:20:00 PST

You can also check out my lists from 2005-2008: Favorite Do-Good Books of 2008 Favorite Do-Good Books of 2007 Favorite Do-Good Books of 2006 Favorite Do-Good Books of 2005 Favorite Have Fun Do Good Books of 2009 (in alphabetical order) Between Two Worlds: Escape from Tyranny: Growing Up in the Shadow of Saddam by Zainab Salbi and Laurie Beckland I had the awesome opportunity to interview the founder of Women for Women International , Zainab Salbi, this year for the Big Vision Podcast . You can read a transcript of my interview with Lisa Witter here .

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2009 Online Giving Trends

Mon, 04 Jan 2010 06:00:00 PST

This is a follow-up to the 2008 Online Giving Trends research and the subsequent 2009 Online Giving Trends for Q1 , Q2 , and Q3 analysis. Online revenue grew 46% in 2009 compared to 2008. and was a decrease of only 2% compared to December 2008. 2009 is now over and the analysis of online giving trends has already started. This information comes from approximately 2,300 nonprofit organizations using a combination of Blackbaud online fundraising, email marketing, and integrated CRM tools.

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2009 in Review

Tue, 29 Dec 2009 08:29:00 PST

This resulted in several blog posts and presentations ( 2008 Online Giving Trends 2009 Online Giving Trends - Q1 2009 Online Giving Trends - Q2 2009 Online Giving Trends - Q3 ) on the subject. The research work also led to us publishing that approximately 5% of all giving in the US in 2008 was done online. The final hours of 2009 are ticking away. This year seemed to fly by faster than many others.

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Office Greening for the Holidays: Closing Up Shop

Tue, 22 Dec 2009 12:32:07 PST

Update: This post was originally published in December 2008 , but since it holds lots of useful information for closing your office over a holiday break, we wanted to update it and put it at the top of our list for the 2009 holiday. Enjoy! If your organization is like many other offices in the U.S., your office may be closed for several days

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Social Actions 2009 Year End Summary and Dashboard

Fri, 18 Dec 2009 08:00:00 PST

Social Actions Dashboard , covering 2008 and 2009 "by the numbers" A 'Tis the season for year-end wrap ups of all kinds. This year, we've prepared two summaries: Social Actions 2009 Year End Summary , a review of the community, projects, and conversations that have defined our work in 2009

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It’s coming – Black Thursday – Tax Deadline Drives Donation Activity on December 31 – are you ready?

Thu, 17 Dec 2009 13:51:04 PST

This data excludes special events related (TeamRaiser) gifts and recurring donations and represents clients that: • were active fundraising prior to 1/1/2008 • averaged >1 donation/day in 2008 (ie. had more than 365 donations in 200 Author: Tad Druart Back in February there was a great deal of discussion and debate on the role of tax-deductions in charitable giving around proposed changes in the tax code.

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Bmycharity donations in November almost double on previous year - Third Sector

Tue, 15 Dec 2009 08:24:00 PST

Bmycharity donations in November almost double on previous year - Third Sector: "Fundraising website removed commission charges in OctoberNearly twice as much money was donated to charity through fundraising website Bmycharity in November as in the same month last year.More than £546,000 was donated through the site in November 2009, compared with £247,000 in the same month in 200

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Who are the Millennials?

Sun, 13 Dec 2009 09:57:01 PST

In the 2008 Presidential election, Millennials voted for Barack Obama over John McCain by 66%-32%, while adults ages 30 and over split their votes 50%-49%. Be honest, does your nonprofit create online advocacy and fundraising campaigns that are reactive or proactive? Chances are most of them are reactive, which can leave many small online teams scrambling to react to news, legislation or changes in bills.

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The Changing Nature of Online Fundraising

Tue, 08 Dec 2009 08:29:00 PST

It certainly has come a long way from an outline that I wrote on a plane to Nova Scotia back in 2008. Over the past year, I have been fortune enough to speak at several conferences and nonprofit events. I have primarily been giving a presentation called "The Changing Nature of Online Fundraising" that covers some important trends happening in the nonprofit sector.

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Guest Post: The Denver Community Museum

Sun, 06 Dec 2009 12:41:00 PST

The DCM was a temporary, pop-up museum which ran from October 2008 - April 2009 in an unused storefront in downtown Denver. This post was written by Jaime Kopke , the founder/director of the Denver Community Museum , a pop-up community-generated institution that ran from Oct 2008-April 2009. This post shares her reflections on the project, its design, and its impact.

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Social Media Webinars Now Offered to Accommodate Charities in Europe

Sun, 06 Dec 2009 07:02:47 PST

DIOSA Communications has been offering social media webinars for nonprofits since February 2008 , but the content of the webinars and the time schedule mostly accommodate nonprofits in the United States. Approximately 20 charities in the U.K., Eastern Europe and the Middle East have attended past webinars, but the timing is not convenient since the webinars take place on Tuesdays from 6-7:30pm GMT.

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Research shows online consumer in the giving spirit

Tue, 01 Dec 2009 03:40:02 PST

More than 63% of online consumers plan to use the Internet to donate to charities of their choice during the upcoming holiday season, up from 51% in 2008 – when you look at the amount they plan to give it looks like organizations ready to engage online could see a more prosperous holiday season than those late to the online game. Author: Tad Druart Despite the difficult economy, American consumers will be going online in record numbers to support charitable causes in the final four weeks of the year – giving an estimated $4B online.

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Five Social Media Fundraising Trends for 2009

Tue, 24 Nov 2009 23:20:36 PST

While " Tweet and Meet " events, called "Tweet Ups," were popular with Twitter users in 2008 , "Tweet-Meet-Donate" events became more and more common in 2009. Photo by Borman818 I usually don't write end of year roundups until those quiet last days of the year, but if Leave09Behind gets legs, that might be next week!

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Does Your Organization Value IT?

Fri, 20 Nov 2009 13:06:48 PST

out the 2008 survey results to find out if you're being paid enough. ...Tags: Flickr Photo: eszter I I think we can safely call it tradition now: it's time time for the 4th Annual

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Have Fun Do Good Day: 29-Day Giving Challenge

Fri, 20 Nov 2009 09:08:00 PST

What you might not know is that since I first wrote about the Challenge in April 2008 , Cami has published a New York Times bestselling book, 29 Gifts: How a Month of Giving Can Change Your Life , and has appeared on the TODAY Show ! Long time readers of Have Fun Do Good probably already know about the 29 Day Giving Challenge created by my friend, Cami Walker. During the 29 Day Giving Challenge, you give away one thing each day for 29 days.

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Three Different Approaches to Twitter Fundraising: Bees, Turkeys, and Blame

Thu, 19 Nov 2009 11:21:12 PST

In 2008 , we started to see click action philanthropy on Facebook with Lil Green Patch raising over $100,000 for the Nature Conservancy. TweetsGiving 2009 If the dollar amounts from fundraising campaigns using social networks are disappointing, one response is to say this doesn't work and stop doing it. An alternative approach is to experiment and find ways to improve results.

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2009 NTEN Community Report -- And 2010 NTC Winner

Wed, 18 Nov 2009 11:08:21 PST

in their work, an increase of nearly 5% over 2008 responses. Every year we survey the nonprofit technology community (via our members, program participants, and other like-communities) to learn two main things: How are WE doing , as an organization, to make your work easier, and your mission a little closer? How are YOU doing , as someone who works

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Tis the Season for Creativity in Holiday/Year-end Giving – Share your gift opportunity here

Wed, 18 Nov 2009 09:10:54 PST

percent drop from 2008. Author: Tad Druart With the Holiday Giving season ramping and the recession having a negative impact on donations, charities are expanding their eCommerce offerings to better meet consumer’s needs. We are finalizing research into the holiday giving plans of consumers, but preliminary data show that 61% of online consumers plan to give online this year, up from 51% last year – that’s more than 106 million Americans giving online in the last 4 weeks of the year.

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Open Government: "Strategies and Tactics from the Playbook"

Tue, 17 Nov 2009 09:25:00 PST

NIH does this to allow teens a way to get credible information from a trusted third party - and NIH gets some great intelligence about what is on the minds of teens (eg in 2009 twice as many marijuana questions as in 2008 .) Some Federal agencies are experimenting with fascinating approaches to public engagement online, even in the absence of specific guidance about how they should approach these online opportunities. These These are the themes I heard while attending the interesting Open Government: "Strategies and Tactics from the Playbook" event this past Monday in DC, organized

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Microsoft's Secret Giveaway

Tue, 17 Nov 2009 08:17:00 PST

Register this benefit, and the allowed number of users (which I'm unclear as to how they calculate) at your company can purchase MS Office 2007 Ultimate Edition (or Office 2008 for Mac ) for $9.95. I did note that the list of available classes that my rep sent me looked a little behind the times; no 2008 or 2010 products covered, but many of us aren't on the bleeding edge anyway. Microsoft Technet gives you access to forums and experts, as well as evaluation copies of new technologies. Sometimes it feels like the bane of my existence is my office phone . It's so bad that

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Social Media for Revenue or Volunteers? Maybe Not

Sat, 14 Nov 2009 01:59:02 PST

The survey is based on responses from about 200 mid-sized nonprofits (defined as having revenues between $1 and $5 million annually) between July 2008 and March 2009. The results of two new surveys paint a bleak picture of the effectiveness of social media for fundraising and volunteer recruitment. The first from Philanthropy Action , has the depressing title, " Social Networking and Mid-Size Nonprofits: What's the Use? "

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TechSoup's a Nonprofit: Here's How We Work

Fri, 13 Nov 2009 10:54:51 PST

If you don't believe me, check out the reach and impact we've had from 2008 alone. A couple of weeks back, I wrote a post to address some frequently asked questions about Windows 7 that opened with a plea for patience and understanding as our customer service reps work to dig out for the overwhelming demand for the new operating system. I'm gonna take a minute to expand on that request a bit.

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A Tale of Two Nonprofit and Social Media Adoption Surveys

Thu, 12 Nov 2009 08:38:55 PST

The survey was implemented between July 2008 and March 2009 - and the results presented here are focused on impact metrics In terms of fundraising and attracting volunteers, metrics that most nonprofit Social Impact Nonprofit Social Media Survey View more presentations from Weber Shandwick Social Impact . The The results of two new research studies about nonprofits and adoption of social media were released this week.

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Social Media for Revenue or Volunteers? Maybe Not

Thu, 12 Nov 2009 07:10:57 PST

Are you getting the most out of your matching gifts? Guest post by Stephen Hafner

Mon, 09 Nov 2009 12:59:32 PST

According to the Council for Aid to Education's 2008 Voluntary Support of Education Survey , matching gifts as a percentage of corporate giving totaled $175 million in 2008 , up $6 million from the previous year. Author: Tad Druart I'm honored to share this space today with Stephen Hafner of HEP Development Services. Stephen shares

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Online giving on the rise despite recession and bleak nonprofit forecasts | The Daily Tell

Mon, 09 Nov 2009 06:19:00 PST

Online giving on the rise despite recession and bleak nonprofit forecasts | The Daily Tell: "Network for Good, a nonprofit organization that offers online fundraising services, announced that the number of donations to nonprofits through the organization’s platform has increased by 92 percent since 2008 , while the dollar value of donations has increased by 42 percent.In addition, the organizatio

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NTEN Webinar Links - The State of Online Fundraising

Wed, 04 Nov 2009 08:05:00 PST

2008 donorCentrics Internet Giving Benchmarking Analysis Giving USA Report for 2008 and Online Fundraising Estimates 2008 Online Giving Trends Later today I'll be hosting a webinar called "The State of Online Fundraising" as part of NTEN member appreciation month. It's free to NTEN members and Blackbaud customers.

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How To Use Information You Already Have To Personalize Constituent Experiences Online

Mon, 02 Nov 2009 07:58:44 PST

In 2008 , CAFB distributed more than 17 million pounds of food. Aimy Wiley, Capital Area Food Bank of Texas [Ed. Ed. note: This article is part of NTEN's Member Appreciation Month spectacular. The most popular pieces will be featured in our newsletter.

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Social Media and Technology: What Nonprofits Need To Know

Mon, 02 Nov 2009 07:58:02 PST

Andrew spoke about the huge access the Internet offers — citing stats from how the presidential candidates used social media in the 2008 election . Where radio, TV, and print are economies of scarcity, he said the Internet is an economy of abundance. Deanna asked Farra Trompeter, Big Duck [Ed. Ed.

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What You Are NOT Doing CAN Hurt You

Mon, 02 Nov 2009 07:35:28 PST

2008 , Convio pioneered a new program called Convio Go!™ , which is designed specifically for organizations that have a website and know they need to do more online, but were reluctant to invest in Internet tools. Meg Murphy, Convio [Ed. Ed. note: This article is part of NTEN's Member Appreciation Month spectacular.

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Are Solid-State Drives Ready for Primetime?

Fri, 30 Oct 2009 13:58:24 PDT

In early 2008 , both Apple and Dell started shipping high-end laptops with SSDs only; others have followed suit since then. Here's an interesting post by Jeff Atwood about solid-state hard drives ( thanks David! ). SSDs have been around in various forms for a long time , but only in recent years have manufacturers started seriously marketing them to consumers as an alternative to traditional hard drives.

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Churches connect with parishioners online -- chicagotribune.com

Fri, 30 Oct 2009 07:40:00 PDT

More than a third of Americans younger than 50 don't have a religious affiliation, according to a 2008 study b Churches connect with parishioners online -- chicagotribune.com: "On Tuesday, 250 Web-savvy Christians -- from blogging pastors to iPhone programmers -- gathered at Park Community for Cultivate 09, an interactive conference on ministry communication, which includes marketing strategy.

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Guest Post by Aspen Baker: Friend or Foe? UC Berkeley Investigates the Legal Landscape of Social Networking

Wed, 28 Oct 2009 08:58:53 PDT

who gave the keynote speech at UC Berkeley’s conference on law, ethics and technology, “ Social Networks: Friends or Foes? ,” complaints of hijacked accounts increased by one-third from 2007 to 2008 . Note from Beth: As I listened to the NPR story this week about online privacy, it is becoming very important for us to understand the implications. I really wanted to attend the " Social Networks Friend for Foe? "at

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A Social Media Strategy for Scientific Research or Policy Impact

Mon, 26 Oct 2009 10:44:49 PDT

In early 2009, the Compete Blog posted its media trends for 2008 , suggesting that publisher media continue to integrate social media. Source: Source: Compete Media Trends for 2008 I encounter a lot of social media skeptics who ask me pointed questions. I can answer most, but sometimes I get hit with a question that I can't answer (adequately) on the spot.

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Email is Dead? Long Live Email

Fri, 23 Oct 2009 13:27:49 PDT

million people in August of 2008 according to the Nielsen Company. Between 2008 and 2009 the number of users on social-networking and other community sites jumped 31% to 301.5 First there were rumblings that direct mail was dying. Then TechCrunch said Web2.0 was dying.

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Major Gift Fundraising: Facts and Opinions from a Recovering Fundraising Consultant

Tue, 20 Oct 2009 10:50:14 PDT

topped $307 billion in 2008. This week, Craig Harris, the founder and CEO of NOZA, Inc . is sharing his wisdom on developing a major gifts program at nonprofits. NOZA (a TechSoup donor partner) is a Santa Barbara based technology company that has developed a platform to convert unstructured web data into searchable databases. Prior to founding

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Social Media is Going Mobile, and So Should Your Nonprofit

Mon, 05 Oct 2009 14:25:14 PDT

In 2008 , over two trillion text messages were sent worldwide. As the Web goes mobile , so does social media… and so should your nonprofit. If there is one thing I have learned over ten years of using the Internet for fundraising and social change, those nonprofits that can embrace change quickly, empower their visionaries, and adopt new Web trends, reap the benefits of being early adopters . The Web and how people use it is transforming

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NTEN Member Buzz Round-Up: Last Week in September

Mon, 05 Oct 2009 10:05:45 PDT

2008 and 2009 year-to-date. (Note: This is a weekly round-up of NTEN members doing and sharing their nptech awesome. Members are in bold. Tag your news with "nten member" or "nptech" to help us find your awesome, or contact Annaliese with your updates.) Ellie Ellie LaCasse wrote a

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2009 Online Giving Trends - Q3

Thu, 01 Oct 2009 15:00:00 PDT

This is part of a series of published insights from all of 2008 , Q1 2009 , and Q2 2009 . Online revenue in the third quarter of 2009 was up 41% compared to the same time period in 2008. Blackbaud also did a year over year comparison from 2008 to 2009 and found that the median gift amount for online donations of at least $1,000 has held steady at $2,500. The year is rapidly coming to a close and we have more information about online giving trends for the third quarter of 2009 from Blackbaud clients. This information comes from approximately 2,200 nonprofit organizations using

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Attend the Boston Email Fundraising Bootcamp (at a Discount!)

Wed, 30 Sep 2009 14:18:13 PDT

revealed that while overall fundraising was down 2% in 2008 , online fundraising grew month of December accounted for 21% of the transaction volume in 2008 -- but 48% In an article article published in our September newsletter , Blackbaud's Steve MacLaughlin revealed grew 44% over 2007 levels to more than $15 billion.

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Index of National Fundraising Performance - Q2 2009

Mon, 28 Sep 2009 10:02:00 PDT

from Q2 2008 year-to-date to Q2 2009 year-to-date. This continues declines that were reported at the end of 2008 and in the first quarter of 2009. from Q2 2008 YTD to Q2 2009 YTD. 34% of the organizations in the index had positive donor growth from Q2 2008 YTD to Q2 2009 YTD. Target Analytics , a Blackbaud company, announced last week the latest Index of National Fundraising Performance for the second quarter of 2009. The index compares trends in key fundraising indicators from 77 organizations, including over 36 million donors and more than 68 million gifts

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The State of Online Fundraising

Thu, 24 Sep 2009 09:27:52 PDT

Blackbaud's analysis of online giving in 2008 found that December accounted for about 21% of the year's transaction volume, but 48% of the total dollars raised. Online Giving Tops $15 Billion in 2008 billion was given in 2008 to US charities, exceeding $300 billion for the second year in a row. Steve MacLaughlin, Blackbaud The The last three months of the year represent a critical time for the fundraising efforts of nonprofit organizations.

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Do you tweet out on a limb?

Tue, 22 Sep 2009 13:21:36 PDT

When the very first nfptweetup was held in November 2008 , you could pretty much squeeze everyone who ticked both the ‘charity’, and ‘Twitter’ boxes into the cosy upstairs room in the Coach and Horses in London’s Soho. Do you work for a charity? Do you use Twitter? I’ll

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Ask Our Giving Guru: Marnie Webb on the Art of the Follow Through

Tue, 22 Sep 2009 09:50:50 PDT

sought-after speaker and writer on nonprofit technology, she was named the NTEN Person of the Year in 2008 and included in the Nonprofit Times' list of the 50 most influential leaders in the U.S. This was originally published on The Case Foundation Blog . Giving Guru Marnie Webb is Co-CEO of TechSoup Global where under her leadership the NetSquared initiative is in its fourth year of helping nonprofits worldwide use innovative web tools to increase their reach and impact.

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Frameworks and Lessons from the Public Participation in Science Research Report

Tue, 22 Sep 2009 09:09:00 PDT

For example, in the case of the YouTube meetup at the Ontario Science Centre in 2008 , Kevin Von Appen commented that "I'm still wrestling with how the interactions of participants - mainly drinking, dancing, gossiping and shooting video of same squares up with our mission to engage people directly with science and technology..." What's more participatory, making art or doing research? What does the word "participatory" mean to you? This isn't just a rhetorical question.

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Celebrate Today: One Web. For All.

Tue, 22 Sep 2009 05:22:56 PDT

In 2008 , OneWebDay organizers documented volunteer-driven events in 34 different cities across the world. Today is OneWebDay ! A day of on and offline events spanning the globe celebrating the Web. This year’s theme is One Web. For All.

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Love the Internet? Share the Love! OneWebDay is September 22

Mon, 21 Sep 2009 10:46:57 PDT

In 2008 , OneWebDay organizers documented volunteer-driven events in 34 different cities across the world. For the last three years, OneWebDay "has attracted a global network of partner organizations and individual activists committed to broadening public awareness of Internet and web issues while deepening a culture of participation in building a web that works for everyone." This day is considered a day of action for digital inclusion, much like Earth Day has become a day of action for environmental issues.

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Anything to Be Learned from America’s Most Generous Cities Online?

Mon, 21 Sep 2009 10:27:54 PDT

I also did a little, non-scientific analysis of some of the cities that had jumps of 20-30 places in their 2008 to 2009 ranking. The 2008 rankings are based on the more than $777 million in online donations processed by Convio on behalf of thousands of the nation’s leading nonprofit organizations during the calendar year. Author: Tad Druart Lists almost always get people’s attention.

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Back to School, Back Online

Sat, 19 Sep 2009 05:47:15 PDT

Despite this, less than half (48%) of the 187 charities that were surveyed as part of nfpSynergy’s Virtual Promise ( 2008 ) report said that their organization used social networking websites. This post originally written September 8, 2009. Posted on Stanford Social Innovation Review’s Opinion blog. Visit the original post here.

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Online Giving Trends in Higher Education

Thu, 17 Sep 2009 07:05:00 PDT

It references the Target Analytics 2008 donorCentrics Internet Giving Benchmarking Analysis study as well as data from The Chronicle of Philanthropy . Research for 2008 online giving done by The Chronicle of Philanthropy shows that colleges and universities are underperforming compared to other nonprofit groups. The Council for Advancement and Support of Education ( CASE ) recently released a report called "Click Here to Donate: Results of the CASE 2009 Survey of Online Fundraising." quot; The report was prepared by Dr.

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Vote for Next Great Nonprofit Tagline

Thu, 17 Sep 2009 01:14:45 PDT

It’s one of your most effective marketing tools, but the 2008 GettingAttention.org survey showed that 72% of nonprofit organizations don’t have a tagline or rate theirs as performing poorly. Vote here for the 2009 Getting Attention Nonprofit Tagline Awards. Voting will: Sharpen your understanding of what works and

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Measuring Success Online- Is This Internet Thing Worth the Effort?

Thu, 17 Sep 2009 01:00:00 PDT

In fact in a recent NFP Synergy survey ( Virtual Promise 2008 ) 49% of folks said they don't measure this stuff at all! One thing that has been bothering me lately is the amount I've been talking to folks about their online success. So many people I've spoken to lately are not measuring how successful online has been for them. With another 20% declining

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OneWebDay: It’s Almost Here!

Wed, 16 Sep 2009 06:58:26 PDT

In 2008 , OneWebDay organizers documented volunteer-driven events in 34 different cities across the world. This September 22nd, contribute to the celebrations of the web for OneWebDay ! All over the world, people who care about the future of the Web are joining together to organize events and activities in their towns, growing the OWD network from the grassroots up. There’s just 6 days until

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Donation Form Usability

Tue, 15 Sep 2009 08:20:00 PDT

The report references Target Analytics , a Blackbaud company, and the 2008 donorCentrics Internet Giving Benchmarking Analysis in several places throughout the report, including the following: "In quot;In 2008 , non-profits got about 10% of their donations online, according to a survey by Target Analytics. Jakob Nielsen is considered the leading expert on website usability in the world. His firm, the Nielsen Norman Group , does a variety of studies and reports every year in both the for-profit and nonprofit sectors.

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23 Years Ago Today and How Not To Pitch A Blogger Redux (And Twitter pitches too)

Mon, 14 Sep 2009 16:05:04 PDT

That post was one of my top ten posts for 2008 ! from Esquire Magazine's Awkward Wedding Photos The Twenty three years ago on this date (September 14th), my husband and I I got married! We've

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Guest Post by Manny Hernandez: Transitioning From Social Media Cloud to Nonprofit Organization

Fri, 11 Sep 2009 10:21:40 PDT

We decided to become a nonprofit in early 2008 and formed the Diabetes Hands Foundation in April 2008. Source: Rob Cross, What is ONA? (Organizational Organizational Network Analysis) Note from Beth: Last May, Mark Pescue published a provocative essay called the "Tower and the Clouds" which talked about the tension between working in traditional, hierarchical nonprofits and the "cloud" like behavior of working with

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Innovative Health Care Reform Campaigns

Wed, 09 Sep 2009 13:31:00 PDT

During the Summer of 2008 , C.U. Tonight, President Obama will deliver a major address to Congress on U.S. health reform. So it's a good time to take a look at how people are using online tools and tactics to influence the reform discussion. Here, Here, I survey a few of the more interesting online approaches I've encountered.

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The benefits of using Web 2.0 tools: a view from the corporation

Tue, 08 Sep 2009 22:01:02 PDT

There were internal benefits as well, with 68% citing an increased access to knowledge, up 30% from 2008 , and 54% claiming reduced communications costs, up by 20% from 2008 . Author: James Young I know, I know, non-profit organizations are not corporations, but everyday I see someone saying that we can learn from trends in the corporate world. So here goes with the

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Guest Post by Stephanie McAuliffe: SoCap09 - Day 2 Roundup

Fri, 04 Sep 2009 16:20:44 PDT

The first SoCap conference in 2008 coincided with the launch of this paper, Investing for Social & Environmental Impact: A Design for Catalyzing an Emerging Industry A Monitor Institute Report http://www.monitorinstitute.com/documents/InvestingforSocialand EnvImpact_ExecSum_000.pdf and a wiki with definitions of the lingo http://socapmarkets.pbworks.com/Other-Lingo Last week I gave a colleague a hard time about aspiring to “create an enabling environment” so I deserved to be surrounded by smart people who are making strides to create the infrastructure needed to drive

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What is Google Doing for You?

Fri, 04 Sep 2009 01:00:00 PDT

In 2008 , Google launched several applications for nonprofits that allow them to use technology at a whole new level. Many of these applications would have significant costs associated with them if you chose other vendors, but for nonprofits they are either free or low-cost. Let’s take a look at a fe

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Last Chance to Vote for Nonprofit SXSW Panels: Closes September 4th

Thu, 03 Sep 2009 07:56:18 PDT

In 2008 , I was on one of the few nonprofit panels on the agenda. The SXSW Interactive Festival (scheduled scheduled March 12-16, 2010 in Austin, Texas) is a mega huge social media media industry event. The final program is done through a combination of

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Only 33% of 2009 Remains

Tue, 01 Sep 2009 06:11:00 PDT

Think back to this time in 2008. Today is September 1st, 2009. According to WolframAlpha only 33.42% is left of 2009. Another way to look at it is that there are 121 days left in the year and only 87 weekdays until December 31st. What's your plan to take advantage of the ramp up to the largest fundraising period, both online and offline, of the entire year?

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Try Eating for $4 a Day. Join The Hunger Challenge

Wed, 26 Aug 2009 17:47:00 PDT

Last year, 6 food bloggers and recipe developers tried to eat 3 meals on $3 per day during the 2008 San Francisco Food Bank's Hunger Challenge. Did you know that the average amount Californians have to spend on a day's meal with food stamps is $4? Or that 34 million people in the United States live on a food stamp budget? I didn't,

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What do Maori and Gourma Creation Stories Have In Common With Social Media?

Wed, 26 Aug 2009 11:41:05 PDT

2008 ), in which he emphasizes the importance of designing evaluations to insure their usefulness, rather than simply creating long reports that may never get read or never result in any practical changes. Michael Quinn Patton , an evaluation guru, visited the Packard Foundation yesterday. I participated in a lively exploratory conversation about "How do you evaluate network effectiveness?"

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Against the Digital Divide

Tue, 25 Aug 2009 10:08:25 PDT

recently learned that online fundraising made up only about 5% of total annual giving in 2008 . Holly Ross, NTEN [Ed. Ed. note: This is Holly's introduction to our August Newsletter. If you aren't subscribed yet, you really should be .] I

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Maybe We Have Ourselves to Blame

Mon, 24 Aug 2009 10:40:30 PDT

of respondents to the 2008 IT Staffing Survey evaluated the technology projects they completed that year. Flickr Photo: All Chihuahuas Did you listen to the This I Believe segments on NPR? They had some great ones -- Finding Freedom in Forgiveness and There is No Such Thing as Too Much Barbecue are personal favorites. Both had me crying, in completely different ways.

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Guest Post: Beth Kanter's SXSWi Nonprofit Panel Roundup

Fri, 21 Aug 2009 08:53:41 PDT

In 2008 , I was on one of the few nonprofit panels on the agenda. [ Ed. note: I was getting around to writing up my own notes about SXSW, when I realized Beth had done all the work for me, as usual! Oh, and please do give a thumbs up to the panel Beth and I cooked up: Crowdsourcing for Innovative Social Change ] The

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Museum Photo Policies Should Be as Open as Possible

Thu, 20 Aug 2009 13:13:00 PDT

In 2008 , a team led by MIT media researcher Henry Jenkins published a white paper entitled, "If it Doesn't Spread, It's Dead," which argues that media artifacts have greatest impact when consumers are able to pass on, reuse, adapt, and remix them. I'm working on a section of my book about sharing social objects and am writing about the most common way that visitors share their object experiences in museums: through photographs. While doing research, I found myself digging back into old arguments on museum listservs about photo policies and I want to add my two (very opinionated) cents

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Guest Post by Cheryl Contee: I Am Mommy, Hear Me Roar

Wed, 19 Aug 2009 09:32:00 PDT

News for BlogHer 2008 (as seen above), 36 million women write or read blogs Note from Beth: In response for my call for guest posts on movement building, Cheryl Contee pointed me to her terrific case study about Mom's Rising . This post was originally published on the Fast Company Blog and is being republished her with permission. The original can

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Taking Advantage of a Crisis

Mon, 17 Aug 2009 20:59:04 PDT

All key metrics declined for the index as a whole for the first quarter of 2009 as compared to the first quarter of 2008. Although some recent news stories have reported postive economic signs, the outlook for the nonprofit sector still looks bleak. Target Analytics' Index of National Fundraising Performance for the first quarter of 2009 had nothing but bad news.

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Vote and Comment for ALL these Awesome Nonprofit Panels at SXSW!

Mon, 17 Aug 2009 15:18:24 PDT

In 2008 , I was on one of the few nonprofit panels on the agenda. The SXSW Interactive Festival (scheduled March 12-16, 2010 in Austin, Texas) is a mega huge social media industry event. The final program is done through a combination of an open submission and community voting process. The The panel picker process just opened - so you can vote yes or no for the panels you think

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Taking Advantage of a Crisis

Mon, 17 Aug 2009 15:16:35 PDT

Learning from Obama's Financial Juggernaut: How to Raise Money via Email

Fri, 14 Aug 2009 07:30:20 PDT

Regardless of any other advantages he possessed in the 2008 election season, Obama’s ability to raise as much money as his campaign could reasonably absorb, in part by returning to the small donors who stuck with him again and again through the worst, was decisive it elevated him to the first tier of candidates in 2007, it saw him through rough times in the Democratic primaries and it provided the means for him to absolutely overwhelm John McCain in the general election. The main tool his campaign used to solicit money? [This article is adapted from excerpts from the new e-book, " Learning from Obama: Lessons for Online Communicators in 2009 and Beyond ," by Colin Delaney, Editor of Epolitics.com.

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Pointing at Exhibits, Part 2: No-Tech Social Networks

Mon, 10 Aug 2009 07:44:00 PDT

When I wrote about this in 2008 , I focused on the question of how to design exhibits to be optimized for "pointiness." I've spent the last two weeks working on the third chapter of my book about network effects of social participation. This can be an incredibly technical topic, as it focuses on the ways that platforms (online, exhibits, museums) can harness the individual activities of many visitors and create meaningful experiential outputs that connect people to each other.

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Nonprofit Economic Survey from GuideStar

Fri, 07 Aug 2009 04:17:14 PDT

The good news is that the proportion of nonprofits reporting decreased contributions, 52 percent, remained unchanged from our previous survey, which covered October 2008 through February 2009. GuideStar , an organization that gathers and publishes data on charitable organizations, recently conducted a survey looking to measure impact of the economic downturn on nonprofits. As GuideStar explains , “We’ve got good news and bad news.”

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Teens and Twitter: A Mini Focus Group with Teens

Thu, 06 Aug 2009 20:55:49 PDT

It was from April, 2008 ! Earlier this week, I had an opportunity to run the social media strategy game with senior program staff at the Packard Foundation. I used the same fictional organization, the Earth Worm Sustainability Network, as I used in the Network Effectiveness Grantee Convening back in May . This is the first time I ran it for people all from the same organization, with a limited amount of time, and

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African Americans, Hispanics Lead Mobile Web Growth

Tue, 04 Aug 2009 07:21:46 PDT

When Spanish speakers were factored in to Pew's December 2008 study, the rate of broadband penetration in Hispanic homes was counted at 37 percent, while in the most recent study of English-speaking Hispanics, the rate was 68 percent. African Americans, Hispanics Lead Mobile Web Growth ...Tags: This kind of data consistently comes up in online organizing. who has access and what do the trends look like.

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Online Community Vendor Spotlight: Social Collective

Mon, 03 Aug 2009 07:40:00 PDT

We launched it at a 1000-person BEA conference in May of 2008 to rave reviews and outstanding usage statistics. This is the third in a series of six interviews of CEOs of online community platform providers to the association industry, in conjunction with a white paper we're writing about them. The first two interviews are here .

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Community Funded Reporting: Interview with David Cohn of Spot.us

Fri, 31 Jul 2009 10:50:00 PDT

in the Spring of 2008 at an Innovations in Journalism conference, I thought, this is going to be big. was a 2008 Knight News Challenge Winner . We launched in November of 2008. "You cannot run a community if you're not informed. Journalism is really the act of informing communities so that they can make better decisions, that is part of the public service, informing communities so that together we can know where else we need to help." --David Cohn, Founder, Spot.us When I first heard David Cohn talk about Spot.us

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Digital Storytelling with VoiceThread: Create a Collaborative Multi-Media Presentation

Fri, 31 Jul 2009 09:25:00 PDT

VoiceThread, named one of Webware's top 100 web apps for 2008 , is an online media album tool that lets a group of people easily add their comments to a collection of images, videos, and documents. Gayle Thorsen has some great ideas for how non-profits can use VoiceThread to engage their supporters in a compelling, collaborative online story — and you’ll have plenty of your own ideas, when you see what VoiceThread can do!...( read more ) ...Tags:

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How To: Putting Technology to Use (July 2009)

Thu, 30 Jul 2009 15:29:06 PDT

As Holly said , smart phone usage grew 80% between June 2007 and June 2008. Your guide to the resources that will help you put technology to work for your cause. Market to Mobiles As The monetary figures are even more impressive: $1.9

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Becoming A Social Media Savvy Nonprofit, Nurturing A Social Culture Through Personal Use

Tue, 28 Jul 2009 10:23:21 PDT

Getting Started: You Don't Have To Be Joey Chestnut The photo above is Joey Chestnut who won the Nathan's hot dog eating contest in 2008 . Photo by Dietrich I love the Red Cross's approach to scaling its engagement strategy by involving the whole organization - it is spelled out in their strategy handbook and policy guidelines . The first steps are simple once you have policy/philosophy in place and the right mix of bottom up/top down adoption or acceptance of social media.

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If We Can Do It, So Can You: Mobile Evaluations at the 09NTC

Thu, 23 Jul 2009 08:18:07 PDT

In 2008 , when paper evaluations were the only option, we used approximately 50 full page surveys per session x 6 sessions, per room (so roughly 300 full pages per room over the course of the conference). Karl Hedstrom , NTEN Every Every year at NTEN's annual Nonprofit Technology Conference (NTC), one of our major goals is to collect enough feedback from you, the attendees, to make our future conferences even better.

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Crowdsourcing Your Professional Learning With Social Media: An Example

Wed, 22 Jul 2009 12:52:05 PDT

2008 - I'd be interested in hearing about more data and experiences myself Kevin Gilnack workes for the Providers Council Yesterday I did one of the Chronicle's Live Chat Discussions Discussions that was billed as "How Can Charities Figure out How Much Time

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Guest Post by Gaurav Mishra: The 4Cs Social Media Framework

Wed, 22 Jul 2009 05:11:00 PDT

day of the 2008 US elections, the Obama campaign was able to assign trimmed My Barack Obama leverage some aspects of Collective Intelligence during the 2008 presidential campaign. The Need for the 4Cs Social Media Framework Over the last year, I have had to explain how social media works to diplomats, diplomats, defense officials, and

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New Report on Social Media Engagement

Tue, 21 Jul 2009 06:31:33 PDT

The Altimeter Blog has announced that they are releasing a new study on how the major brands, as identified by the 2008 BusinessWeek/Interbrand Best Global Brands ranking , use social media to get their message out. You can download the pdf of the report, but I encourage you to add your nonprofit’s social media information to their social media database . Once you add your agency, put a comment in the comment box to let us know. ...Tags:

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Does Social Media Pay the Bills?

Mon, 20 Jul 2009 11:07:22 PDT

The ENGAGEMENTdb study reviewed more than 10 discrete social media channels, including blogs, Facebook, Twitter, wikis, and discussion forums for each of the 100 most valuable brands as identified by the 2008 BusinessWeek/Interbrand Best Global Brands ranking. A new study released today from Wetpaint and the Altimeter Group confirms that deep engagement with consumers through social media channels correlates to better financial performance. The ENGAGEMENTdb study (www.engagementdb.com) showed significant positive financial results for the companies who measured as having the greatest

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I am humbled and Honored…

Fri, 17 Jul 2009 14:04:54 PDT

In addition, Anne developed and directed the Y’s first image awareness campaign tied to the YMCA’s 150th anniversary in 2008 . I just got back from Chicago and am humbled and honored to be named the American Marketing Association’s Non Profit Social Media Marketer of the year. What an amazing honor.

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Matching Gifts Best Practices 2009

Fri, 17 Jul 2009 12:06:02 PDT

The findings included: 96% of respondents accept matching gifts (down from 99% in 2008 ), but only 60% actively ask individual donors to request matching gifts. Over 60% of respondents reported raising over $20,000 in matching gift income in 2009. SupportingAdvancement.com has published the results of their 2009 survey on how nonprofits are handling corporate matching gifts --their fourth such survey. The responses came primarily from academic institutions, but also included significant numbers from healthcare, religious, and social service organizations.

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Tori Tuncan, Guest Post -- The Lend4Health Journey: Social Media

Thu, 09 Jul 2009 17:16:56 PDT

started using Twitter on September 24, 2008 , and my first tweet was, "Working on two new loan requests on Lend4Health." Submitted by Tori Tuncan, of Lend4Health I was flattered when @PeterDeitz told me he was going to include Lend4Health in his keynote address at the Connecting Up Australia conference. And when I read his transcript and saw his slides , I was intrigued.

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The Future of Social Actions, Part II: Projects in the Pipeline

Wed, 08 Jul 2009 08:31:49 PDT

One of the biggest embarrassments for me is that the footer of the main Social Actions website, My Social Actions, and search.socialactions.com has statistics that are from December 2008. Over the next several weeks, I will be thinking out loud about the Future of Social Actions . Our initiative is approaching its two year anniversary at the end of August, and would benefit from some community participation in creating a long-term plan going forward.

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Have E-Waste? Consider Best Buy

Tue, 07 Jul 2009 11:19:01 PDT

In June of 2008 , we posted information about US consumer electronics retailer, Best Buy, starting a pilot program to collect discarded consumer electronic devices at some of their locations in the United States. As of February 2009, stores in all 50 states now offer this ecycling program, which is now called Greener Together . This is a great voluntary program for the United States' largest consumer electronics retailer because it takes most discarded electronic devices at no cost, with one exception which I'll explain below.

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Does Online Cannibalize Offline Fundraising?

Tue, 07 Jul 2009 08:41:00 PDT

Changing Channels The 2008 donorCentrics Internet Giving Benchmarking Analysis examined how donors change channels over time. Where the Growth Is Target Analytics noted in the donorCentrics study that as much as 16% of new donors and 27% of new revenue came from online in 2008. This question seems to come up all the time when looking at online giving trends. It came up just the other day at the Institute of Fundraising Nation Convention in London .

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Guest Post by Alan Levine: Social Media Recap from NMC 2009

Mon, 06 Jul 2009 06:04:32 PDT

2006 , 2007 , 2008 where I cobbled together some summary pages using mainly my own Feed2JS code . Another punted idea that I still want to come back to– each year we have a professional videographer that captures footage of the event and interviews with attendees so we have an official conference video (we send a DVD to all attendees, which also includes archives of all the keynote videos) e,g, here is the one from 2008 . Submitted by Alan Levine, publisher of CogDogBlog Since it is already a week in the rear view mirror, this ought to be my last post about the 2009 NMC Summer Conference .

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Corporate Giving Declined in 2008

Fri, 03 Jul 2009 01:59:03 PDT

overall in 2008 . The Committee Encouraging Corporate Philanthropy's 2008 assessment of corporate gving (PDF) reports that corporate giving was down nearly 8% overall ($30.78 Last month we mentioned GivingUSA's annual assessment of individual giving which showed that donations from individuals had dropped 5.7% Things were even worse on the corporate side.

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Corporate Giving Declined in 2008

Thu, 02 Jul 2009 10:48:19 PDT

2009 Online Giving Trends - Q2

Thu, 02 Jul 2009 08:03:00 PDT

Year Over Year Performance Trends The analysis looked at a sub-group of 1,274 nonprofits to compare their online fundraising results for the first six months of 2008 to the same period of 2009. The 2008 donorCentrics Internet Giving Benchmarking Analysis indicated that median of 34% of online donors earned over $100,000 annually, compared to a median of only 24% of offline donors in the same income range. The first half of 2009 is now over and we have some updated information about online giving trends from Blackbaud clients to share. This is a follow-up to the Q1 2009 Online

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2009 Nonprofit Tagline Awards

Tue, 30 Jun 2009 04:26:45 PDT

It’s one of your most effective marketing tools, but the 2008 GettingAttention.org survey showed that 72% of nonprofit organizations don’t have a tagline or rate theirs as performing poorly. 2008 Winners View the list of winners of the 2008 Nonprofit Tagline Awards (selected by nearly 4,000 voters in the field). ...Tags: The annual Tagline Awards are back from Nancy Schwartz and the Getting Attention blog. Your nonprofit or foundation could be one of this year’s Getting Attention Nonprofit Tagline Award winners!

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Documenting the Digital Divide

Mon, 29 Jun 2009 08:32:11 PDT

Read full contest details here , and you can see the 2008 photos here . ...Tags: Flickr: ThomasBrandt From the number of "out of office" replies I get anytime I send an email to the NTEN community, it looks like we're well into vacation season. If you're one of the lucky ones taking some vacation time to get out and about this summer, the folks at iwith.org have an assignment for you:

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Fundraising Dips In First Quarter Of 2009

Sun, 28 Jun 2009 16:44:20 PDT

According to the latest Target Analytics Index of National Fundraising Performance , the number of new donors dropped by almost 13%, as compared to 2008. However, things rapidly changed from Q4 2008 to Q1 in 2009. The decline in donors accelerated even faster due to the recession and a 13% decrease in new donors. The struggling economy hit nonprofits hard in the first quarter of 2009. The study analyzed 79 nonprofit organizations and their fundraising campaigns via direct mail, online fundraising, telemarketing, and canvassing.

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Index of National Fundraising Performance - Q1 2009

Thu, 25 Jun 2009 11:02:00 PDT

Revenue and Donor Trends All key metrics declined for the index as a whole for the first quarter of 2009 as compared to the first quarter of 2008. from Q1 2008 to Q1 2009. Revenue declines were widespread across the index with only 23% of the organizations in the index had positive revenue growth from Q1 2008 to Q1 2009. Target Analytics , a Blackbaud company, announced the latest Index of National Fundraising Performance for the first quarter of 2009. The index compares trends in key fundraising indicators from 79 organizations, including over 35 million donors and more than

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First Lady Michelle Obama and United We Serve

Mon, 22 Jun 2009 20:32:00 PDT

During the conference, Senator Orrin Hatch and Senator Ted Kennedy, represented by his niece, Caroline Kennedy, announced that they were introducing the Serve America Act of 2008 . "It's been said that our true calling in life is where our heart's greatest gladness meets the world's deepest need." --First Lady Michelle Obama at the 2009 National Conference on Volunteering and Service . It was pretty darn exciting to be a member of the press for the opening plenary of the 2009 National Conference on Volunteering and Service where First Lady Michelle Obama gave the keynote address today.

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YouTube Stats from PDF

Mon, 22 Jun 2009 11:19:56 PDT

In July 2008 in the United States, approximately 91 million viewers looked at nearly 5 billion videos on YouTube. Amazing. this came to me in an email from PDF and it is a statistic that I often site in presentations. According to the YouTube network is much more active than I have been giving it credit for: content currently pouring onto YouTube alone — about 200,000 three-minute videos added every day — is the equivalent of 385 always-on TV channels.

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Encouraging Generosity On Social Networks: Assessing America's Giving Challenge and Reflections from Craigslist Nonprofit Bootcamp

Mon, 22 Jun 2009 09:54:08 PDT

50 day event from December 2007 through January 2008 . The America's Giving Challenge ended on January 31, 2008 and the idea of using social media and social networking tools has taken off. There's a lot happening this week in the nonprofit and social media space, particularly related to encouraging generosity, giving, and volunteering using social media tools. So much so, that I'm taking a brief break from packing up boxes for our move across the country next week.

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LeVar Burton, Fundraising Guru? (or Join! Renew! Give! Get!)

Thu, 18 Jun 2009 09:07:06 PDT

At least, it did in late 2008 . At Marc Ruben, M+R Strategic Services In In a packed room at the 2009 NTC in San Francisco, LeVar Burton loomed large. Well, Well, not LeVar in the flesh, but rather his metaphorical presence, in the form of the famous adage from his "Reading Rainbow" TV series: Don't take my word for it. It's

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Online Communications that Don't Suck

Thu, 18 Jun 2009 08:26:17 PDT

July 2008 , rising costs and shortages of food were in the news. John Kenyon , Jennie Anderson, AIDS.gov , and William Neuheisel, DC Central Kitchen Imagine Imagine producing online communications you're proud to share with the world and that garner praise from funders, donors, and other stakeholders. Each Each month, I look at dozens of nonprofit websites and hundreds of nonprofit emails.

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Non-Profit Technology Report: Size Doesn't Matter

Tue, 16 Jun 2009 17:44:00 PDT

Smaller non-profit organizations get some encouraging news in NTEN’s newly released 2008 IT Staffing & Spending Report -- when it comes to being on the cutting edge of non-profit technology, size doesn’t matter....( read more ) ...Tags: Tags: Non-profit technology General non-profit interest nptech Staffing researc

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Children's Defense Fund Redesign and Webinar

Tue, 16 Jun 2009 13:07:27 PDT

CDF had help during this process - Omni Studio completely redesigned CDF's web assets in 2008 , and RedEngine Digital led the process to integrate SEO recommendations. overall site visits from 2008 to 2009 increased by 12% It's been my good fortune to work with Children's Defense Fund for the last year and a half here at Convio. CDF is the foremost national proponent of policies and programs that provide children with the resources they need to succeed.

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The Revolution is Twitterfied

Tue, 16 Jun 2009 06:09:03 PDT

In 2008 TwitterVoteReport attempted to provide real-time election monitoring as US citizens posted voting experiences to their Twitter feeds. Five years ago, CNN and 24-hour news channels and personal blogs captured US citizen dissent at the 2004 Presidential election results (or lack thereof). Concurrently the Obama campaign leveraged every social media tool in the book to engage US citizens, empower them with ways they could help, and ultimately contributed to winning the next presidency. Right

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Social media and the meaning of life by Sarah Robinson

Tue, 16 Jun 2009 05:00:51 PDT

Up until late December 2008 , social media was a term that was vague and very scary to me. Following is a guest post from a dear friend and sometimes business partner, Sarah Robinson, who publishes The Maverick Mom . ______________________ I knew it had to do with blogs and Facebook and this thing called Twitter but I just couldn’t

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All for Good and Social Actions conference call transcript and takeaways

Mon, 15 Jun 2009 11:05:46 PDT

Between May 2008 and June 2009, Social Actions’ Founder and Executive Director Peter Deitz met, spoke with, and corresponded with staff at Craigslist Foundation and Google. Social Actions’ presentation to Google, September 2008 (video): originally consulted with Susan Nesbitt, Arthur Coddington, and Darien Rodriguez Heyman of the Craigslist Foundation in May 2008 following Social Actions’ win at the NetSquared Last Friday, Social Actions hosted a conference call for its 50+ action sources and other partners to discuss the launch of a new platform called All for Good (event description and list of 60+ participants posted here ).

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GivingUSA Reports a Drop in 2008 Giving

Fri, 12 Jun 2009 01:59:02 PDT

philanthropy is that total giving for 2008 was estimated to have exceeded $300 billion for the second year in a row, for a total of $307.65 The good news from the annual GivingUSA report (PDF) on U.S. billion. But, unfortunately, most of the news was bad.

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GivingUSA Reports a Drop in 2008 Giving

Thu, 11 Jun 2009 10:54:58 PDT

2008 Charitable Giving Exceeds $300 Billion

Thu, 11 Jun 2009 10:08:56 PDT

While an estimated $307 billion dollars was given to charitable causes in 2008 ; total fundraising declined an inflation adjusted of 5.7% With an estimated two-thirds of charities experiencing a decrease in 2008 overall giving, I decided to take a look at how things are shaping up so far in 2009. 2008 ; 5 points higher than what we were seeing in Q4 2008 . Fundraisers in the worst economic era since the Great Depression continue to struggle according to a study out this week from the Giving USA Foundation . from 2007 levels.

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Charitable Giving Fell Last Year, But Didn’t Dive

Wed, 10 Jun 2009 08:11:43 PDT

The Giving USA Foundation’s annual report on charitable giving said that gifts were down in 2008 , but not by much, 2%. Online Giving Surpasses $15 Billion in 2008 Blackbaud billion was given online to US charities in 2008. Online giving accounted for Given the economic mess — the worst since the Depression — this sounds pretty good. And, overall, it is.

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Giving USA Report for 2008 and Online Fundraising Estimates

Tue, 09 Jun 2009 21:05:00 PDT

The GivingUSA Foundation has released its Giving USA 2009: The Annual Report on Philanthropy for the Year 2008 . 2008 Total Giving Estimates Giving USA estimates that $307.65 billion was given in 2008 , exceeding $300 billion for the second year in a row. The report shows the first decline in giving to US charities in current dollars since 1987. Blackbaud also analyzed the data, along with other information, to estimate the growth of online fundraising by US-based nonprofits.

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Is 99% Failure Acceptable?

Thu, 04 Jun 2009 09:02:00 PDT

also had a copy of the 2008 study and did a mash-up of some of the findings. I am spending a lot of time these days looking at numbers. Lots and lots of numbers. Mostly because I'm working on a new book and exploring the wonderful and strange world of online fundraising metrics. (More

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Is Direct Mail Dying or Dead? Hogwash!

Sun, 31 May 2009 11:22:46 PDT

nonprofits in 2008. My, my. Isn’t it curious how people who are young and enthusiastic about online communications are so firmly convinced that direct mail is dead or dying – while professional fundraisers, that is, the people who are responsible for bringing in the bucks, think the young critics are living on another planet? For starters, I’m addressing this question on the basis of 30 years in direct mail fundraising and 15 years in fundraising online. You read that right: 15 years in online fundraising.

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Things We Like (May 2009)

Fri, 29 May 2009 15:46:57 PDT

2008 Nonprofit IT Staffing & Spending Report A monthly roundup of our favorite nonprofit tech resources. Read more posts on our blog . UMapper lets you build applications on top of maps -- like this one where you have to find U.S. states on a topo map . (If

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Fundraising Facts

Fri, 29 May 2009 12:26:17 PDT

Mark at Queer Ideas reports on a finding that I think is especially salient: although online giving increased 43% between 2007 and 2008 , the average gift dropped from $86 to $71. We've linked to Jeff Brooks' Donor Power Blog several times in the past . Jeff has a knack for pointing out the things that are blisteringly obvious to donors but, for various reasons, evade most people who work in nonprofits.

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Is Direct Mail Really Headed for the Exit?

Fri, 29 May 2009 06:41:13 PDT

billion in 2008 to $29.8 In the next five years, money spent annually on direct mail will decline by as much as 40%, from $49.7 billion in 2013). At least, that’s the dire prediction of a new study just published in a report by research firm Borrell. “Direct 8220;Direct mail has begun spiraling

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2008 IT Staffing & Spending Report Now Available for Download

Wed, 27 May 2009 11:23:48 PDT

The nonprofit sector works hard to use technology effectively, but it's an uphill battle. Financial resources are limited. Technology changes quickly, and there's a lot of it out there doing lots of different things — even within the same areas. What should your organization budget for IT expenditures?

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Giving Credit Where Credit is Due...

Wed, 27 May 2009 01:00:00 PDT

Many of those customers were ranked as having some of the top fundraising events in the nation last year according to the 2008 Run Walk Ride 30 , a yearly report which tracks and ranks the top fundraising events in the U.S. At this year’s Run Walk Ride Conference in Dallas , I had the chance to reconnect with customers I have worked with directly over the past eight years. This post is to congratulate those organizations on their accomplishment

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Nonprofit Mergers and Alliances - Don't Try This at Home?

Wed, 20 May 2009 08:39:13 PDT

surge in individual and foundation philanthropy in 2008 actually softened the impact of the economic crisis for many nonprofits, but this kind of surge is unlikely to be repeated in 2009, Ottenhoff predicted. ...Tags: Nonprofits should consider teaming up, one way or another, to survive the current economic downturn and keep their missions alive. That was one of the main conclusions emerging from a riveting discussion last week in Washington, DC led by two nonprofit CEO’s who have participated in several mergers and strategic alliances in recent years.

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5 Podcasts That Keep Me Company

Fri, 15 May 2009 14:38:00 PDT

I recommend you listen to his December 22, 2008 show where he created a montage of his favorite quotes from guests. I listen to podcasts while I cook, garden, walk, commute, and travel. They keep me company, and they keep me they informed. Although podcasts haven't reached the same popularity as blogs and online video, their audience is increasing.

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Highlights from the 2009 eNonprofit Benchmarks Study - frogloop Home~Care2's blog for nonprofits - frogloop

Fri, 15 May 2009 05:46:00 PDT

Highlights from the 2009 eNonprofit Benchmarks Study - frogloop Home~Care2's blog for nonprofits - frogloop: "M&R and NTEN just released an impressive benchmarks study that analyzed 32 nonprofits' online advocacy and online fundraising programs in 2007 and 2008. The Nonprofit eBenchmarks study also analyzed specific list segments, such as donors vs. non-donors, geographically targeted audience

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Women Who Tech Telesummit: Tools Galore Panel

Thu, 14 May 2009 14:42:33 PDT

Very cool project from 2008 : Twitter Vote Report Also posted on the Frogloop blog for nonprofits here. Women Who Tech brings together talented and renowned women breaking new ground in technology who use their tech savvy skills to transform the world and inspire change. We provide a supportive network for the vibrant and thriving community of women in technology professions by giving women an open platform to share their talents, experiences, and insights.

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Highlights from the 2009 eNonprofit Benchmarks Study

Thu, 14 May 2009 11:15:32 PDT

M&R and NTEN just released an impressive benchmarks study that analyzed 32 nonprofits online advocacy and online fundraising programs in 2007 and 2008. For email newsletters, open rates and click-through rates fell slightly (1-2%) in 2008 , though the changes were not strictly statistically significant. Email lists are continuing to grow, though the rate of growth was 17% in 2008. The Nonprofit eBenchmarks study also analyzed specific list segments, such as donors vs. non-donors, geographically targeted audiences, surveys and tell-a-friend emails.

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Blackbaud NetCommunity Grow

Tue, 12 May 2009 08:10:00 PDT

The 2008 State of the Nonprofit Industry Survey says that even though 97% of organizations have a website, only about three quarters of them say they are doing email marketing, and only half send regularly scheduled email communications. Not too long ago we launched a new offering of our popular Blackbaud NetCommunity solution for nonprofits. We took lots of the Internet goodness of BBNC and put it into an affordable prescriptive solution.

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Nedspace Co-Working Space in Portland, Oregan will send three Cambodians to college if ....

Mon, 11 May 2009 08:07:38 PDT

I have used social media to help raise the money for her tuition through the Sharing Foundation in 2007 and 2008 . In December 2006, I launched my first experiment in using social media for fundraising - raising $800 on my blog to help send Leng Sopharath, a young Cambodian woman, to her freshman year at college. My motivation was a simple act of reciprocity (not what you might read in some of these comments ).

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Time and Social Action

Mon, 11 May 2009 01:40:58 PDT

And raise your hand if you did the same thing as part of EarthHour in 2008 . For Note: The transcript below if from my keynote presentation at Connecting Up Australia in May 2009. Thank Thank you for the introduction. A A

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Online giving making gains, but at a slower pace - Investment News

Wed, 06 May 2009 06:08:00 PDT

Online giving making gains, but at a slower pace - Investment News: "In its annual survey, including 203 non-profit organizations, the number of online gifts grew by a median of 28% in 2008 , according to the Washington-based newspaper, which reports and researches philanthropy." ...Tags: Tags: NPOnlineFunrdaisin

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The Secret Chord

Sun, 03 May 2009 10:56:25 PDT

It’s a consistency that caused me to preorder, unheard, his latest CD: “ Leonard Cohen - Live in London — July 17th, 2008 .” It happens with an eerie regularity. I hear a song, one of uncanny depth and beauty; something that just reaches down and twists at my heartstrings. Intrigued, I will Google a smattering of half-heard lyrics, seeking to discover a new artist.

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Off the Mat, Into the World: An Interview with Seane Corn

Wed, 29 Apr 2009 12:29:00 PDT

It's a model to show other people how to work together in community, how to collaborate ideas, how to create a vision, and then how to work towards that vision coming more from a truth and love aspect, than from fear and attachment. For example, we put together the 2008 Seva Challenge. "We want to support anyone who is interested in engagement, but we want to help them do it in a way that is healthy for them, creates community, and creates longevity, so that everyone wins, and no one gets burnt out or sick. That is not what service should be about.

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Wendy Harman Of The American Red Cross Talks About Creating An Online Social Media Movement

Wed, 29 Apr 2009 11:30:03 PDT

If you’re not familiar with Wendy, please read the interview Beth Kanter did with her in September of 2008 . Following is an interview with the one and only “extremely left-handed Red Cross social media lady”, Wendy Harman . Expected Vs. Actual Results

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Wendy Harman Of The American Red Cross Talks About Creating An Online Social Media Movement

Wed, 29 Apr 2009 11:30:03 PDT

09NTC Nonprofit Radio: How to Make Podcasts That Promote Your Brand and Engage Supporters

Tue, 28 Apr 2009 11:52:42 PDT

data from edison research from 2008 on podcasting listenership I’m here at the 09NTC in Corey Pudhorodsky and Chad Norman’s session on podcasting! Session Description: With With portable music players, smart phones, and cheap bandwidth everywhere, more and more online marketers are turning to podcasting as a powerful way to extend the reach of their brands and engage supporters.

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Cause Fatigue Redefined: More conversation for the 09NTC

Thu, 23 Apr 2009 02:57:22 PDT

Last night I had the privileage of attending the awards ceremony for JustGiving ’s CEO Zarine Kharas who was awarded the RSA’s 2008 Albert Medal for ‘democratising fundraising and technology for charities’. Yesterday’s post for Earth Day, about social media and the energy/climate change/green movement is already getting some tremendously insightful and interesting comments. It’s just the kind of conversation starter I wanted to throw out there!

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Conferencing Virtually with Libraries in Iowa

Mon, 20 Apr 2009 15:09:27 PDT

Back in January of 2008 , a network of rural libraries decided to host an online conference to provide an opportunity for library staff and trustees to attend continuing education sessions in an online format, helping to reduce the strain on staffing and budgets. It was such a success that in January of 2009, they hosted the second Iowa Small Libraries Online Conference (ISLOC): a conference that librarians and trustees from even the smallest libraries could attend without ever leaving their home or office. You don't have to work for a library to benefit from their experience.

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Taking Five Website Staples to the Next Level

Mon, 20 Apr 2009 08:03:00 PDT

The recommendations come in part from findings in the 2008 State of the Nonprofit Industry (SONI) survey.This paper shows how nonprofits can use five web staples to enrich current relationships, establish new relationships, and encourage constituents to interact and give online. Allison Van Diest, senior product marketing manager for Blackbaud’s Internet Solutions, has just published a new white paper called Beyond the Basics: Taking Five Website Staples to the Next Level. Some of the findings and insights include:

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How Much Are Your Webby Things Worth?

Fri, 17 Apr 2009 04:29:00 PDT

2008 donorCentrics Internet Giving Benchmarking Analysis The Index of National Fundraising Performance - Q4 2008 The 2008 State of the Nonprofit Industry Report ...Tags: The cost of keeping your cause on the web, whether it's online fundraising, social networking, or raising awareness, is hard to quantify. It's even harder to determine wheather these efforts are actually helping your organization, or just wasting valuable time.

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Index of National Fundraising Performance - Q4 2008

Tue, 14 Apr 2009 11:04:00 PDT

Target Analytics , a Blackbaud company, announced the latest Index of National Fundraising Performance for the fourth quarter of 2008. from 2007 to 2008. Revenue declines were not entirely universal across the index, however; 37% of the organizations in the index did have positive revenue growth from 2007 to 2008. The index compares trends in key fundraising indicators from 75 organizations, including over 36 million donors and more than 68 million gifts totaling over $2 billion in revenue. The index findings include giving data from direct mail, online, telemarketing, events, and other fundraising

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Free TechSoup Webinar: Basics for Beginners

Mon, 13 Apr 2009 04:36:58 PDT

billion in IT expenses as of September 2008 . ...Tags: This Wednesday, April 15th, you can participate in a free online event and webinar from TechSoup, Basics for Beginners: Getting Started with Social Media Tools . So you’ve heard about Facebook, Twitter, and other online social networking sites. You know your organization should use social

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On Frogloop's Radar

Sun, 12 Apr 2009 07:58:45 PDT

Vote for the Best 2008 Nonprofit Videos Getting Wired for Progress How do we build a clean energy future? Join environmental experts at the next Internet Advocacy Roundtable on April 16th at 3PM for a discussion on breaking our addiction to oil. Panelists will also discuss how environmental groups are leveraging online strategies to educate and mobilize a diverse and broad-based audience

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Game Friday: Spore, Self-Expression, and the Pitfalls of Creating Your Own Universe

Fri, 10 Apr 2009 08:48:00 PDT

Spore was released in September of 2008 to huge sales expectations. What does "game 2.0" look like? Games are already highly participatory, but over the last few years game designers have been giving players more control over the gameworld and experience. The ultimate substantiation of this is Spore, a game in which players invent their own life forms and manage their evolution.

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2009 Target User Forum - Day 2

Tue, 07 Apr 2009 05:10:00 PDT

Q: What is a social media trend you’re seeing in 2009 that’s new or different than in 2008 ? Quantitatively, despite the recession, companies are even more interested in participating in social media in 2009 than they were in 2008 , and consumer growth in participation is also up. It's day two of the Target User Forum here in Boston. The morning starts off with the keynote session Josh Bernoff , co-author of Groundswell: Winning in a World Transformed by Social Technologies .

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Successful organizations on Twitter: Wellstone Action

Mon, 06 Apr 2009 14:28:33 PDT

Elana Wolowitz (EW): I'm pretty sure we started in May or June of 2008. As part of a workshop on social media that I gave with Susan Mernit at the 2009 Women, Action & the Media conference, I pointed out Wellstone Action as an example of an organization that's doing great work on Twitter. After the workshop, I wondered how @wellstoneaction planned their Twitter usage-- were they really some sort of non-profit advocacy Twitter mastermind, as I'd suspected?

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What Are Your Best Tips for Organizing or Facilitating a Charity 2.0 Event?

Sun, 05 Apr 2009 21:45:34 PDT

Neff from the America Cancer Society quipped during our panel at SXSW, "Twitter meetups just to meet are so 2008. Flickr Photo by DaveFishernc Charity Balls, Dinner Dances, Black Tie Charity Events, and other parties where people donate money to a charity to have fun together are nothing new. Take a look at the web site of any well-established nonprofit organization , and you'll probably see past invitations to these types of events or one for an upcoming event We're seeing the rise of social media to promote, organize, and in some cases hold the actual charity event itself.

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2009 Online Giving Trends - Q1

Thu, 02 Apr 2009 07:03:00 PDT

This is a follow-up to the 2008 Online Giving Trends that was released in January. Online Fundraising Remains Strong The analysis found that online transactions grew 68% for Q1 2009 compared with Q1 2008. Year Over Year Performance Grows The analysis looked at a sub-group of 1,350 nonprofits to compare their online fundraising results from Q1 2008 to Q1 2009. The first three months of 2009 are over and there is some information that I wanted to share about online giving trends from Blackbaud clients. This information comes from approximately 2,000 nonprofit organizations using

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Becoming Generous Thieves: Notes from the Museums in Conversation Keynote

Wed, 01 Apr 2009 05:18:00 PDT

There was a study published earlier this month by Neilson Research about the astronomical growth of social networks from Dec 2007 to Dec 2008 . On Monday, I gave the keynote at the Museums in Conversation conference in Tarrytown, NY. It happened at 7:45 in the morning, and I know that many of you were not there, let alone awake, at that time.

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Downadup/Conficker worm update

Tue, 31 Mar 2009 20:08:52 PDT

If you haven't allowed Windows Update to address this issue since October 2008 , or hadn't scanned your computer using updated virus definitions, at this stage perhaps the best protection may just be to ensure that your data is backed up and intact. Back in January, we blogged about the Downadup worm on the rampage . Fast forward two months, and not only has the problem not been suppressed, Downadup aka Conficker has evolved and its variations have grown more sophisticated and potentially more virulent.

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Social Actions presentation at Google Tech Talk, September 16, 2008

Tue, 31 Mar 2009 05:45:14 PDT

On September 16, 2008 , Peter Deitz and I presented Social Actions' initiative, including the search interface and open API, at a Google Tech Talk. We have been asking to view the video since that time, and received notice last night that the video had just been posted to YouTube at the following URL: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gUuYG0DRIpA http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gUuYG0DRIpA

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Better Non-Profit Websites to Increase Online Donations: Usability Report

Mon, 30 Mar 2009 10:34:00 PDT

In 2008 , non-profits and charities collected about 10% of their donations online, according to a survey by Target Analytics, but usability expert Jakob Nielsen says the amount of money collected online could be much higher — with improved website design and content that answers the donors’ real questions. To discover how non-profit websites could encourage more donations, Nielsen looked at user behavior on 23 websites of large and small non-profit groups representing a wide range of causes from animal...( read more ) ...Tags:

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Philanthropy 2.0 Study Results Published on Mashable

Sun, 29 Mar 2009 19:38:09 PDT

Million For 20,000 Charities And NonProfits by Michael Arrington, TechCrunch.Com, Washington Post, May 29, 2008 $2.5 Million and Counting , The Agitator, May 29, 2008 Social Networks: It’s About the Relationship by Stephen MacLaughlin, BlackBaud Blog, May 29, 2008 Source: Philanthropy 2.0 Study

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How to License Hyper-V on Windows 2008

Fri, 27 Mar 2009 10:56:25 PDT

Petri IT Knowledge Base, an excellent IT resource from Microsoft MVP in Israel, posted a plain-English post on Windows 2008 licensing concerns when using Hyper-V technology . Definitely bookmark-worthy if you are planning on virtualizing in the near future using this technology. ...Tags: Tags: GreenTech Server Applications Servers Tech Plannin

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NTEN Case Study in Listening: What's the NTC Worth?

Thu, 26 Mar 2009 13:53:19 PDT

In 2008 , the lowest SXSWi badge price was $325, just $24 less than our lowest price. Flickr Photo: mil8 One of the downsides of social media is that absolutely anyONE can say absolutely anyTHING at any time about you or your organization. And they will. I've I've always been of the mind that people are going to talk about you

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Online Giving Smackdown :: A Very Special Baudcast

Thu, 26 Mar 2009 12:18:00 PDT

When Target Analytics released its 2008 donor Centrics Internet Giving Benchmarking Analysis , the sector responded with keen interest. Joining me was Roger Carver (founder of The Agitator and Carver, Mathews, Smith & Company ), Hildy Gottlieb (president of The Community Driven Institute and author of The Pollyanna Principles ), and Rob Harris (co-author of the 2008 donor Centrics Internet Giving Benchmarking report). The study is packed with insightful nuggets, but one trend is capturing everyone's attention (including The New York Times ): First time online donors are often migrating to other channels, like direct mail.

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Social Media Marketing White Paper: Key Findings and Nonprofit Lessons

Thu, 26 Mar 2009 12:05:11 PDT

NTEN eNews article: Developing a Social Media Plan: Lessons from 2008 Elections I came across a great white paper about the use of social media by marketers. You can download the whole report for free . Kudos to Michael A.

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TXT for (Increased) Success

Thu, 26 Mar 2009 08:48:42 PDT

spent a lot of time at the end of 2008 working with one of our clients, the Humane Society of the United States, and our friends at the Watershed Company to come up with a nice mobile test for end of year fundraising. After HSUS had already built a mobile subscriber list of about 12,000 activists through Mobile Commons by December of 2008 . Matt Wilson, Mobile Commons We We

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The Baudcast - donorCentrics Discussion

Thu, 26 Mar 2009 08:03:00 PDT

The latest episode of The Baudcast ( iTunes | direct ) is all about the 2008 donorCentrics Internet Giving Benchmarking Analysis . The report has generated a lot of discussion and buzz in both the media and the blogosphere. The panel discussion includes Chad Norman (Internet Marketing Manager), Melanie Mathos (Public Relations Manager), Allison Van Diest (Senior Internet Product Marketing Manager), Rob Harris (Vice President - Analytic Products, Target Analytics ), Roger Craver (Founder, Craver, Matthew, Smith & Company and The Agitator blog), Hildy Gottlieb (President,

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Convio’s 2009 Online Fundraising Benchmark Report

Wed, 25 Mar 2009 20:59:02 PDT

Convio has released a new online fundraising benchmark report that is based on data from 600 of Convio’s nonprofit clients from January 1, 2008 to December 31, 2008 . in 2007 and 2008 . The study reports: Positive year-over-year growth in all of the key areas of online success. Compared to 2007, results for online

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Convio Releases Nonprofit Online Marketing Benchmarks Study

Wed, 25 Mar 2009 19:02:53 PDT

For example, between 2006 and 2007, online donations grew by 26% but between 2007 and 2008 online donations only grew by 14%. Allyson Kapin, Editor-In-Chief ‘Tis the season for benchmark studies. In that spirit, Convio released their comprehensive online marketing study today that looked at close to 600 nonprofit organizations’ online marketing results and compiled benchmarks for evaluating fundraising, email, advocacy, and marketing success online.

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Convio's 2009 Online Fundraising Benchmark Report

Wed, 25 Mar 2009 11:12:55 PDT

Convio has released a new online fundraising benchmark report that is based on data from 600 of Convio's nonprofit clients from January 1, 2008 to December 31, 2008 . in 2007 and 2008 . The study reports: Positive year-over-year growth in all of the key areas of online success. Compared to 2007, results for online fundraising

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Shovel-Ready Online Civic Projects #5: "Global Energy Observatory" Interactive Databases and Maps

Wed, 25 Mar 2009 08:44:13 PDT

Rajan got in touch with us at Forum One in 2008 because of our prior online data/map/API work for " Carbon Monitoring for Action " - and we've discussed his project several times, but not worked for him.) ...Tags: "(T)o provide a platform for understanding, visualizing and analyzing global energy systems that will help the world accelerate the transition to cheap clean energy for all." 34; There

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Shovel-Ready Online Civic Project #5: "Global Energy Observatory" Interactive Databases and Maps

Wed, 25 Mar 2009 08:44:13 PDT

Multi-Channel Approach is Key to Nonprofit Fundraising

Mon, 23 Mar 2009 09:14:17 PDT

For example, 12 of the groups in the study had a median increase in online donors of 39% from 2007 to 2008 , while their offline donors decreased a median -3% over the same period. In 2008 they accounted for a median 16% of all new donors and a median 27% of all new revenue. Have you ever analyzed your nonprofit organization's online donor list and wondered why many of the people listed aren’t recurring online donors? Your organization is not alone.

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Multi-Channel Fundraising is Key to Nonprofit Fundraising

Mon, 23 Mar 2009 09:14:17 PDT

Reactions to the 2008 donorCentrics Internet Giving Benchmarking Analysis

Mon, 23 Mar 2009 06:03:00 PDT

There has been a lot of discussion about the 2008 donorCentrics Internet Giving Benchmarking Analysis since it was released last week. The blogs, Twitter, email lists, and sidebar chats in-between have been busy with a lot of activity. Here is a recap of a few of the articles and blog postings: Study Shows First-Time Online Donors Often

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Daily News, Daily Blues

Sat, 21 Mar 2009 10:25:00 PDT

Eric Alterman, " The News Business: Out of Print ," The New Yorker, March 31, 2008 Clay Shirky, "Newspapers and Thinking the Unthinkable" ,March 13th, 2009 Walter Isaacson, "How to Save your Newspaper" , Time , Feb 5th, 2009 Scott Adams, "The Future of Newspapers" , Oct 1, 2007 ...Tags: In the last few months, it seems that at every social gathering I attend, the conversation gets around to "Newspapers - what's going to happen to them?" The closing of the Seattle Post-Intelligencer's print operations a few weeks back, coupled with Hearst Corporation's announcement

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Crowdsourcing the world: Dopplr's Social Atlas

Sat, 21 Mar 2009 08:29:00 PDT

Marko [Marko Ahtisaari, Dopplr's CEO] tells me that they just sent out an annual report to all of their 2008 travelers with pictures of all the cities they traveled to, data about where they spent their time, who they coincided with during their travels, and for opt-in users, carbon footprint data about the environmental impact of their travels. Dopplr is basically a travel site where you can share your trips with your friends. Here's my public page . More on Dopplr from Blonde 2.0 : "...Two

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What is the distinction between social media for charity and social good/systemic change?

Fri, 20 Mar 2009 08:56:39 PDT

Neff from the America Cancer Society quipped during our panel at SXSW, "Twitter meetups just to meet are so 2008. Photo by Becky J McCray At SXSW, I participated in the " Social Media for Social Good BBQ " co-hosted by Jeff Pulver and Porter Novelli . The other panelists included David Armano , Scott Goodstein , Stacey Monk , James Young and Randi Zuckerberg. More than 700 people RSVPed to the event, far more than the capacity of Stubbs BBQ.

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Attention All Shoppers: Online Fundraising Metrics Are In!

Thu, 19 Mar 2009 10:04:40 PDT

I just finished reading the 2008 donorCentrics Internet Giving Benchmarks Analysis , put out by Blackbaud company Target Analytics . many measures, online fundraising had a red letter year in 2008 : Get the report and read it. It points to some great momentum in online giving. By By

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Understanding the Value of Multi-Channel Fundraising

Thu, 19 Mar 2009 08:43:31 PDT

Here’s a sample of our 2008 year-end campaign. In December of 2008 we conducted our typical year-end direct mail campaign. Originally posted on the Nonprofit Strategies blog by Andrew Olsen of Gillette Children's Specialty Healthcare . Multi-channel fundraising. Many nonprofits

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AWEARNESS by Kenneth Cole: Inspiring Stories About How to Make a Difference

Wed, 18 Mar 2009 09:37:00 PDT

I was excited to see that Cristi Hegranes of the Press Institute for Women in the Developing World , who I interviewed in early 2008 , was included in the Political Activism chapter. "If someone says, 'I really want to serve humanity,' I'd say, 'Tell me what your dreams are. Tell me something in your childhood that you wished were different and go toward it." --Rosie O'Donnell, AWEARNESS Feeling blue?

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2008 donorCentrics Internet Giving Benchmarking Analysis

Wed, 18 Mar 2009 05:03:00 PDT

Target Analytics , a Blackbaud Company, has released the 2008 donorCentrics™ Internet Giving Benchmarking Analysis . Online giving continues to grow rapidly in 2007 and 2008 , even in the absence of major disasters which fueled the growth of online giving for relief and animal welfare organizations in previous years. Channel Flipping Continues The 2006 analysis highlighted the channel switching trend from online to offline, and the 2008 findings continue The report is featured in today's edition of The New York Times and covers some of its many findings. This

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Why should you get your event participants to send more emails?

Wed, 18 Mar 2009 01:00:00 PDT

That’s the question I find myself asking as the Blackbaud team sorts through data from nearly 26,500 US-based events from 2004 through 200 Is there any single strategy as important for driving online event success as peer-to-peer email?

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2008 donorCentrics Internet Giving Benchmarking Analysis

Wed, 18 Mar 2009 01:00:00 PDT

Target Analytics , a Blackbaud Company, has released the 2008 donorCentrics™ Internet Giving Benchmarking Analysis . The report is featured in today's edition of The New York Times and covers some of its many findings. This is a follow-up to the groundbreaking 2006 report and provides insights into the online and offline trends of donors. Over the past three

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What Makes a Successful Online Community?

Tue, 17 Mar 2009 08:58:00 PDT

A successful online community can pay off in increased word of mouth (35%), more brand awareness (28%), bringing new ideas into the organization faster (24%) and greater customer loyalty (24%), according to the 2008 Tribalization of Business study by Beeline Labs, Deloitte, and the Society for New Communications Research, which surveyed more than 100 business with online communities. That the greatest value of an online community lies in “communications-based objectives” — in forging bonds between...( read more ) ...Tags:

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Hachette Book Group Partners with Bookshare

Mon, 16 Mar 2009 18:07:00 PDT

According to the company, they had a record 107 books on the New York Times bestseller list in 2008 , with 35 of them ranked #1. Bookshare looks for publishers to partner with us to make books more available to people with disabilities. It's very exciting that we can announce that one of the largest book groups in the United States has just made the commitment: Hachette Book Group Partners with Bookshare To Make Thousands of Books Available to People with Print Disabilities . Hachette Book Group publishes under quite a number of famous imprints, such as Little Brown and Company and

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SXSW Web Awards

Mon, 16 Mar 2009 14:14:24 PDT

Browse the complete list of the finalists to see what some of the most creative web designers were up to in 200 The 12 th annual SXSW Web Awards took place last night and Convio had a table for the ceremony which was filled with co-workers and clients. The emcee Baratunde Thurston was quite entertaining, he kept the awards moving at a fast pace with a couple of hilarious interludes (love me some Onion ). Fun times were had by all, the only thing I was missing that evening was a clean ironic t-shirt to wear.

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NTEN Member Buzz Round-Up: SxSW, Presentation Tips, Wind-Powered Websites, and More!

Mon, 16 Mar 2009 08:41:55 PDT

With the help of 4 nonprofits (including NTEN members Easter Seals and The Wilderness Society ) who tested premiums against control campaigns during December 2008 , they found that premiums can increase both response rate and donation amount. SxSWNP Flickr Cred: wharman Peter Campbell changed web hosts and has some good advice about the process. Fellow NTEN members Green America (formerly Coop America) helped guide Peter to a wind-powered provider.

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2009 Golden Dot Awards: Voting is Open

Thu, 12 Mar 2009 13:01:55 PDT

between January 1, 2008 and December 31, 2008. Considering many of you are advocacy organizations, you might be interested in the Golden Dot Awards: Golden Golden Dot Awards recognize achievement in online politics. To be eligible, nominees must have used the Internet to try to influence the political process (i.e.

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Bryant Terry: Eco-chef, Food Justice Activist, Author of Vegan Soul Kitchen

Wed, 11 Mar 2009 13:42:00 PDT

At the end of 2008 , I initiated a new project called the Grow. "I think, in the organizing, and in the activism what gets lost so often is what we're working for. What we want is for all people to have some delicious, amazing, banging food!" Bryant Terry is an eco-chef, food justice activist, and author of Vegan Soul Kitchen: Fresh, Healthy, and Creative African-American Cuisine . He is currently a Fellow in the Food

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Online Video as a Cause Marketing Tactic

Tue, 10 Mar 2009 08:29:31 PDT

Trees for Troops 2008 The Cause Marketing Forum will be hosting Michael Hoffman on Wednesday, March 18, at 1:30pm EST for a teleconference titled “Online Video as a Cause Marketing Tactic” . The session is free to CMF members, but available to non-members for a fee. Here is a summary of the talk:

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Nielsen: Social Networking Overtakes E-mail in Popularity

Tue, 10 Mar 2009 07:57:10 PDT

In a separate report, top digital shop Razorfish said it’s spending at portals declined from 24 percent in 2006 to 16 percent in 2008 . Nielsen found that two-thirds of the world’s Internet users visited a social networking site in 2008. Social networking has overtaken e-mail as the most popular Internet activity, according to a new study released by Nielsen. Active reach in what Nielsen defines as “member communities” now exceeds e-mail participation by 67 percent to 65 percent.

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Giving When You're Unemployed: It Could Make You Happier and Wealthier

Fri, 06 Mar 2009 14:40:00 PST

A March 2008 report in Science magazine, Spending Money on Others Promotes Happiness , found that, "spending more of one's income on others predicted greater happiness both cross-sectionally (in a nationally representative survey study) and longitudinally (in a field study of windfall spending)." Americans tend to define themselves by their work. How many times have you gone to a party and been asked, "What do you do?"

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Successful Marketing Campaign Know-How

Thu, 05 Mar 2009 16:29:34 PST

webinar, Roadmap to Creating Successful Marketing Campaigns , which looked at one of the runners-up from the 2008 Adobe-TechSoup Show Your Impact Design Contest . Earlier today we wrapped up the latest TechSoup Talks! In the discussion, many people had questions about where to find design inspiration, how to pick the right combination of colors for your graphic designs, and determining good layout and font sizes.

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Integrating text messaging during year-end fundraising = more dough

Thu, 05 Mar 2009 10:37:14 PST

We spent a lot of time at the end of 2008 working with one of our clients, the Humane Society of the United States , and our friends at the Watershed Company to come up with a nice mobile test for end of year fundraising. We wanted to give mobile subscribers an option to donate over the phone via an inbound call center after they received a text message promoting the call. It didn’t quite work out the way we planned; we received no donations over the phone.

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Integrating Text Messaging with Fundraising = More Dough

Thu, 05 Mar 2009 09:37:14 PST

Integrating Text Messaging with Fundraising = More Dough

Thu, 05 Mar 2009 09:37:14 PST

Things To Do In Twitter

Tue, 03 Mar 2009 08:07:45 PST

Twitter has had a banner 2008 . bull; ~5 million users at the end of 2008 • bull; Net result is 600% growth in 2008 So, I’m not the only one out there who became a new user in 2008 and who plans to keep using in 2009. I like Twitter , personally. I learn

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Things To Do In Twitter

Tue, 03 Mar 2009 08:07:45 PST

Your Tweet Can Leverage A 10 Cent Donation to Care March 2-5th

Tue, 03 Mar 2009 06:58:52 PST

The first Tweet-a-thon took place in September, 2008 . I've been on Twitter since almost the beginning and have watched charitable giving and fundraising go from the edge to mainstream . Twitter is establishing itself as a charitable giving and cause marketing channel . Last month, the Twitter community came together online and offline in over 180 cities around the world to raise money

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Train for Humanity is looking for new participants!

Tue, 03 Mar 2009 03:09:55 PST

The initial phase of Train for Humanity ran for four months from September to December 2008 . From Mark Hayward of Train for Humanity : After redesigning the Train for Humanity website we are now ready to launch into phase two of our humanitarian project. Phase two will run for six months from March to August 2009 and we are asking potential participants to make a commitment to raising at least one thousand dollars.

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Enter the 2009 Adobe Show Your Impact Nonprofit Design Contest

Mon, 02 Mar 2009 12:54:13 PST

And we'll be hosting a free webinar with Evergreen — a 2008 runner-up for their materials promoting woop (worm poop!) — It's that time of year again! What time, you ask? Well, time to get out your most awesomely-designed (yes, I did type MOST awesomely-designed) campaign materials and enter the 2009 Adobe Show Your Impact Nonprofit Design Contest !

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Things We Like (February 2009)

Fri, 27 Feb 2009 16:09:05 PST

Did your organization make a video in 2008? A monthly roundup of our favorite nonprofit tech resources. Read more posts on our blog . The U.S. government's giving a big boost to RSS . We can only hope

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Broadband Adoption in Chile

Fri, 27 Feb 2009 14:59:00 PST

percent in 2008. This post was written by Carmina Sicangco, partner-management specialist at TechSoup Global. Cisco released the results of a study last week , reporting that growth in Chile's broadband penetration has dropped from 45 percent in 2006 to 10.5 The study, called the Broadband Barometer and focusing on broadband technology adoption in Latin America, shows that low-and-medium-income groups have not adopted as quickly as the higher socio-economic segment of the population.

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Guest Post: Rearranging the Fossils - Using Museum 2.0 to Get a Stuck Innovation Process Moving Again

Thu, 26 Feb 2009 05:59:00 PST

The minutes of meetings held in 2006, 2007, and early 2008 reflect a hurried and rather superficial process. In this situation I was hired during the last quarter of 2008 to get the process moving. This guest post was written by Ruben Huele and describes the scenario-based strategic process used at the Dutch Natural History Museum, Naturalis , to innovate the redevelopment of their permanent collection. Please share your own experiences with alternative strategic planning processes in the comments! The new building of Naturalis, the Dutch National Natural History Museum, opened

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82 Million User-Generated Content Creators and Counting

Wed, 25 Feb 2009 06:30:00 PST

82 Million User-Generated Content Creators and CountingMore than 82 million people in the US created content online during 2008 , a number expected to grow to nearly 115 million by 2013 according to numbers released by eMarkete

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The Art of the Backchannel at Conferences: Tips, Reflections, and Resources

Tue, 24 Feb 2009 06:38:15 PST

come out of 2008 's SXSW Conference was for moderators of panels to Photo by Marcopolos I'm a few weeks away from SXSW where I'll be leading a session called " Nonprofit Social Media ROI Poetry Slam " which will incorporate a lot of audience interaction. I've been thinking about how to best incorporate the back channel or in this case Twitter. Two recent blogs, " How To Present While People Are Twittering " and " Trends in Leadership Conferences " are the most recent blog posts packed with advice.

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Fun and Public Humiliation As A Social Fundraising Strategy: A Brief History

Mon, 23 Feb 2009 11:27:50 PST

And then out for a drink. And I will film it. Shaving your head to supercharge a fundraising campaign has continued to be popular into 2008 . Fun and humor, used in the right way and in the appropriate context, can help boost your social fundraising campaign. A personal challenge typically issued as statement like "if we make our goal, I'll do or donate xyz" can also energize your campaign. I did this for my recent birthday campaign , using the Facebook Causes

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How Your Nonprofit Can Reach Babyboomers with Social Media

Sun, 22 Feb 2009 16:12:22 PST

American Life Project's December 2008 tracking survey. AARP California Twitter Account Last week at the WeAreMedia Workshop, someone asked a question about babyboomers and social media use. Is it only younger people who are using social media. I answered no.

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Interviews with 38 Social Changemakers: 3rd Anniversary of the Big Vision Pocast

Thu, 19 Feb 2009 15:22:00 PST

Listen Read Paola Gianturco, photojournalist, Women Who Light the Dark Listen Read Andre Carothers, Co-Founder and Executive Director, Rockwood Leadership Program Listen Read 2008 Christina Arnold, Founder of Prevent Human Trafficking Listen Read Cristi Hegranes, Executive Director and Founder, Press Institute for Women Listen Read Kavita Ramdas, President and CEO of the Global Fund for Women. February 18, 2009 was the 3rd anniversary of the Big Vision Podcast ! Wahoo!

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Economic Recovery Models in Depression2.ouch

Wed, 18 Feb 2009 22:11:39 PST

They all knew there was some BS going on and that we were in for a “pop” but the scope and speed of this crash has caught everyone by surprise. This depression and the crash have been accelerated by the connectivity and interdependence of humanity (it all lost balance in early 2008 (oil, food, then money). I am not an economics guy. Most of what i am picking up on the economic recovery planning comes from the Washington Post, online outlets, blogs, frontline and the random cable news chatter. So there are definitely, circles of serious people running a different conversation

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Team Obama ranked #1 most innovative by Fast Company

Wed, 18 Feb 2009 12:28:53 PST

July 2008 : Supporters launch an uprising on mybarackobama.com in response to a vote made by Obama. August 2008 : Obama makes the VP announcement everyone was anxiously awaiting by text message for the first time ever. November 4, 2008 : Team Obama sends out at least 3 text messages to each supporter who has signed up for alerts in battle ground states. The Internet has phenomenal power. That much we all know by now.

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The Greenwash Brigade

Wed, 18 Feb 2009 11:09:34 PST

They have recently published Greenwashes of the Year 2008 and here are some of their findings: The Greenwash Brigade is a group of four environmental professionals who look for greenwashing by companies, governments and other groups and publish their findings on PublicRadio.org . Greenwashing is the practice of making false environmental claims.

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Cn U Raise $ Via Txt?

Tue, 17 Feb 2009 19:59:04 PST

The information below was current as of December 15, 2008 . Following up on Elliot’s blog post, How Important Is Mobile Giving? , and the subsequent TechSoup discussion , I’m posting an analysis conducted by Sarah Grosvenor , the Assistant Director of Annual Giving at Willamette University , on the potential for mobile fundraising at the University. Sarah granted me permission to share her findings with the world.

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Cn U Raise $ Via Txt?

Tue, 17 Feb 2009 12:09:00 PST

The information below was current as of December 15, 2008 . Following up on Elliot's blog post, How Important Is Mobile Giving? , and the subsequent TechSoup discussion , I'm posting an analysis conducted by Sarah Grosvenor , the Assistant Director of Annual Giving at Willamette University , on the potential for mobile fundraising at the University. Sarah granted me permission to share her findings with the world.

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Blackbaud Delivers - Vancouver

Tue, 17 Feb 2009 06:15:00 PST

In 2008 , Blackbaud Delivers began its mission to offer practical nonprofit management seminars presented by some of our best experts in a variety of major cities and via the Internet. I'm back in Vancouver , one of my favorite cities, for the Blackbaud Delivers series. I'm doing a free half-day session on changes and trends in online fundraising.

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Recession Obsession – What Does The Future Hold For Online Fundraising?

Thu, 12 Feb 2009 19:11:10 PST

Well, you can start by reading some of the most recent studies by Blackbaud, Donor Digital and M+R Strategic Services with 2008 year-end highlights, and smart tactics to deploy in these hard times. (BTW, Things didn’t end so bad in 2008 . I can’t stop thinking about it and no one will let me. Turn on the TV, read the paper, listen to NPR, it’s all gloom and doom.

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1stfans: An Audience-Specific Membership Program at the Brooklyn Museum

Thu, 12 Feb 2009 00:01:00 PST

We announced 1stfans on December 5, 2008 , and since then have had 272 1stfans from 15 states and 9 countries on 4 continents. There are both virtual-only and local 1stfan members. The conventional wisdom on museum memberships is that they are "one size fits many" programs whose primary benefits are free entrance to the museum and insider access to exhibition openings. The main audiences for memberships are value members, who think of it as a good deal, lifelong learners, who want to come to as many programs and exhibits as possible, and donors, who support the museum.

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2009 Nonprofit Video Awards: “Everyone’s Doing It”

Wed, 11 Feb 2009 02:02:34 PST

If you were at the 08NTC last April, then you probably remember the awards ceremony for the 2008 contest. If your organization made a video—any video—in 2008 , we want to see it! It’s time again for the Nonprofit Video Awards from DoGooderTV , sponosored by NTEN & See3 Communications. The Humane Society of the US won for the video “ Overlooked: The Lives of Animals Raised for Food .”

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What is a Wikimuseum? And More Thoughts on Metaphorical Design

Mon, 09 Feb 2009 11:39:00 PST

In 2008 , I worked with one museum director for whom the word "wiki" is synonymous with "Wikipedia." Recently, I've been thinking and working with the concept of metaphorical design, that is, designing things by modeling them after other things. This interest stems back to the very beginning of the Museum 2.0 blog.

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Catch us at Great Ideas!

Mon, 09 Feb 2009 08:09:36 PST

The parties at ASAE’s annual meeting 2008 and at Tech 2009 were legenedary. BF Wire blogger and senior consultant Elizabeth Weaver Engel (aka me) will be heading to ASAE’s Great Ideas Conference in Miami later this month to present with Jason Della Rocca in the Social Media Lab on Wikis: Collaborative Content at Your Fingertips . Benefits of coming:

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The 2009 Nonprofit Video Awards

Fri, 06 Feb 2009 15:56:12 PST

No, the problem was, the video played at the 2008 NTC -- replete with images of animal abuse, including a long segment on the inhumane caging of chickens -- projected on a big screen, just as conference attendees tucked into their lunch -- of chicken breast. Talk If you made a video in 2008 , we want to see it! (Unless, I have a confession to make: I'm rooting for some organization, any organization, to unseat the Humane Society of the United States as the winner of this year's Nonprofit Video Awards . It's It's not that last year's winning video, " Overlooked: The

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Who Has the Best Nonprofit Video?

Thu, 05 Feb 2009 13:44:05 PST

If you made a video in 2008 , we want to see it! According to Michael Hoffman, CEO of See3 Communications, “ 2008 was a great year for video, and we continue to see incredible growth each year in the number of nonprofits using video. Enter now and show us how your organization has been using video to inspire and ignite social change. Starting today, video submissions are being accepted for the 3rd Annual DoGooderTV Nonprofit Video Awards, co-sponsored by The Nonprofit Technology Network (NTEN) and See3 Communications .

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Some Convio Stats

Thu, 05 Feb 2009 11:05:04 PST

Convio at a Glance in 2008 : So I thought I would pass this on. I would love to see Salesforce or Blackbaud come out with a list like this. Anyone know where I could mine that data? Process more than $776.7

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Social Actions Round-Up #24: Government Enters Social Media for Social Change Movement

Thu, 05 Feb 2009 08:07:27 PST

2008 ) As a child of the 80's (okay, very late 70's), I am used to government having very little (if any) involvement in technology driven initiatives (outside of the military), and certainly not technology for a purpose. Enter the Obama Administration. Suddenly, there's a Director of Citizen Participation and a Department of Social Innovation.

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Change from the Inside: A Conversation with COSI

Thu, 05 Feb 2009 00:03:00 PST

How do you evaluate the usefulness of these tools and the value of time spent on them? Kelli: We’re really new at this—we launched the Facebook page in September of 2008 and the Twitter account in October. What’s harder: coming up with great experimental ideas or jumping through institutional hoops to make the experiments happen? I think, sadly, that we all know the answer.

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The Joys of Google Grants, Part 2

Wed, 04 Feb 2009 12:57:25 PST

So we tried moving more of our budget into certain campaigns on the weekends, then moving it back on weekdays — and that helped, too. Making the Most of the News Cycle In September 2008 , NWLC launched a voter education microsite that included a register-to-vote widget, and we started running Google ads on keywords like “register to vote.” In part one of this post, I discussed the first steps the National Women’s Law Center took when we initially received our Google Grant, and some of the challenges we faced getting started. Today, I’ll go into more

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Twestival: Are Fundraising Groundswells A Massive Opportunity or Distraction for Nonprofit Organizations?

Tue, 03 Feb 2009 12:39:07 PST

I interviewed Ben Matthews who was part of the organizational group that dreamed up the Twestival concept in London in September 2008 . 2008 Christmas ball raised a very large amount of money, so we have a lot I've been experimenting with online fundraising in an age of social media since 2006 . It is evolving from individuals leveraging their personal networks to groundswells. Last week, I wrote about Twestival , the most recent example of fundraising on Twitter and a networked fundraiser of a scale we haven't seen before.

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MarketingProfs Free Virtual Conference

Mon, 02 Feb 2009 19:59:02 PST

The keynote presentation by David Plouffe, Barack Obama’s 2008 Presidential Campaign Manager, is titled The Art of the Possible: Online Branding Strategies and Tactics. MarketingProfs , an online marketing resource center, is presenting a free virtual conference on online marketing. Many of their offerings require a paid membership, but this one is gratis .

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MarketingProfs Free Virtual Conference

Mon, 02 Feb 2009 12:54:16 PST

The keynote presentation by David Plouffe, Barack Obama's 2008 Presidential Campaign Manager, is titled The Art of the Possible: Online Branding Strategies and Tactics. MarketingProfs , an online marketing resource center, is presenting a free virtual conference on online marketing. Many of their offerings require a paid membership, but this one is gratis .

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Social Media and College Admissions

Sun, 01 Feb 2009 10:47:33 PST

The study compares adoption of social media between 2007 and 2008 by the admissions offices of all four-year accredited institutions in the United States. The University of Massachusetts Dartmouth has just published Social Media and College Admissions: The First Longitudinal Study by Eric Mattson and Nora Ganim Barnes, Ph.D. The findings include:

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SSIR, See3, and Replyforall: New Sponsors for Social Actions' Change the Web Challenge

Thu, 29 Jan 2009 17:26:25 PST

In October 2008 , Stanford Social Innovation Review hosted the Online Giving Marketplaces conference - a first of its kind conference bringing together online giving marketplaces like Kiva.org , GlobalGiving , many of which are also Social Actions' action sources . We are excited to announce three new media sponsors for Social Actions' Change the Web Challenge ! Stanford Social Innovation Review (SSIR) , See3 Communications , and Replyforall have agreed to help get the word out about the challenge.

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How To: Put Technology to Use (January 2009)

Thu, 29 Jan 2009 15:42:19 PST

What's more, we've just made our entire archive of recorded webinars (through September 30, 2008 ) free to our Members , with more to be added on a quarterly basis. Then Your guide to the resources that will help you put technology to work for your cause (although this month, we're going to be a little self-serving). Get the Most out of NTEN Our

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The Economy May Be Down, but Online Giving Is Up

Wed, 28 Jan 2009 19:59:02 PST

M+R Strategic Services says that although the economy is down, online giving is up (as of November 2008 ). They looked at online giving for five nonprofit clients during September and October (Easter Seals, Habitat for Humanity International, National Multiple Sclerosis Society, Oxfam America, and The Wilderness Society) and compared those results to the same two months in 2007. Their analysis showed:

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Download Have Fun * Do Good Book Lists

Tue, 27 Jan 2009 14:09:00 PST

After I published my list of Favorite Do-Good Books of 2008 with links to my lists for 2007 , 2006 and 2005 , a reader suggested that I create a PDF of all of the lists for folks to download, and take to the bookstore. Have Fun * Do Good Book List (2005-2008) Publish at Scribd or explore others: reading read books 2008 activist nonprofi I thought this was a great idea. Anything to get folks to support their local bookstore!

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Matching Gifts Best Practices

Tue, 27 Jan 2009 10:09:46 PST

SupportingAdvancement.com has published the results of their 2008 survey on how nonprofits are handling corporate matching gifts. 29% of respondents reported raising over $250,000 in matching gift income in 2008 . The responses came primarily from post-secondary schools, but also included elementary schools, healthcare, museums, gardens, performing arts, and service organizations. The findings included:

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Getting More out of Online & Offline Events

Tue, 27 Jan 2009 08:48:18 PST

See a recent tweme from our Marketing & Online Community conference 2008 . Blog about the event before, during, and after. We've been helping groups for many years with ways to have a little more influence and get a little more impact out of their online and offline events. With users' increasing confidence in participating together online, there's never been a better time to take a leap and try a new tactic to engage a group.

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How’s your Donor Mgmt going?

Sun, 25 Jan 2009 22:56:16 PST

was introduced in September 2008 to help nonprofits manage all constituent relationships — from major donors and email subscribers, to the contacts and partners that help you run your organization. This is something I think a lot of us don’t bother thinking about on a daily basis. But it is something so very vital to any non-profit.

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"Innovation Exchange" at Environmental Defense Fund, and Dave Witzel

Sun, 25 Jan 2009 09:40:00 PST

Dave was one of the co-founders of our firm, Forum One, in 1996, and until 2008 was one of our expert consultants on the creative use of online tools (e.g. The Environmental Defense Fund (EDF) has launched a new initiative called the Innovation Exchange , to build and strengthen a network of innovators who will develop and adopt environment-friendly business initiatives. EDF EDF has for some years done important work with individual firms to find creative solutions to reducing environmental impact - such as with MacDonalds, FedEx, Starbucks and others .

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Hedging economic uncertainty for nonprofits: expand and diversify

Sat, 24 Jan 2009 16:18:47 PST

In many cases, the growth in 2008 has been consistent with or better than prior years. No industry is recession-proof, as the recent demise of the once-mighty automotive and financial industries demonstrates. The nonprofit sector is no exception. The economic problems that began in real estate and their related financial securities have created a shock wave that is rippling

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What's Up With Feedburner?

Fri, 23 Jan 2009 14:29:54 PST

from December, 2008 wondering how the backend might change. Flickr photo from Wesley Fryer Stephen Downes points to this post by Wesley Fryer, " Feedburner Stats Drop After Google Account Merge" I haven't yet merged my account and all of sudden my counts dropped 1,400 subscribers. I

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What Are Your 2009 Have Fun Do Good Resolutions?

Fri, 23 Jan 2009 12:28:00 PST

My six 2008 Activist Resolutions went so-so: I did . . . Continue learning about why genocide happens and how I can take action by following blogs like the Genocide Intervention Network , ENOUGH , Stop Genocide on Change.org , Darfur: An Unforgivable Hell on Earth , and Human Rights Now . Carry my reusable shopping bag with me almost all of the time. Write to the Nigerian woman I sponsored through Women for Women International each month. I think it's wise to make your New Year's Resolutions a few weeks into January. When you make them on January 1st, you're

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Creating Your Organization's Social Media Strategy Map

Fri, 23 Jan 2009 12:20:38 PST

Josh Bernhoff, Social Technographics 2008 3. Source: Dollar Bin, Flickr In February, I'll be co-teaching the " WeAreMedia Live " intensive two-day workshop in San Francisco from NTEN . The goal is to help participants create a social media strategy AND take a deep dive into the tactics and tools of social media. One of the challenges, of course, is integrating social media strategy with overall communications planning as well as Internet strategy without having the time in the workshop to drill down into those other topics.

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Blackbaud Report: 2008 Online Giving Trends

Thu, 22 Jan 2009 19:59:02 PST

Blackbaud has released a summary of early results from its analysis of 2008 online giving trends. The results come from 2,000 nonprofits using Blackbaud’s online fundraising tools. They’ve found: Steady growth throughout the year.

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2008 Online Giving Trends

Thu, 22 Jan 2009 09:06:24 PST

Blackbaud has released a summary of early results from its analysis of 2008 online giving trends. Consistent with prior years, December online giving in the last month of 2008 quadrupled in size compared to prior months. The results come from 2,000 nonprofits using Blackbaud’s online fundraising tools. They’ve found:

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Managing Technology Change: Imagine All the People

Thu, 22 Jan 2009 07:53:55 PST

2008 “Increasing the Efficacy of Emergency Departments Through Systems Analysis of Enterprise Architecture: Mitigating the Impact of Technological Change.” Bev Magda, The Humane Society of the United States It It is critical, especially during tough economic times, to ensure technology projects within your organization are completed on time and within budget.

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Guest Post: Shaking up the Ecological Landscape

Thu, 22 Jan 2009 05:19:00 PST

2, 2008 ) will be offered as a free webcast on Jan. Elizabeth Merritt is the director of the Center for the Future of Museums , a new project of the American Association of Museums (AAM). In this post, she describes the thinking behind the Center and asks for your help in shaping its future. When I was given the opportunity to found the Center for the Future of Museums (CFM) I had been working for nearly 10 years with Museum Assessment and Accreditation at AAM.

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Inaugural Video Driving Internet Traffic Record

Wed, 21 Jan 2009 14:07:45 PST

Tags: 2008 election Video webcast Web Tec Internet traffic hit a record peak on Tuesday as millions of people around the world sought to watch and read about the inauguration of President Obama. The web and TV are coming together and we saw evidence of that yesterday. The web isn’t quite ready to handle the traffic, but we are seeing video content bringing more people online and

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What are your org’s New Year’s resolutions?

Wed, 21 Jan 2009 10:16:07 PST

It’s official, 2008 is over. The ball has dropped, presents have been unwrapped, and yesterday we inaugurated a new president. In the nonprofit online fundraising world, the end of the year means a brief respite from the days of frenetically paced emails, calculus-level equations to determine segmented content targeting, and new, specially designed holiday landing pages and donation forms. By now, you’re no longer anxiously watching donation

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Welcome President Obama

Wed, 21 Jan 2009 10:10:10 PST

Tags: 2008 electio I had the great pleasure of being in DC yesterday for the inauguration (though I chose to watch it inside on a big screen tv). Obviously, there will be huge changes in how our government works and acts and speaks. One small sign of this is on the web where the Obama administration just unveiled the all new WhiteHouse.gov , the official website of the White House.

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2009 Digital Communications for Charities Conference

Wed, 21 Jan 2009 06:44:00 PST

was fortunate enough to speak at the 2008 event . Professional Fundraising magazine and Blackbaud are putting on the 2009 Digital Communications for Charities Conference at the QEII Conference Centre in London today. I This year's day-long event will focus on a variety of topics including generating funds online, being both innovative and profitable,

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Women in Nonprofit Technology Who Rock: Adding to Fast Company's Most Influential Women in Technology List

Tue, 20 Jan 2009 07:14:33 PST

So, when Lynne Johnson from Fast Company asked me to blog a list, I thought I'd create a nonprofit technology category and acknowledge the work of these awesome women: Nonprofit Technology Marnie Webb is the Co-CEO of TechSoup Global and creator of Netsquared and was voted most valuable person in the nonprofit technology field in 2008 . In December, Fast Company published an article called " The Most Influential Women in Web 2.0 " featuring about a dozen amazing women who work in the Web 2.0 world.

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Rise of the Netroots

Tue, 20 Jan 2009 07:01:00 PST

Lessons for Nonprofits Numerous books, blogs, and presentations are being devoted to covering what really happened during the 2008 presidential campaign. Have you already taken a good look at your 2008 online fundraising results? Today is inauguration day in the United States and there will be a lot of stirring words spoken, many people gathered together to celebrate, and lots of merriment into the wee hours of the morning. Tomorrow the issues and challenges confronting the Nation will still be there, and expect the netroots to continue having a major impact on the political

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NetSquared will Host SocialActions' ChangetheWeb Challenge!

Mon, 19 Jan 2009 15:01:03 PST

Challenge , to get a feel for what this will look like.) The Social Actions team definitely drew its inspiration for the Change the Web Challenge from NetSquared's 2008 Mashup Challenge - so it seems fitting that the Change the Web Challenge will be hosted on the NetSquared platform. Hey folks! We have some awesome news that's we've been itching to share with you.

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Using Metrics To Harvest Insights About Your Social Media Strategy

Fri, 16 Jan 2009 12:18:36 PST

urgency in handling what used to be a mobile, customer-focused service." He points to this post by Duncan Riley from December, 2008 wondering how the backend might change. Photo by Dwinton You need to pick the right hard data points (fancy way of saying metrics) that will help you harvest insights to improve your social media strategy. For blogging, you have to use a couple

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Favianna Rodriguez: Political Digital Artist and Printmaker

Fri, 16 Jan 2009 11:54:00 PST

think that's something I want to leave with everyone is that we have the ability to do many things, not just what is within our categories, or our boxes." --Favianna Rodriguez Below is the edited transcript of a Big Vision Podcast interview from November 13, 2008 with Favianna Rodriguez, a political digital artist and printmaker based in Oakland, California. Utne Reader named Favianna one of their 2008 , 50 Visionaries Who Are Changing Your World , and she recently received a Sisters of Fire Award from the Women of Color Resource Center . "I think about how many times I didn't like the color of my skin, because I didn't see myself in any art.

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Great reads from January 14th through January 15th

Thu, 15 Jan 2009 09:24:37 PST

New Marketing Summit 2008 - Events in San Francisco, Dallas, Boston, USA & Milan, Italy. These are my links for January 14th through January 15th: Justgiving now accepts PayPal - "As of today, anyone visiting the Justgiving website can now use PayPal, to make a donation. Adding PayPal, the most popular online payment service, has been a frequent request from our users for some time, so we’re really

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More Nonprofits Adopting Convio’s Common Ground

Thu, 15 Jan 2009 08:42:36 PST

today announced the signing of more than 30 new clients for Common Ground™ since it became generally available in late September of 2008. Convio crows about the quick adoption of Common Ground today : AUSTIN, TEXAS (January 15, 2009) — Convio, Inc.

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How Do You Browse By Category Blog Content from NpTech Bloggers?

Wed, 14 Jan 2009 17:46:28 PST

Year 2008 2007 More >> Tony I have a confession. I have many years of blog content. It is hard for me to find posts because I have too many categories categories (over 200) and an idiosyncratic way of organizing them. No wonder I get emails and DM's from folks telling me they can't find a particular

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Social Actions Round-Up #22: Online Giving Markets Hit The Ground Running in 2009

Mon, 12 Jan 2009 10:42:37 PST

PolicyPitch is a December 2008 Ideablob finalist . Social Actions publishes the most popular cause-related search terms from December 2008 . Online giving markets and other websites that facilitate online action hit the ground running in 2009. Below is our latest weekly round-up of news and recent discoveries.

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Social Actions Round-Up #22: Online Giving Markets Hit The Ground Running in 2009

Mon, 12 Jan 2009 10:42:37 PST

Lil' pile of links

Mon, 12 Jan 2009 05:48:00 PST

Kari Rippetoe on some cool viral videos of 2008 . So my schedule is so crazy hectic right now and I feel bad that I am not posting anything of substance, but I am hoping to keep you satisfied for a little while with my latest lil' pile o' links. Twitter-related Twitdom - a new browsable database of all the Twitter apps out there.

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Google Checkout for Non-Profits Still Free, But For How Long?

Sat, 10 Jan 2009 10:11:49 PST

When I first discussed Google Checkout for Nonprofits and when I revisited it , it was offered for free to nonprofits until the end of 2008. Well, it’s 2009 already and apparently, it’s still free: Google is currently in the process of reviewing our Checkout for Non Profit program and will soon announce our 2009 policy adjustments. In the meantime, Checkout

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Tidbits

Fri, 09 Jan 2009 15:52:08 PST

A lot of these are 2008 news, therefore, kinda old. Some stuff from my inbox. (A But still interesting to me.) Appirio releases their top 10 predictions for cloud computing in 2009. One of the more interesting ones is that “a major SaaS 1.0

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December 2008: Most Popular Cause-Related Search Terms

Fri, 09 Jan 2009 08:08:40 PST

Below are the most popular search terms for December 2008. Social Actions is committed to making freely available the statistics we generate on the flows of philanthropic activity. One indicator of popular action areas is the search terms that people use to find opportunities to make a difference. I

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December 2008: Most Popular Cause-Related Search Terms

Fri, 09 Jan 2009 08:08:40 PST

Women in Technology: 2 Ways you CAN get Involved!

Fri, 09 Jan 2009 02:35:32 PST

While the 2008 Women Who Tech TeleSummit was a smashing success with over 650 women including Arianna Huffington and Joan Blades defying the stereotype that the tech world belongs to pocket-protector toting guys hooked on sci-fi and video games, 2009 will be even better. I’m a woman, and I work in technology. I LOVE helping other women feel empowered to learn, share, and succeed in the technology sector, too.

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Index of National Fundraising Performance - Q3 2008

Thu, 08 Jan 2009 12:01:00 PST

Target Analytics , a Blackbaud company, announced the latest Index of National Fundraising Performance for the third quarter of 2008. from the first three quarters of 2007 to the first three quarters of 2008. However, 44% of the organizations in the index did have positive revenue growth from Q3 YTD 2007 to Q3 YTD 2008 . The index compares trends in key fundraising indicators from 74 organizations, including over 37 million donors and more than 68 million gifts totaling over $2 billion in revenue . The index findings include giving data from direct mail, online, telemarketing, events,

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The Road Ahead for NTEN Members

Thu, 08 Jan 2009 11:15:09 PST

Providing FREE access to 2008 webinar recordings for events held through 9/30/2008 to our Members; we'll add more on a quarterly basis. Flickr Photo: Jasmic It's It's pretty much a given that the coming months will be difficult for the nonprofit sector. I

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Great reads from January 6th through January 8th

Thu, 08 Jan 2009 04:12:50 PST

2008 Online Giving Trends - Connections - Want to compare your 2008 numbers/results to other organizations? These are my links for January 6th through January 8th: The Power of Us: Re-Imagine Media | Changemakers - "Join We Media and Ashoka’s Changemakers in the search to find the best new ideas for inspiring a better world through media and technology. We are looking for business

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"2008 is going to be a challening year." To quote Yogi Berra, "It's deja vu all over again."

Wed, 07 Jan 2009 14:13:54 PST

" 2008 is going to be a challenging year." While I don't think anyone anticipated that the end of 2008 would be as ugly as it was, the content of the article is probably even more valuable today. That was the lead sentence in an article Convio Chief Strategy Officer, Vinay Bhagat wrote for the Convio Connection newsletter last January titled, "10 Online Marketing Strtegies for Fundraising in Challenging Times." He wrote that: "In In addition to the recession, we are also seeing some other troubling indicators.

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Reducing Mental Clutter: Some Solutions

Wed, 07 Jan 2009 04:56:44 PST

This is another GTD fix that I started with in 2008 but that fell by the wayside. Yesterday's p ost on reducing my personal mental clutter apparently struck a chord with a lot of people. Farhan and Steve Bridger are with me on the whole multiple open tabs thing. So is Talia . And Sarah Stewar t apparently

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Mobile Commons Resolves to Produce Results with Mobile Fundraising

Tue, 06 Jan 2009 07:42:02 PST

2008 was an exciting year for nonprofit mobile programs. Instead of creating a resolution for the nonprofit community, we thought we would take a look in the mirror and recruit the community to help us achieve a resolution together. We want you to help us improve Mobile Fundraising. Our friends at the Mobile Giving Foundation have gotten a lot of attention

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Mobile Commons Resolves to Produce Results with Mobile Fundraising

Tue, 06 Jan 2009 07:42:02 PST

Mobile Commons Resolves to Produce Results with Mobile Fundraising

Tue, 06 Jan 2009 07:42:02 PST

What are the best metrics to use to measure ROI and improve your blog's content?

Tue, 06 Jan 2009 07:39:23 PST

This is the stuff that can't necessarily be counted, but if you ignore it completely you really miss out on the opportunity to improve the quality of your blogging, which presumably increases the blog's ROI. At the end of 2008 , I did a " Best of Beth's Blog " analysis using PostRank. Inspiration for How To Think Like A Social Media Marketing Genius Presentation by Beth Kanter For the past two years, I've been doing an annual Blog benchmarking process that attempts to do a ROI analysis.

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My New Year's Resolution: Use Social Media Efficiently - 52 Tips

Mon, 05 Jan 2009 09:53:55 PST

Amy Sample Ward lays out a 5 things to think about before you get into the execution of a social media strategy for the first time. But, maybe you've done some of that thinking and implemented a few focused social media experiments in 2008 and have gleaned some insights. Flickr Photo by RedRaspu Convio invited me to share my number one New Year's resolution as part of its "Now is the Time" campaign. The goal is to encourage nonprofits to make New Year's resolutions to that help them more efficiently and effectively move people to support their organizations.

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Blackbaud Releases Figures on Giving

Mon, 05 Jan 2009 08:16:45 PST

Organizations had steady growth in their online giving through the first and second quarters of 2008. Steve MacLaughlin wrote me today about giving trends for users of Blackbaud’s Internet solutions . It’s the kind of data I’d love to see released more often so that we could better understand how online fundraising was being affected by macroeconomic trends. Here’s

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2008 Online Giving Trends

Mon, 05 Jan 2009 06:01:00 PST

It's only been a few days since the end of 2008 , but I wanted to share some very early online giving trends from Blackbaud clients. Steady Annual Growth Organizations had steady growth in their online giving through the first and second quarters of 2008. in 2008. This information comes from approximately 2,000 nonprofit organizations using Blackbaud's Internet solutions. There was a slight decrease in online giving during the third quarter of the year, specifically the month of August.

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Shoes for Industry

Fri, 02 Jan 2009 17:04:23 PST

Well, 2008 — the year that was — I throw my shoes in your general direction. throw my shoes at 2008 . Who’d of thunk it? A simple shoe — well, actually two — thrown with the right twist could so clearly express an opinion. An opinion so succinct, that the world can do nothing but

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Shoes for Industry

Fri, 02 Jan 2009 17:04:23 PST

Shoes for Industry

Fri, 02 Jan 2009 17:04:23 PST

Shoes for Industry

Fri, 02 Jan 2009 17:04:23 PST

My Goals For 2009

Thu, 01 Jan 2009 15:17:29 PST

The ROI of Social Media published in NTEN January 2008 Newsletter Social Media and Nonprofits: ROI Case Study Slam NTC in 2008 Flickr Photo from SteveTookIt I've I've had a post in draft for a couple of weeks now about some personal/professional goals or my New Year's resolutions for 2009. I read Chris Brogan's " Your 3 Goals for 2009 " and I loved his process. Think of how

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Happy New Year

Wed, 31 Dec 2008 21:35:32 PST

I’m not that sorry to say goodbye to 2008. My 2009 resolution: get my blogging voice back. I haven’t really gone anywhere. My attention has been divided between Twitter, Facebook and now my latest addiction, Ravelry . As such, my blog has been neglected.

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Best of Beth's Blog 2008: Finding The Top Ten Posts In Less Than Five MInutes!

Wed, 31 Dec 2008 16:35:49 PST

One of the things I've been wanting to do for a while is review my blog content for the year and select the "Top 10" posts or the "best of" posts. Once a year in June, I do an overall benchmarking and ROI analysis of my blog using particular metrics. But, a top ten post would focus on the content itself - and also jump start some thinking that I need to do for a redesign of this blog.

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Inspired to do some end of year stats for myself.

Wed, 31 Dec 2008 15:53:00 PST

As of today, December 31, 2008 : Blog posts (this year): 350 Blog posts (to date): 422 Blog subscribers: 230 (via feedburner) My comments (as per Backtype): 153 Online communities started and nurtured: 1 ( YAP - 344 members, 67 discussions) Online communities joined: (too many to count right now but I'm keeping track ) People I follow on Twitter: 1,275 People who follow me on Twitter: 1,346 Tweets: 2,367 Facebook friends: 358 LinkedIn groups I belong to: 9 LinkedIn contacts: 170 Blog feeds in my reader: 94 Unread blog posts right now: 1 Emails in my inbox: 24 Articles written and published (this

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Securing USB drives

Wed, 31 Dec 2008 13:59:00 PST

Last month I posted a list of best practices for managing a database and discussed, among other things, protecting data on USB drives and laptops. A recent discussion on the Information Systems Forum has suggested options for protecting USB drives. Richard Rothwell posted a blog entry on Portable Data Security , several list members recommended using TrueCrypt , and Carlos Thomas posted a TrueCrypt tutorial .

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A Roundup of New Year's Predictions, Resolutions, and Best Of 2008

Wed, 31 Dec 2008 13:45:38 PST

It boils down to two choices: gaze into your crystal ball and predict the future or look back at the year just ending for the best (or worst) moments. Last year, I couldn't decide and ended up writing the look back as a lessons learned, a personal New Year's resolution post, and a round up of what nonprofit folks had on their minds as they entered 2008 : Round up of New Year's Reflections, Best Ofs, and Predictions for 2008 Flickr Photo from Bearman 2007 It's that quiet week between Christmas and New Years. Lots of time for reflection and to write that end

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Let's Make 2009 All About Taking Action

Wed, 31 Dec 2008 13:07:53 PST

In 2008 , with your help, Social Actions created an open-source database containing 40,000+ actions from 30+ action sources. If you have been meaning to give, today is your last chance in 2008 to do so. Happy New Year's Eve! I'm writing this blog entry on the last day of what has been an incredibly exciting year. Around the world, people

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Let's Make 2009 All About Taking Action

Wed, 31 Dec 2008 13:07:53 PST

Intersting Post: Information Overload and the FOOD IS THOUGHT Metaphor

Wed, 31 Dec 2008 10:09:17 PST

I love this riff. For a long time people in the nonprofit sector that I work with have complained about information overload. In this following post, the author spells out information overload like a Vegas buffet. Just because it's there doesn't mean you have to overeat.

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TH - Local News Article

Wed, 31 Dec 2008 09:42:00 PST

TH - Local News Article: "A Web site could forge new links between prospective donors and local nonprofit organizations in 2009.DubuqueGiving.org is a facet of the GoldPenny Project, a partnership between Dubuque365.com, the Community Foundation of Greater Dubuque and the Better Business Bureau of Greater Iowa. The project initially grew out of a dinner conversation about combatting 'dono

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Dead Beatle John Lennon speaks from beyond grave - Times Online

Wed, 31 Dec 2008 09:27:00 PST

Dead Beatle John Lennon speaks from beyond grave - Times Online: "The former Beatle's voice and image have been stitched together using computers in a commercial for One Laptop Per Child, an organisation that aims to give low-cost, durable computers to young people in the Third World." ...Tags: Tags: NPOLP

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News Media Shifts

Wed, 31 Dec 2008 08:40:32 PST

Here is a great link from the PTP blog. The story here is about the way that nonprofits can use the error position in the community to cover stories and generate press. As mainstream media falls, people will still want news stories. People are still interested in coverage, the problem with the media is that they are being attacked on both sides of their business model.

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Are You Tracking Your Top Blog Posts?

Wed, 31 Dec 2008 08:11:00 PST

Top 10 Blog Post lists are popping up all over the Internet as another year comes to an end, as nonprofits, individuals, and businesses take stock of where they’ve been and plan their communications strategy for the coming year. But how do you know which of your blog posts for the past year are your “top” content? It's more than a simple matter of counting up the page

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LOVE this.

Wed, 31 Dec 2008 07:34:00 PST

Check out Nina Simon's open letter to Museums on Twitter . Not too far a stretch to imagine it for associations, huh! ...Tags: Tags: Twitte

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2008 in Review

Wed, 31 Dec 2008 07:01:00 PST

2008 seemed to fly by so quickly, but a lot of things happened along the way. Have PowerPoint, Will Travel In 2008 , I did more than 20 presentations on three different continents. In 2008 , Blackbaud saw a large number of nonprofits choose or move to BBNC because they now understand how important this has become to meeting their goals. I thought that I would pause for a moment and look back a bit before looking ahead to 2009.

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The Nature Conservancy - The Nature Conservancy Rings in a Solar New Year

Wed, 31 Dec 2008 06:52:00 PST

The Nature Conservancy - The Nature Conservancy Rings in a Solar New Year: "The Nature Conservancy Rings in a Solar New YearNew Photovoltaic System Advances Group's Quest for SustainabilityHONOLULU, HAWAI'I — January 5, 2009 — The Nature Conservancy of Hawai‘i will ring in the New Year equipped with a state-of-the-art photovoltaic (PV) system that allows the non-profit to generate clean energ

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Technorati: State of the Blogosphere 2008

Wed, 31 Dec 2008 06:35:00 PST

Technorati: State of the Blogosphere 2008 : "Blogs are Pervasive and Part of Our Daily LivesThere have been a number of studies aimed at understanding the size of the Blogosphere, yielding widely disparate estimates of both the number of blogs and blog readership. All studies agree, however, that blogs are a global phenomenon that has hit the mainstrea

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7 More Things You Don't Need to Know About Me

Wed, 31 Dec 2008 05:10:02 PST

I've been tagged by Cammy Bean for the 7 More Things You Don't Need to Know About Me meme currently making the rounds, which seems like a good time to update the 8 Random Facts meme. So here goes: 1. I

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Technographics + Quantcast = Awesomesauce

Wed, 31 Dec 2008 05:08:00 PST

Skip Shuda has a really good screencast (4:40 mins) that shows you how to combine the data from Groundswell's Forrester Technographics profile tool and Quantcast , that I talked about here . Watch and learn ! Have a really great New Year 2009. ...Tags:

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An Open Letter to Museums on Twitter

Tue, 30 Dec 2008 19:35:00 PST

Note: this is a geeky post that assumes familiarity with Twitter . If you are new to Twitter, please check out this post for more context. Dear Museums on Twitter, Thanks for experimenting in a new and largely uncharted online environment. It's not easy, and many of you are taking innovative, exciting approaches to it.

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My Facebook Birthday Cause: Thank You (and Some Unsolicited Feedback To Causes)

Tue, 30 Dec 2008 16:36:35 PST

Before I go further, I have thank everyone for the early birthday present - a donation to the Sharing Foundation . In less than 24 hours, I've raised $806 to help children in Cambodia using a new feature in Facebook Causes. January 11th is my 52nd birthday and even though I'm an official member of AARP, I couldn't wait for my birthday this year. Why?

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The Tyson Truck Arrived Today at the Boston Food Bank

Tue, 30 Dec 2008 13:41:52 PST

The theme for Social Media Breakfast #11 in Boston in December was " Social Media for Social Good ." To kick off the event, Bob Collins and and I organized a call to action for the group. Tyson Foods was willing willing to donate 100 pounds of protein

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Wild Apricot Blog : Online collaboration tools for non-profit board members

Tue, 30 Dec 2008 13:04:00 PST

From Wild Apricot Technology BlogWild Apricot Blog : Online collaboration tools for non-profit board members: "Online collaboration tools for non-profit board members Non-profit organizations do better when their board members and staff collaborate effectively. One of the board's biggest responsibilities is strategic planning. In most

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Case Foundation Launches Change Begins With Me Contest: Winner Attends 2009 Presidential Inauguratio

Tue, 30 Dec 2008 07:53:58 PST

This past week has been about the lightest blogging week ever. I've had time offline, with family, and just relaxing. It's also that time of year when you think about setting personal goals or making resolutions for change. I've been thinking a lot of those, mostly internal - personal improvement and professional goals for my work, blog, and professional learning.

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More on those predictions

Tue, 30 Dec 2008 07:42:00 PST

Everyone likes pictures, and I personally have a short attention span so I loved this: Trendspotting turned those socmed predictions into a fab slideshow. Enjoy! Social Media Influencers Predictions 2009 By Trendsspotting View SlideShare presentation or Upload your own. (tags: tags: social media

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Dang, seems to be a lot to fear.

Tue, 30 Dec 2008 07:32:00 PST

Check out the comments on my post about Five Fears Associations Have about Social Media . Thank to all for commenting, and please, keep 'em coming and register for the webinar (go on, it's free)! Remember, I'll pick my top five to discuss. Although at this rate, maybe we should have an unconference instead,

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You Will Rock 2009 Because You Are Awesome!

Mon, 29 Dec 2008 18:12:55 PST

However, for many of my friends 2008 was a complete disaster, causing them to do what any self-respecting person does in the face of adversity: Curl up under a desk and weep. This post is for my dear friends who have marched through the shit storm of 2008. Y ear end for some people is a time to celebrate achievements - goals attained, obstacles flattened - a new Audi lease. The winners always seem to have everything go their way - just like senior year in high school (remember?).

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Change.gov is open for questions

Mon, 29 Dec 2008 13:33:00 PST

Check it out . 14,998 people have submitted 11,992 questions and cast 512,268 votes... but we want to know what you think Hope everyone had a great holiday break! I am very excited, tomorrow is my official last day at my old association. Dark side, here I come!

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Count Your Clicks

Mon, 29 Dec 2008 11:21:00 PST

The end of the year brings with it a tremendous amount of giving to nonprofits. And there is certainly a large amount of that giving that takes place online. In a future blog post I plan to talk about trends Blackbaud is seeing about online giving, but for now I want to focus on a simple question: How many clicks does it take for someone to donate online

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TXT Messaging Isn't Just for the Kids Anymore

Mon, 29 Dec 2008 08:53:24 PST

According to 160Characters , the number of text messages has been steadily increasing: Qtr 3, 2007 : 226 calls / 193 texts Qtr 4, 2007 : 213 calls / 218 texts Qtr 1, 2008 : 207 calls / 288 texts Qtr 2, 2008 : 204 calls / 357 texts Of course, it's still heavily skewed towards the kids. Teens Flickr Photo: Brownpau In November, I was lucky enough to sit on a panel on text messaging for advocacy at the Convio Summit . My My co-panelists, Matt Wilson from Mobile Commons and Kristin Kich of NARAL Pro Choice America both had some great case studies

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Don’t Dump – Learn to Listen

Mon, 29 Dec 2008 00:00:00 PST

The key to being successful with Social Media & some tools to get you started Remember the saying “You have two (2) ears and one (1) mouth?" “Dumping” on people is not what you want to be known for in the world of Social Media (see definition on Wikipedia) or any other world for that matter. It doesn’t benefit you or the people you're dumping on.

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How Can We Make Charitable Giving A Year-Round Habit?

Sun, 28 Dec 2008 17:49:31 PST

Beth's Birthday Cause I was listening to a story on Marketplace on NPR this afternoon with Tess Vigeland and Chris Farrell who reviewed their 2008 financial goals and graded themselves on their accomplishments. Chris Farrell set a 2008 goal to make his charitable giving a monthly activity, not a mad rush in December. He confessed that didn't meet the monthly goal, although he did a lot of research and giving in December. Given the economy and its impact on nonprofits and fundraising , it got me thinking that making charitable giving a habit beyond the holidays is a good

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Video Tutorial: Overview Of The Latest Version Of TweetDeck

Sun, 28 Dec 2008 17:43:38 PST

T his is a follow up to my previous post on how to use TweetDeck . If you’re very new to Twitter, please watch this first video tutorial on TweetDeck before reading this post. The latest version of TweetDeck (.021b) 021b) now has us sitting in coach.

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My Top 10 Social Action Platforms of 2008

Sat, 27 Dec 2008 15:36:11 PST

I've been working for Social Actions throughout the second half of 2008 - and I've been amazed and inspired by the various networks where you can make a difference online. I wanted to share my favorite networks of 2008 - innovative sites which either launched, re-launched, or took off in unexpected ways in the past year. In 2008 , Kiva.org took off with the launch of lending teams and partial loan This is by no means an official list nor an approved one. It's 100% personal and created on my own time.

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My Top 10 Social Action Platforms of 2008

Sat, 27 Dec 2008 15:36:11 PST

My Top 16 tools of 2008

Fri, 26 Dec 2008 20:11:35 PST

So what tools did you come to depend on in 2008 ? ...Tags: These span the range from tools I use every day or every week, to tools use more occasionally, but depend on. They also span the range of proprietary, SaaS, and Open Source. They are on this list because I think they are great, because they have undergone a lot of change or development this year, or because they are game-changing.

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Agile development and the 70% Rule

Fri, 26 Dec 2008 10:06:00 PST

I have been wrestling with how the concepts of “agile development” work in smaller software projects. Agile refers to a range of newer methodologies for planning, designing and implementing new web and data systems that include themes like these: Designing and working in short phases, or iterations, of the desired end system. Getting one set of new software features into full use and then moving on to the next Not overreaching your budget or schedule in what you seek to accomplish at any

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Another reason I love Hubspot

Fri, 26 Dec 2008 08:34:00 PST

Like me, they love to share. Check out their nice report on the State of the Twittersphere . ...Tags: Tags: Twitte

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The 5 stages of Twitter Acceptance

Fri, 26 Dec 2008 07:54:00 PST

From Rohit Bhargava . Read the full post and follow up posts too. ...Tags: Tags: Twitte

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2009 Forecast for Museum 2.0

Fri, 26 Dec 2008 07:16:00 PST

I hope you are enjoying end-of-year festivities. For those of you who are interested, my husband and I chose to crowdsource our future with the video at right and a related future forecasting site here . I'm writing this quick post to share some ideas and changes to this blog in the year ahead. Huge thanks to everyone who participated in

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Five Fears Associations Have about Social Media

Fri, 26 Dec 2008 05:16:00 PST

You know what they are. - Loss of control over your marketing messages; - how do deal with negative comments about you; - how to empower staff to speak appropriately for the association; - how to manage the time suck; - what if we build it and they don't come? ... What else you got? Let me know yours in the comments,

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Happy Holidays!

Wed, 24 Dec 2008 15:58:10 PST

We made this last year and it has continued to be one of my favorite videos of the kids and appropriate for the Holiday Season! A special holiday greeting to the readers of this blog and many thanks for all your insightful comments, support, and just being there! Expect Expect some light blogging in the next few days. ...Tags:

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Wild Apricot - final updates for 2008

Wed, 24 Dec 2008 13:44:00 PST

About Wild Apricot Our blog provides technology advice for small non-profits. Many subscribers are also Wild Apricot software clients, so we do monthly blog posts about our software. Wild Apricot simplifies non-profit management for thousands of professional and business associations, clubs, charitable organizations, churches, activist groups and communities.

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Datamining my Facebook Friends

Wed, 24 Dec 2008 12:06:47 PST

I’m fascinated by the ad for Gavin Newsom’s gubernatorial exploratory campaign that’s been showing up on my Facebook page lately. The ad includes a photo of my friend Katie and says that Katie is a fan of Gavin Newsom. Her page confirms that she is a supporter of Gavin.

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2008's most popular posts

Wed, 24 Dec 2008 05:26:00 PST

I realized this might be a useful roundup of the hottest topics of 2008 from this blog. What a year this has turned out to be, huh! I hope to find time to post a personal note about it all in a couple of days (the holidays are a good time to step back and take stock, aren't they!) but in the meantime I started making a list for myself of all the posts that people keep asking me for the links to, because these themes seem to come up again and again, and then (doh!)

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Felices Fiestas!

Wed, 24 Dec 2008 04:07:33 PST

For once, this is not one of my own images. My friend Billie Mercer captured this timeless shot on Sunday evening while strolling her neighbourhood in San Miguel de Allende, Mexico. I asked Billie if I could post her photo on my blog, and of course she agreed.

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How to Set Up Wordpress for Your Non-Profit

Wed, 24 Dec 2008 02:41:49 PST

I’ve started working with more and more Wordpress-based nonprofit Web sites such as those at asianamericansforobama.com and apaforprogress.org , stepping in after the site has been set up. What follows is a checklist of common errors that I’ve seen that you can use with your site designer if your non-profit is creating a Wordpress site. It should also serve as a follow-up to my previous

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Profiled on Fast Company Blog!

Tue, 23 Dec 2008 14:37:51 PST

I usually don't like to toot my own horn, but I was profiled on Fast Company blog! Here's the post . It's part of a series on Innovative Giving . Here's the other profiles. Innovative Giving: The Nature Conservancy and (Lil) Green Patch

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I'll Comment for Food Donations, Ten Cents for Woman's Shelter, and Other Interesting Social Media Charity Trends

Tue, 23 Dec 2008 14:04:31 PST

From a blog post in my archives, June, 2005 I took that photo of myself with a sign to illustrate a post that talked about the professionalization of blogging. It was the first mainstream article that I saw that described people being paid to blog. But hunger is a serious issue in America, especially in these difficult times.

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State of the Twittersphere: What It Means For Nonprofit Best Practices on Twitter

Tue, 23 Dec 2008 13:24:14 PST

State of the Twittersphere HubSpot has just shared the State of the Twittersphere report for Q4 2008 . Twitter is dominated by newer users - 70% of Twitter users joined in 2008 - Source: State of the Twittersphere Report I spend a lot of time listening on the social web using a radar that I've put together with a combination of free tools and the Stradivarius Violin of listening tools, Radian 6 . One topic that I regularly track are research reports, including demographic, technographics, and overall numbers for social media sites.

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New article: A Few Good Email Discussion List Tools

Tue, 23 Dec 2008 12:40:00 PST

Rounding out a fair number of email articles from us recently, here's A Few Good Email Discussion List Tools - taking a look at the software that's available to help you facilitate email conversations among your constituents, partners, or staff. Compared the dozens or hundreds of broadcast email tools, the options are surprisingly limited - but we round up the choices recommended by our contributor

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Say ...Goodbye Bush! - Network Salute to "W." (GoodbyeBush) tag!

Tue, 23 Dec 2008 11:40:44 PST

Mother Jones is collecting 30-second YouTube “Goodbye, Bush” videos over the holidays. holidays. As you make your riff please use the TAG "goodbyeBush" If you had 30 seconds of goodbye face time with George Bush, what would you say? Here’s what to do: First,

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NTEN Webinar: Social Media Building Blocks

Tue, 23 Dec 2008 10:58:45 PST

NTEN & TechSoup have teamed up to deliver a series of webinars on storytelling and social media - and I’m the presenter for the first one! First, what’s a web-inar? Wikipedia says: A webinar is a neologism to describe a specific

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Making a case for upgrading to WordPress 2.7

Tue, 23 Dec 2008 10:49:00 PST

One of the lesser joys of using open source & free software has been the need to do important security and core feature upgrades manually and sometimes frequently. Although I have been a long time fan of WordPress as a super simple CMS for small sites that need dead easy administration for non-tech types, I have not loved the continual updates it requires. I will admit that this has been known to make me crabby in the past

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The NonProfit Times - The Leading Business Publication For Nonprofit Management

Tue, 23 Dec 2008 09:31:00 PST

The NonProfit Times - The Leading Business Publication For Nonprofit Management: "Twittering To Fame And FortuneMicroblogging can help raise cash and awarenessLast month, I wrote about microblogging (http://www.nptimes.com/technobuzz/TB20081125_1.html), html), a way for nonprofits to communicate with supporters and the public quickly and easily via short messages containing text, links or other conten

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Happy Holidays--Time to "Let the Belly Go Jelly!"

Tue, 23 Dec 2008 08:44:14 PST

Tis the season . . . to gain weight! And in that vein, let me share with you the latest holiday tune, "Let the Belly go Jelly," from a colleague who apparently has a lot of time on his hands. (That's That's Tim on the left, in the hat). Happy Holidays!

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Twitter portals for non-profits, higher ed, SMB's

Tue, 23 Dec 2008 07:50:00 PST

Heather at Diosa Communications has started Twitter profiles to act as portals for Nonprofit Organizations, Higher Education, and Small Businesses: twitter.com/nonprofitorgs twitter.com/higheredu twitter.com/smbusinesses Check 'em out and follow, if you are one of these. If you're looking to see who's on Twitter in these categories, checking out the lists of followers is a good place as any to start.

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Really good socmed employee guidelines

Tue, 23 Dec 2008 06:35:00 PST

Check this out - it's Intel's social media policy/guidelines for employees. I would reprint some of it, but the whole thing is toally awesome. If you need to develop some for your own organization, I'd use this as a model - in fact, if anyone has specific ideas about modifying this to be more association-specific, please feel free to leave me some comments, and together we can create a really good association model for us to use. ...Tags: Tags: policy social medi

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You an open source CMS provider to non-profits?

Tue, 23 Dec 2008 05:18:00 PST

Then perhaps you should check out Idealware's directory . They are building a comprehensive report comparing the options for non-profits. You can buy a listing like in any directory, but if you really deliver the goods, let them check you out and review your CMS in their report. ...Tags: Tags: technology CM

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Micro Fundraising on Twitter: Red Kettle Campaign, Wellwishes cracks $2,000 mark

Mon, 22 Dec 2008 21:32:37 PST

I've seen first hand how you can leverage your Twitter network to raise money for a good cause really fast . There are at least three micro fundraising campaigns that have launched in the last week. It's time update the history of fundraising on Twitter post I wrote that last month after the Tweetsgiving campaign raised $10,000 in 48 hours.

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More Open Source from Mobile Commons

Mon, 22 Dec 2008 21:12:57 PST

We’ve had so much positive feedback on the release of our open source legislative lookup application that I’d like to announce a few more projects that we’ve open sourced this week: Mobile Giving Client for Ruby: Mobile Commons software enables non-profits to collect charitable donations over SMS. We partner with an organization called the Mobile Giving Foundation

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More Open Source from Mobile Commons

Mon, 22 Dec 2008 21:12:57 PST

Tracy Justesen visits Benetech

Mon, 22 Dec 2008 17:53:00 PST

Just before the holidays, we had a great visit from Tracy R. Justesen, Assistant Secretary for Special Education and Rehabilitative Services . Tracy's brief at the U.S. Department of Education includes overseeing OSEP, the people who are funding our Bookshare for Education project to serve every student with a print disability in the United States. Tracy's visit really gave our team a

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Innovative Giving: Leverage Your Twitter Network | An Itinerant Mind | Fast Company

Mon, 22 Dec 2008 17:13:00 PST

Innovative Giving: Leverage Your Twitter Network | An Itinerant Mind | Fast Company: "Innovative Giving: Leverage Your Twitter Network| posted by Saabira ChaudhuriWhat she's done: A social media consultant, Beth Kanter teaches non-profits and individuals how to use social media tools like Twitter, blogs and widgets to raise funds and awareness. Although Kanter has spearheaded several unusua

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There Ain't No Such Thing As a Free Software Package

Mon, 22 Dec 2008 15:43:00 PST

If I were to group all the questions I get into categories, one category would be far and away the most numerous. I'll call it the "options for people who can't afford software" category. As in, "Well, those databases for $300 or $20/month sound great, but we can't afford to pay anything - what can we get that's free?"

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Reddit's FeedaNeed.org Pairs Volunteers with Nonprofits

Mon, 22 Dec 2008 14:11:00 PST

The organizations that receive the most votes from the community before December 23, 2008 at 7 PM ET will be the winners of volunteer time. Reddit.com , a social news site, is pairing volunteers with nonprofits between now and February 14, 2009 as part of its Feed a Need project . Nonprofits can submit their organization's name to be considered for volunteer time through the Feed a Need site.

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The Information Overload Calculator

Mon, 22 Dec 2008 10:12:37 PST

Photo by Breakmould Steve Rubel has a post pointing to an " Information Overload Calculator " from the research firm Basex that is estimating that information overload costs the U.S. economy $900 billion billion per year in "lowered employee productivity and reduced innovation."

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You Think the Red Button is Better, But How Do You Know?

Mon, 22 Dec 2008 08:42:04 PST

Answer: Multivariate Testing (or MVT) So what is it? According to Wikipedia : …multivariate multivariate testing is a process by which more than one component of a website may be tested in a live environment. It can be thought of in simple terms as numerous split tests or A/B tests performed on one page at the same time.

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On too many choices

Mon, 22 Dec 2008 05:53:00 PST

Check out Lee Aase's really great response to my post about tearing my hair out . It's so true that too many choices can lead to people not making a choice at all. I hope any of you who are just thinking about testing the social media waters are not intimidated by too many choices. This is why Lindy and I ALWAYS say to start by listening,

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Reddit to Rally Volunteers for Needy Nonprofits

Sun, 21 Dec 2008 20:24:00 PST

Last year, social bookmarking site Reddit partnered up to raise over $3,000 for the Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF.org), a non-profit selected by the website’s users to benefit from the fund-raising drive. This year, they’re trying something different — raising volunteers instead of cash. It's partly an acknowledgement that many people have few funds to spare, and partly a nod to the

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Do Brands belong on Twitter?

Sun, 21 Dec 2008 07:16:00 PST

Here's the con ; here's the pro in that debate. More here . Check out some of the links too. Food for thought. For associations thinking about these issues, it's good to read both sides. But associations are about people and issues more than they are about

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Trend Blend 2009: A Map of Time and Tide

Sat, 20 Dec 2008 15:39:13 PST

You may remember the very popular Trend Blend 2007 and Trend Blend 2008 which used transportation themes. Click to see a larger image This is a cool visualizations of trends for 2009 in different sectors. It's from Trends in Living Networks blogger Ross Dawson. Created by Future Exploration Network’s Chief Futurist Richard Watson, also of NowandNext.com , the

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Mobile Commons Legislative Lookup Project

Sat, 20 Dec 2008 09:07:18 PST

Today I’m pleased to announce the first phase of a really exciting upcoming Mobile Commons project. Mobile Commons’ platform is a complete tool for nonprofits mobile programs—people can raise money, generate huge responses, and participate in effective advocacy. One of the best ways to generate telephone calls for fundraising or advocacy is mConnect , our product that lets you send out a broadcast text message with an embedded phone number.

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Mobile Commons Legislative Lookup Project

Sat, 20 Dec 2008 09:07:18 PST

Social Media Predictions for 2009

Sat, 20 Dec 2008 06:55:00 PST

I'll have to think about my own, but here are some from some social media bigwigs . My favorite? "Companies that focus on earning love will thrive during hard times, and kick ass when good times return." - Andy Sernovitz Keep an eye out for our Sernovitz interview in the January issue of Associations Now , out soon (presumably). : ) ...Tags: Tags: social medi

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Project for Awesome

Fri, 19 Dec 2008 13:53:46 PST

I am a child of a certain time and place, a time and place where "dude" and "awesome" were considered perfectly acceptable words. I've I've weaned myself of "dude" -- except in reference to The Dude , of course -- but I can't kick my "awesome" habit. Fortunately, Fortunately, neither can the vlogbrothers .

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Keep the World Talking - Support Global Voices

Fri, 19 Dec 2008 13:15:56 PST

Global Voices is the leading participatory media room for voices from developing countries around the globe. They've just launched their online fundraising campaign to keep the world talking . I'm a donor and let me tell you why. I've the honor of being involved with the Global Voices

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Putting XO Laptops Under Christmas Trees—and into Classrooms—via Amazon | Xconomy

Fri, 19 Dec 2008 12:31:00 PST

Putting XO Laptops Under Christmas Trees—and into Classrooms—via Amazon | Xconomy: "Under the Give One, Get One (G1G1) program, consumers can buy two laptops for $399. One will be shipped to a school of OLPC’s choice, and the other to any recipient of the buyer’s choice. Part of the purchase price is tax-deductible—though OLPC says buyers should consult their accountants to figure out how much." ...Tags:

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Home for the Holidays: NTEN Office Closed, Dec. 22 - 26

Fri, 19 Dec 2008 12:28:47 PST

Flickr Photo: Trey Ratcliff All All three of our bustling offices will be closed the week of December 22nd. For Karl and Annaliese, I assume that means closing a door and ignoring their computers -- or at least their in-boxes. Here Here in Portland, we've already had our snow, so we're looking forward to the cooking, and the overeating, and the enjoying of life with friends and family.

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Favorite Do-Good Books of 2008

Fri, 19 Dec 2008 12:02:00 PST

PhilanTopic included the book on its list of Best Philanthropy-Related Books of 2008 . 3. This was probably the book that moved me the most in 2008. What are some your favorite do-good books from 2008 ? All book cover images are from Powell's Books . books 2008 activist nonprofi Below is my 4th annual list of Favorite Do-Good Books (in alphabetical order). You can also check out my lists from past years: Favorite Do-Good Books of 2007 Favorite Do-Good Books of 2006 Favorite Do-Good Books of 2005 1.

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Can open source software save organizations money?

Fri, 19 Dec 2008 12:01:22 PST

Next year, given what is likely to be a grim funding year, nonprofit organizations are going to be hunting for ways to save money on technology. There are, of course, arguments that IT budgets should be, at least, level funded during slim times, but the reality is that organizations are going to reduce budgets across the board. One question that will inevitably be asked: can free and open source software save organizations money?

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Can open source source software save you money?

Fri, 19 Dec 2008 09:37:00 PST

What's a Virtual Visitor Worth?

Fri, 19 Dec 2008 08:07:00 PST

$5.33. $40.21. 40.21. $12.74. 12.74. Every museum has a number for its operating cost per visitor. It's very simple to calculate: you take the total operating expenses for your public-facing efforts and divide by the number of people who walk through the door. Most museums don't strategically set this number--too many operating costs are fixed by building needs--but they can use it to assess how expensive

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When Memories Exceed Dreams

Fri, 19 Dec 2008 07:57:18 PST

Michael Hammer said: When memories exceed dreams, the end is near. The hallmark of a truly successful organization is the willingness to abandon what made it successful and start fresh. I think this is true for individuals, too. Have your memories exceeded your dreams? What do you need to abandon?

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The Giving Map (washingtonpost.com)

Fri, 19 Dec 2008 07:53:00 PST

The Giving Map (washingtonpost.com): "The Giving MapIn this holiday season of particular economic hardship, charitable giving is critical to many in our region. The Giving Map is designed to make it fast and easy to connect you with a nonprofit organization that helps others and fits your areas of interest, whether that's hunger and homelessness or arts and education. The D.C.

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Google Connect vs. Facebook Connect : The Results Show

Fri, 19 Dec 2008 07:48:28 PST

This is a follow up and the second part of yesterday’s post on this topic. Here are some Beta Test Results we did with Facebook Connect. These are results from real people who tried it out: “When I click that (Facebook) button, most of the box is hidden behind the video adjacent to the button on the page so I can’t read the prompts?” 8221;

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Blackbaud NetCommunity v5.6 Release News

Fri, 19 Dec 2008 07:30:00 PST

will be compatible with both Microsoft SQL Server 2008 and Microsoft SQL Server 2005. Please note that the third quarter 2009 release of BBNC will require Microsoft SQL Server 2008 , and Microsoft SQL Server 2005 will no longer be supported. The end of the year is a very busy time for most nonprofits, and the Blackbaud NetCommunity development team has been very busy on one last product release for the year. BBNC v5.6

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Techies volunteering to save the world - Network World

Fri, 19 Dec 2008 07:25:00 PST

Techies volunteering to save the world - Network World: "Whitney is just one of a growing number of seasoned IT professionals trading in annual bonuses and executive perks to volunteer their time and expertise in developing countries. In fact, phone calls and e-mails from techies interested in registering with Geekcorps have increased 30% over the past year, says Karen Muir. 'We

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Be a Fan - the Special Olympics Holiday Campaign

Fri, 19 Dec 2008 06:34:25 PST

Beaconfire has been honored to work with Special Olympics on their online holiday fundraising campaign this fall. Basing our message on their new Be a Fan campaign and our design on elements of their soon-to-launch new Web site, our online campaigns and marketing team, led by executive sponsor Ali Cherry, worked to craft a compelling message supported by arresting visuals to encourage people to support the Special Olympics this holiday season. Most BFWire readers are probably

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Stats ahoy!

Fri, 19 Dec 2008 06:12:00 PST

Ok so I am on a roll with the stats thing. Lindy pointed me to this awesome tool - quantcast.com . Quantcast tracks demographic information on the web. So here's Facebook . 52 million US people.

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Twitter: Time Waster or Valuable Tool?

Fri, 19 Dec 2008 00:00:00 PST

How Twitter can help nonprofits spread their message and inform their supporters. From what I’m finding there are a lot of nonprofits that know about Twitter , but have no idea what to do with it. Which means you might be missing what the tool can do for you! Twitter is an incredible tool that let’s you do two major

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One click of your time is all we ask for! Vote for Change the Web on Feedaneed.org

Thu, 18 Dec 2008 16:24:30 PST

[If you know the details, we won't keep you long - simply vote for Change the Web by going here . If you'd like more info before voting - by all means, read on!] Here’s Here’s the thing: Change the Web is * this * close to clinching the support of an army of programmers, courtesy of reddit.com’s Feed a Need project . What’s

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One click of your time is all we ask for! Vote for Change the Web on Feedaneed.org

Thu, 18 Dec 2008 16:24:30 PST

Please Vote for My Idea on Change.org

Thu, 18 Dec 2008 16:20:00 PST

Hey Have Fun * Do Gooders! There are only 2 weeks left in the first round of the Ideas for Change in America competition, and my idea, Make Things That Are "Public" Cool, is in 14th place in the Civic Engagement category. The top 3 rated ideas for each category will make it to the second round, which will be held in early January. Change.org

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A Bold Experiment in Micro Donations: $2 from 12, 500 Twitter Users To Fund Clean Water

Thu, 18 Dec 2008 14:05:45 PST

Laura Fitton (aka @pistachio ) or otherwise known as the maven of Twitter asks : 1. What can $2 do? 2. 2. How can I thank and honor clients and friends of Pistachio Consulting this year? 3. 3.

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Connection Café: Social Media For Social Good: Follow Up

Thu, 18 Dec 2008 13:36:00 PST

Connection Café: Social Media For Social Good: Follow Up: "I hope you all had a chance to join us yesterday for our webinar called Social Media for Social Good. Emily Riley from Forrester Research and Beth Kanter from Beth’s Blog both gave great presentations that really complimented each other. If you missed it, you can register to receive the recording at http://www.convio.com/socialgood.I

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ARIA - More Than Just a Pretty Tune

Thu, 18 Dec 2008 13:34:03 PST

A few years ago, it seemed most of the new technology buzzwords were music to the web accessibility guru’s ears. Words like standards and XHTML compliance helped developers compose more accessible Web sites. But what about this new generation: Web 2.0, AJAX,

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Social Media For Social Good: Follow Up

Thu, 18 Dec 2008 12:25:42 PST

I hope you all had a chance to join us yesterday for our webinar called Social Media for Social Good. Emily Riley from Forrester Research and Beth Kanter from Beth’s Blog both gave great presentations that really complimented each other. If you missed it, you can register to receive the recording at http://www.convio.com/socialgood .

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Philanthropy and Nonprofit Top 25 List - December 2008

Thu, 18 Dec 2008 12:14:20 PST

I compiled this list using the same methodology I used for my October 2007 list . Unfortunately, I still can’t compile a list of nonprofits outside the US. Quantcast and compete.com don’t do a good job of checking out international sites so I’m still limited by their inability to go outside US borders. Check out the list after the jump…

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Cutting through the noise on Capitol Hill

Thu, 18 Dec 2008 12:11:32 PST

The report was released on December 8, 2008 (with an interim report published earlier this year in July). The Congressional Management Foundation has put out a report on how to improve the state of affairs for communicating electronically with Congress. I think that everyone who is doing grassroots and online advocacy campaigns should read the full report, so download it today .

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Happy Holidays from See3

Thu, 18 Dec 2008 12:01:36 PST

In 2008 we’ve been privileged to work on many issues ranging from human rights to health, from women’s issues to technology, from poverty to the environment, from education to the arts. With the end of the year approaching, we created a special video that captures one of the most popular trends in online video we saw in 2008 . “ At the end of the year, we have a lot to celebrate. 8220; The Girl Effect ” did it best, and you must see it in order to truly enjoy our end-of-the-year homage .

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NTEN Water Cooler Chat 12/18

Thu, 18 Dec 2008 10:28:00 PST

Your friendly neighborhood Socialfish will be "IN" the NTEN Office Hours Communications Chat Room every Thursday (that's today!!) at 3 pm EST. Got burning questions about social media strategy? Or just want to hang out and shoot the breeze and get a break from work?

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A new AFP Partnership

Thu, 18 Dec 2008 09:36:00 PST

AFP has launched a profile on “ammado” (www.ammado.com). ammado is an online community connecting nonprofits, socially responsible companies, and engaged individuals who want to effect change at a global and local level. This This blog first made mention of ammado last year when the site was used to network attendees of the International Fundraising Conference in Amsterdam (October 2007).

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Inbox N'at

Thu, 18 Dec 2008 08:38:39 PST

Flickr Photo: Dunechaser I'm shovelling my way out of both snow and email this week. The The snow part has been humorous ( because Portlanders don't do snow ). The email in-box project has also been surprisingly fun: I found quite a few tidbits -- or this n'at , as Pittsurghers would say -- worth sharing. Here Here are

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Forget a Rerun. Watch Clay Shirky tonight.

Thu, 18 Dec 2008 08:06:44 PST

Clay is a great thinker in this space and the impact of the culture revolution on organizing. Clay lays out a nice summary of the shifts and what they may mean to group expression and advocacy. It is through immersion in this type of understanding that drives us to start to think of an Advocacy2.0.

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Google Connect vs Facebook Connect : Smackdown Challenge I

Thu, 18 Dec 2008 07:53:04 PST

Okay not so much WWE as much as W3C…. Recently myself and my good friend Rob Sullivan decided to see what the hype was all about between Google Friend Conncet and Facebook Connect . Which one actually does something for your non-profit? Which one is easy to implement?

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The Raiser's Edge and eTapestry win Campbell Awards

Thu, 18 Dec 2008 07:24:00 PST

I spend a lot of time blogging about the interwebs and online related topics. But I wanted to take time to recognize some of our other Blackbaud solutions. Both The Raiser's Edge and eTapestry were winners of Campbell Awards for the Top Donor Management and Member Management Solutions . The Campbell Awards are based on a nationwide survey of over 3,800

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Filling the Communication Gaps

Thu, 18 Dec 2008 07:10:00 PST

We've come a long way since the Pony Express . It's hard to imagine living in a time when your options for communication were limited to face-to-face, sllooowww mail, and, perhaps, carrier pigeon. Today, we have the opposite problem: there are so many mediums to choose from that a key communication skill is to gleam the method that the person you want to reach prefers.

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Philanthropy Front and Center-Atlanta: Do Good™

Thu, 18 Dec 2008 06:42:00 PST

Philanthropy Front and Center-Atlanta: Do Good™: "Do Good™The Atlanta Journal-Constitution has launched the Do Good™ Channel on its web site. It is powered by good2gether™, a new service that connects people to causes through a broad network of high-traffic websites. good2gether™ enables nonprofits to enter volunteering opportunities, events and in-kind donation needs (at no charge) once – the

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I'm Sorry, But This is Taking Twitter TOO Far!

Thu, 18 Dec 2008 06:32:14 PST

An NYU grad student has invented a device that his pregnant wife can wear to transmit each kick of their unborn child. For a class project, the second year grad student invented what he dubbed the Kickbee. T he wearable device made of a stretchable band with embedded electronics and sensors isn't exactly a model of comfort. Small Piezo sensors attached directly to

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This makes me want to tear my hair out

Thu, 18 Dec 2008 06:04:00 PST

No offense to Lee Aase, who is awesome and whose Social Media University is exactly the kind of place to discuss this type of thing - I guess. Reviewing 7 ways to shorten urls? Really? If you are not in his class, and you are trying to figure out what is important in

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The Santa Barbara Independent Tech Mogul Brings Laptops to Kellogg Kids

Thu, 18 Dec 2008 05:42:00 PST

The Santa Barbara Independent Tech Mogul Brings Laptops to Kellogg Kids: "D.J. Perry’s third-grade class at Kellogg Elementary School in Goleta buzzed with excitement on Friday, December 5, as students clicked away on their new XO-brand laptops. The textbook-sized computers were provided to the school by UCSB’s Technology Management Program and its new partnership with One Laptop Per Child (OLPC) ...Tags:

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New article: Online Fundraising for Year End Procrastinators

Thu, 18 Dec 2008 05:14:00 PST

Ack! Forgot to link to this one! In the Nonprofit Times, I talk through a some steps and tools for Online Fundraising for Year-End Procrastinators . At this point, you've probably procrastinated too long for even this process (which is likely to take about two weeks to get up and running), but maybe you can get some good tips for next yea

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Ho Ho Ho Hat - Not So Happy Holiday

Wed, 17 Dec 2008 20:59:49 PST

Dave Wallace and Mike Seyfang invited to participate on their 2008 was the year of ... podcast with Laurel Papworth , Mark Pesce , and Kent Newsome Had a great conversation and picked up some interesting tidbits There's an easter egg on Flickr. Type ho ho ho hat into a note on your photo and it will add a Santa Hat.

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What is Your Favorite Social Action of 2008?

Wed, 17 Dec 2008 18:38:00 PST

The short, dark, last days of the year are a great time to reflect on your 2008 Activist Resolutions , and your favorite "social actions" of 2008. What was your favorite social action of 2008 ? What did you do this year that you feel made a real impact? My favorite social action was being a sponsor for Jacinta Onoro, a Nigerian woman participating in Women for Women International .

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QIK Celebrates One Year Anniversary With Charity Drive for to support Cambodian Orphans!

Wed, 17 Dec 2008 18:25:24 PST

Earlier this year, I got an N95 smartphone to stream videos while I doing web 2.0 and nonprofit workshops in different places. I became a huge fan of QIK and I was floored with @broy , one of the founders took the time to answer some of my questions on twitter and my blog .

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Microsoft Issues Critical IE Patch

Wed, 17 Dec 2008 17:25:36 PST

Microsoft issued a critical patch for Internet Explorer today, described as protection against a “remote code execution” vulnerability. If your computer is set up for automatic updates, you should get the patch, well, automatically. You should also be able to run Windows Update (under Tools in IE).

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Surprises, Insights and Revelations about Social Media and Nonprofits from today’s webinar

Wed, 17 Dec 2008 15:18:57 PST

I’ll be the first to admit that I’m a social media addict and that I tend to think those around me – colleagues, friends and event clients- have a basis of understanding around the fundamentals of social media and basic online trends. However, today’s webinar on Social Media for Social Good provided some great insight and answers to the questions and concerns the nonprofit technology industry as a whole still have about social and new media, which gave me a better idea on the areas that still need work or additional education to help the sector move forward in 2009.

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Signs of the times

Wed, 17 Dec 2008 15:16:19 PST

In this morning’s Washington Post an article appeared about why two Detroit newspapers are cutting back home delivery to three days per week. Fighting to stay in business, Detroit’s two daily newspapers will cut home delivery to three days a week, print smaller editions on other days and encourage people to get information online. The Detroit market is the largest in the country to undergo that transformation.

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Happy Holidays (and Dancing) from First Round Capital!

Wed, 17 Dec 2008 11:25:20 PST

Some fun and holiday cheer as a respite from the morning news...I I (and and the entire First Round Capital team) want to express our intense gratitude to everyone whom we have been lucky to collaborate with in these challenging times, with special thanks to our 70 portfolio companies. There’s much work ahead for us in 2009, but also much passion and joy.

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Facebook - Pages Vs Groups

Wed, 17 Dec 2008 06:17:00 PST

I have been meaning to write about this for a while, but oh look! Advergirl beat me to it, quite nicely in fact. Read her post - it has a really good rundown of the differences. My ten-second take? Remember that Facebook is primarily

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A cool new non-profit. Change the world with Bikes.

Wed, 17 Dec 2008 05:52:18 PST

Check out this non-profit my friend Joe Doyle is helping to promote. It’s It’s the DOUBLEbikeMATCH campaign . An angel donor will double all funds funds that World Bicycle Relief can collected in 48 hours. They

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The Company We Keep--and the Environment We Make

Wed, 17 Dec 2008 01:16:27 PST

As American's we're taught (sometimes implicitly) that we rise or fall on our own merits, that through our individual goals and activities we can achieve anything we want. I've always had a problem with this philosophy. I've seen too many times how the greatest personal effort can die when you lack access to the resources and advantages enjoyed by some of your fellow citizens.

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Online Strategies for Open-Government / Ideas from the Obama Team

Tue, 16 Dec 2008 20:19:05 PST

The incoming Obama administration is pledging to use some innovative internet strategies to expand citizen access to government information and processes. (This This gets us at Forum One pretty jazzed - we've been evangelizing a long while about using online services to expand public access to information, enable new forms of collaboration, and build online communities.) The The transition team says the new administration will

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www.when2meet.com

Tue, 16 Dec 2008 19:40:23 PST

I am sure other folks have been using this for a long time. Here is a nice little tool to help a big group nail down times to talk. www.when2meet.com . when2meet.co

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Connect Your Nonprofit's Offline and Online Activities

Tue, 16 Dec 2008 18:41:00 PST

Your nonprofit’s website gets tens of thousands of hits every month. Thousands support your Cause on Facebook, and you’ve mapped out a killer Twitter strategy to attract a hundred new followers weekly. So what? “Those Those are impressive numbers on the surface,” says Jayne Craven of Coyote Communications, but it’s vital to evaluate

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Creating a Career with Impact: Share Your Story with Echoing Green

Tue, 16 Dec 2008 18:15:00 PST

Echoing Green is looking for stories about creating a career with impact for their second book. Their first book, Be Bold: Create a Career with Impact , profiled the work of Echoing Green Fellows. Now they want to hear your story, or the story of someone you know: " The focus of the book, and therefore the focus of the stories, is a suggestion that the practice of listening to your heart and harnessing those messages to the messages of your head (where patterns are discerned, options are evaluated,

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Hard times ahead

Tue, 16 Dec 2008 17:53:43 PST

Since the US economy fell off a cliff a couple of months ago prognostications about what’s going to happen are all over the place. Some are relatively optimistic and see an upswing in late ‘09 while others are pretty, pessimistic seeing a deep dive that’ll take years to recover from. What’s going to happen in the nonprofit sector is as much up in the air as everything else because a lot of funding is tied to investments that have cratered

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Nonprofit Communications » Blog Archive » Going from a Print Newsletter to Email: What to Leave Behind

Tue, 16 Dec 2008 16:19:00 PST

From Kivi Leroux Miller's BlogNonprofit Communications » Blog Archive » Going from a Print Newsletter to Email: What to Leave Behind: "Going from a Print Newsletter to Email: What to Leave BehindPosted by Kivi Leroux Miller on Dec 16, 2008 in E-Newsletters, Nonprofit Communications, Print Newsletters |SubscribeGoing from a Print Newsletter to an Email Newsletter - Webinar This Thursday - Get th

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Pew Internet and American Life Project: Future of the Internet

Tue, 16 Dec 2008 16:01:40 PST

The Pew Internet and American Life Project has issued its annual forecast of “ The Future of the Internet .” It offers predictions for the Internet in 2020. Here's the high points: The mobile device will be the primary connection tool to the Internet for most people in the world in 2020.

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Innovative Giving: The Nature Conservancy and (Lil) Green Patch | An Itinerant Mind | Fast Company

Tue, 16 Dec 2008 15:33:00 PST

Innovative Giving: The Nature Conservancy and (Lil) Green Patch | An Itinerant Mind | Fast Company: "Innovative Giving: The Nature Conservancy and (Lil) Green Patch| posted by Saabira Chaudhuri(Ed. Note: This is the first of six stories about innovative ways to give back during this holiday season. Check back tomorrow and the rest of the week for the next installment

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Encouraging Volunteerism: An Interview with Ruthanne Feinberg

Tue, 16 Dec 2008 15:21:00 PST

Cross-posted from The Extraordinaries , on-demand volunteering by mobile phone. Ruthanne Feinberg is a busy woman. In addition to being Managing Director, Head of Internal Recruiting and Co-Head of Human Resources Practice for Glocap Search , she also volunteers. She is on the National Advisory Council of DonorsChoose , teaches interview and resume skills to low income individuals with

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Do you hear what I hear?

Tue, 16 Dec 2008 14:37:28 PST

As you have probably realized from some of my posts, being a good dad and husband is my top priority in life. Last night at bed time my 8-year old son pulled some of the books he no longer reads and some of the toys he no longer uses together to give to the Church so other kids who are less fortunate can get more this holiday season. Even if there is a part of him that is “just making more room” for what he hopes to get, the fact that he is thinking about others is a nice win

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New article: Selecting Software on a Shoestring

Tue, 16 Dec 2008 13:26:00 PST

Here's a new article that I'm really proud of: Selecting Software on a Shoestring . I know it's not the sexiest topic, but this is the type of thing that we often overlook as technology consultants and service providers - sometimes you don't need that huge, all consuming process to pick a software package. In fact, sometimes that huge, all-consuming process is really silly, and all your really need just a simple set of question that wor

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Non Profit Innovations : An Interview with Heidi from Planet Cancer

Tue, 16 Dec 2008 11:32:40 PST

Another in our series of interviews with people making a difference in the non-profit world. Turn the audio up on this one a little. Heidi is unusually quiet in this interview ; -) ...Tags: Tags: Info Tech Cancer Innovation young adult Change Makers non profits planet cance

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Geeks + Bacon + Volunteering = Awesome

Tue, 16 Dec 2008 10:55:28 PST

You may have read about my intense love of all things bacon . I talk about it some(all the)times. Imagine my great joy upon learning that Reddit is hosting a fantastic resource to connect volunteers of all stripes with organizations that need them this holiday season -- and those volunteers could win some BACON! The The Feed a Need project is pretty simple.

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Your Social Actions on my.socialactions.com

Tue, 16 Dec 2008 10:49:07 PST

Earlier this month, Social Actions blog member and Ning CEO Gina Bianchini made an offer to Social Actions that we couldn't refuse. She presented Social Actions with pro-bono access to her design team to help us enhance the Social Actions blog. Since then, we've been cooking up some exciting improvements.

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Your Social Actions on my.socialactions.com

Tue, 16 Dec 2008 10:49:07 PST

Newsflash: Cobblers’ Children FINALLY Get New Shoes!

Tue, 16 Dec 2008 10:35:47 PST

Beaconfire is proud and excited to announce the launch of our refreshed Web site. It’s been in the works for several months, and it’s finally ready for public consumption. Our last major redesign occurred about three years ago, and the site was looking a little dusty. Some of the new site features include:

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Newsflash: Cobblers’ Children FINALLY Get New Shoes!

Tue, 16 Dec 2008 10:35:47 PST

Whoo hoo! Our Buzz Bin interview is out!

Tue, 16 Dec 2008 08:49:00 PST

So psyched . Please read and comment! Thanks! ...Tags: Tags: community Blo

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How To Think Like A Nonprofit Social Marketing Genius: What's Your Brilliant Thought?

Tue, 16 Dec 2008 07:56:26 PST

How To Think Like A Nonprofit Social Media Genius View SlideShare presentation or Upload your own. (tags: tags: nonprofit socialmedia ) Here are my slides from the Convio " Social Media for Social Good " for tomorrow. I will be co-presenting with Emily Riley , a senior analyst from Jupiter Research.

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New American Cancer Society Podcast

Tue, 16 Dec 2008 07:45:02 PST

In the American Cancer Society Powerful Choices podcast series, we’ll give you the information you need to make good choices to improve your health and reduce your cancer risk, including recent news, tips, tools, and more. In this podcast, you’ll get a hold of some ideas on how to get exercise even though it’s a busy and stressful time of year, as well as hear more about why cancer screenings are so important in a cancer survivor’s own words. ...Tags:

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Google Blasts WSJ, Still 'Committed' to Net Neutrality | Epicenter from Wired.com

Tue, 16 Dec 2008 06:01:00 PST

Google Blasts WSJ, Still 'Committed' to Net Neutrality | Epicenter from Wired.com: "Google is taking some heat this morning from a Wall Street Journal piece that argues the company is abandoning its support of network neutrality in an attempt to make sites like YouTube faster than the competition.The WSJ claims Google has approached major internet service providers 'with a proposal to create

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More on Community Management

Tue, 16 Dec 2008 05:56:00 PST

Check out this post by my blogger buddy Dennis McDonald on whether everyone in an organization should have customer service responsibilities. He picked up on my earlier comment about community management , where I said that community management should be part of everyone's responsibility who deals directly with customers or members. I am pasting here the comment on Dennis' post: "I think there is a third challenge here - beyond organizational structures

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My Birthday Cause: Free Geek!

Tue, 16 Dec 2008 02:01:53 PST

I have a birthday coming up and over the weekend I received an email from Causes, the social change application in Facebook. Here’s what it said: Happy (Almost) Birthday! Thanks to Facebook, in two weeks all of your friends will see that it’s your birthday.

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Where's your data, dude?

Mon, 15 Dec 2008 20:38:00 PST

A recent conversation on a nonprofit technology mailing list got me thinking about what people know about where they want to put their data, and what the risks are of having data in one place or another. Particularly, what are the pros and cons and risks and benefits of software as a service , and cloud computing when it comes to the control and security of your data. You can think about this

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The Power of Open

Mon, 15 Dec 2008 20:29:09 PST

Songbird screen I’ve known about Songbird for a long time. It’s a cross-platform music player based upon the Mozilla framework. I thought it was a brilliant idea years ago, but it was a buggy mess the last time I tried it (about a year ago.)

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Coping with a Troubled Economy

Mon, 15 Dec 2008 19:59:02 PST

Here are two new resources for surviving in tough times: The Chronicle of Philanthropy has compiled a collection of recent stories , discussions, and statistics about how charities deal with turbulent economic times. Topics include getting creative in tough times, the job market for fundraisers, and experimenting with new ways to ensure that donations flow over the holidays.

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Happy Birthday Amy Sample Ward! Facebook Causes Lets Donors Opt In

Mon, 15 Dec 2008 17:56:00 PST

Even before I turned the big one and the year after and many years before, birthday celebrations have been about cake and getting others to donate to my favorite cause . I was delighted to see Amy Sample Wards's Facebook Cause for several reasons. She is supporting Free Geek (I had already sent in a contribution, but decided to give again in honor of Amy's birthday!). What was also a delightful surprise

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Télécoms Sans Frontières’ Works in the Congo

Mon, 15 Dec 2008 16:57:38 PST

It’s always nice to see techies doing front-line work. From the UN Foundation: Télécoms Sans Frontières’ (TSF) began humanitarian calling operations in Matanda, a transit camp situated 30 kms from the Congolese border where an estimated 10,000 people are sheltered. The team also installed a satellite based Internet connection for aid agencies in Kihihi, a small town turned into a humanitarian base camp 30 minutes from Matanda.

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Top 10 Threats to Higher Ed Computer Systems

Mon, 15 Dec 2008 16:35:43 PST

In his article in the Chronicle of Philanthropy titled “ Top 10 Threats to Computer Systems Include Professors and Students ,” Jeffrey Young says Today a growing number of network bad guys are professional criminals, and they’re looking to steal real money. They don’t just want to post an embarrassing note on your college’s home page.

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Social Actions Round-Up #20: Week of December 8-14

Mon, 15 Dec 2008 14:18:23 PST

News Roundup for Week of Dec 8-14, 2008 Each week, Social Actions community members post links and news about online social activism - This round-up is a summary of the links that surfaced in the last 7 days. You can share links and news for future Social Actions rounds-ups in the Peer-to-Peer Social Change FriendFeed Room . Check out past roundups here .

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Social Actions Round-Up #20: Week of December 8-14

Mon, 15 Dec 2008 14:18:23 PST

Social Media Gurus Offer Their Predictions for 2009: A Few That Might Resonate With Nonprofits

Mon, 15 Dec 2008 13:06:58 PST

Remix of Mstephen's Flickr Photo It's It's that time of year again. Lucy Bernholz has been sharing her predictions for philanthropy and buzzwords for 2009. Peter Kim asked a group of social media experts in business for their predictions about social media for 2009. The following gurus have gazed

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Leaderboard Update: Wordpress Perfect for Small Nonprofits

Mon, 15 Dec 2008 12:48:16 PST

I’ve been using Wordpress now since the inception of this blog and used it for several other blogs as well. I haven’t been recommending Wordpress mainly because it’s needed a lot of care and loving from an administrator. No longer.

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Using Your iPhone for Good (Instead of Evil)

Mon, 15 Dec 2008 12:13:29 PST

Pa rt Two of a Two-Part Series In our last episode , we explored why the iPhone is the Devil, and the downfall of Western Civilization as we know it. Or is it? Fortunately, in addition to the aforementioned tools of evil, there is a tremendous range of applications that can be used to better yourself or the world around you.

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Have Fun * Do Good Press Mention RoundUp

Mon, 15 Dec 2008 12:08:00 PST

December 2008 . “Maverick 101” by E.B. October 2008 . “The Carbon Report” by Mike Rosen-Molina. May 14, 2008 . “Britt Bravo's Expert Tips,” by Celeste Fraser Delgado for the Worthy Causes section of MOLI. March 5, 2008 . “Britt Bravo - Having Fun & Doing Good,” by Anna Gordon on Women Who Work Out Loud. I'm putting an application together today for The Women's Media Center's Progressive Women's Voices program (fingers crossed). Part of the application process is to submit links to places you've been quoted, interviewed, or mentioned in the media.

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Collaborative Paper: What to do in the nonprofit sector to offset the economic crash.

Mon, 15 Dec 2008 10:49:06 PST

Source: Foundation Center Focus on the Financial Crisis The map image above is an interactive map that displays the distribution of the most recent support by U.S. foundations foundations to aid those affected by the downturn. Drill down to see the

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We must be saved by Hope, Faith and Love. Passed to me by a coworker.

Mon, 15 Dec 2008 10:09:07 PST

Nothing that is worth doing can be achieved in our lifetime therefore we must be saved by hope. Nothing which is true or beautiful or good makes complete sense in any immediate context of history; therefore we must be saved by faith. Nothing we do, however virtuous, can be accomplished alone; therefore we must be saved by love. - Reinhold Niebuhr from The Irony of American History

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Ten Years of Learning -- ?Audience, Audience, Audience?

Mon, 15 Dec 2008 09:46:27 PST

I was recently struck again by a decade-old lesson in Forum One's web strategy work: Organizations eagerly developing new web tools often skip the critical step of figuring out what their target audiences are actually interested in. This step is usually essential and often overlooked. This time I was reminded in a general discussion amongst over 50 NGO managers

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Raising Money in a Down Economy

Mon, 15 Dec 2008 09:29:00 PST

Eek! It seems like every tech vendor has a marketing piece these days about how we should spend more $$ on tech to raise money in a down economy. One vendor most recently argued that it is perfect time to get that integrated donor management solution and get more targeted asks out there, "fast"! Well, if you are desperate, maybe fast is your only option.

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Change the Web Challenge - Press Release (Please spread the word...)

Mon, 15 Dec 2008 08:21:42 PST

Social Actions has published its first official press release . We need your help in getting the word out. Please send the following link (and/or attached file) to any journalists or bloggers you know: Online Competition Aims to Change the World by Changing the Web

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Change the Web Challenge - Press Release (Please spread the word...)

Mon, 15 Dec 2008 08:21:42 PST

More stats

Mon, 15 Dec 2008 06:52:00 PST

AS you can tell, I am a huge fan of statistics, and reports, and surveys, and data...NOT. NOT. Not because I don't think it's all very useful, mind. But I am not good at writing about it, so I will let others do that for me. Here's a good ReadWriteWeb rundown

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Hammering Nails and Choosing Software

Mon, 15 Dec 2008 06:05:00 PST

One of the best parts of my job is getting to meet with clients on a regular basis to talk about Blackbaud's Internet solutions. I really enjoy getting to hear about their needs, showing them what we offer today, and talking about where we're going. But I've been noticing a disturbing trend over the past few months:

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Hey Baby, Want to See My Artifact?

Mon, 15 Dec 2008 03:01:00 PST

I've been thinking about online dating recently. No, not because my partner refuses to wash his hair. Online dating sites have two very special attributes: They make money. They are primarily used to connect people in real life. Both of these attributes are of great

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Blog Food Drive.

Sun, 14 Dec 2008 22:33:45 PST

givelist.wordpress.com . Social Media for Good” to connect several efforts going and leveraged the face-to-face activity to bring in food and social media activity to help get two trucks filled with food and delivered to a local food bank. The The online activity, Tyson’s offer to give away 100 pounds of protein per comment on their blog, was spread out, from the face-to-face event, via twitter.

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Collaborative Paper: What to do in the nonprofit sector to offset the economic crash.

Sun, 14 Dec 2008 21:46:45 PST

Well. Here is the paper to get the Cascading Failure discussion going. I decided to also put it on a wiki. The answer on how we understand and survive this meltdown is out there in the network. The network better have a space to start kicking it around...

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Dumb humor runs in the family

Sun, 14 Dec 2008 21:00:10 PST

Snow Day from Steve Andersen on Vimeo

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Twitter as an introduction service for a new team pulled together for a project.

Sun, 14 Dec 2008 20:22:02 PST

I bumped into Gibr??n n Rivera in Boston.(great great guy. brilliant) He was talking about how he connects a group of people for 2 weeks via Twitter before they get together for a collaborative meeting or a project. I I

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What's the opportunity cost when a nonprofit blocks employees from using social network sites during work hours?

Sun, 14 Dec 2008 17:48:15 PST

Can you tell me the basics about the Red Cross $100 million fundraising campaign for disaster relief? 2008 has been a record year for disasters and therefore a record year for disaster response. Wendy Harman, American Red Cross According to Wendy Harman, employees at the Red Cross were blocked from accessing social networking sites, like Facebook, from work. Recently, a change in policy has allowed access.

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YouTube Community Celebrates Charities on 12/17: Make A Video

Sun, 14 Dec 2008 11:05:36 PST

On December 17th, the Youtube community will participate in a video making party that celebrates charities. YouTube users are invited to make a video about their favorite charity and why they support it. Here's the how to and you can find the templates here . Here's more about this

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Creative Commons Turns Six

Sun, 14 Dec 2008 06:18:00 PST

December 2008 marks six years since the launch of Creative Commons (www.creativecommons.org), with celebrations and new fund-raising world-wide (more on the fund-raising below). Linda and I joined in the fun at Harvard’s Berkman Center for Internet & Society, with a panel including Lawrence Lessig and other CC founding co-conspirators. I say fun and conspirators because the atmosphere at the panel and the reception afterward offered a mix of both.

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How to Buy a Small Nonprofit IT System

Sat, 13 Dec 2008 22:41:51 PST

Ever wonder what it takes to get a IT system up and running as a nonprofit under 25 people? In these difficult economic times, it’s really important to get your act together regarding your nonprofit’s finances. When I started out in the tech industry in the 1990s, IT departments were still pretty devoted to heavy iron.

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Why I gave $20.09

Sat, 13 Dec 2008 08:13:28 PST

started 2008 in Cape Town, South Africa with the simple goal of working fulltime on Social Actions by July 1st. Social Actions is a nonprofit initiative that helps you find and share opportunities to change the world. I have been working closely with the team for quite a while now because I think that versatile connections online are the only way for independent platforms to really be successful.

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Great reads from December 12th through December 13th

Sat, 13 Dec 2008 07:19:07 PST

These are my links for December 12th through December 13th: Have Fun • Do Good: 2009 Career Coaching Discount for Have Fun * Do Good Readers - If you are looking for some career coaching, Britt is an excellent coach! Check out the discount! Roundup: 50 suggestions for how President-elect

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Don't Let Your Holiday Donations Be Like Buying Gum in the Checkout Line

Fri, 12 Dec 2008 20:09:00 PST

Do you know why they put gum, keychains and other small, low-cost items at the checkout counter? So that you'll throw them in your cart at the last minute as an impulse buy. Even though you didn't go into the store planning on buying a 3-pack of ChapStick, it seems like a good idea in the moment, so you do. Holiday giving

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Fundraising Survival Guide

Fri, 12 Dec 2008 14:21:53 PST

Network for Good recently published The 2008 Online Fundraising Survival Guide: 12 Winning Strategies to Survive & Thrive in a Down Economy . This 45-page guide includes sections on avoiding “the four most common fundraising mistakes,” answering the four questions required to get a donation ( Why Me? Why Now?

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Video at the tipping-point

Fri, 12 Dec 2008 13:31:20 PST

I’m a believer that the future belongs to video. I assert that the dominant communications medium from here on is the internet; the primary character of that medium will be video; and online communication will, therefore, require video skills. The data below suggests why I think this is the case.

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Social Actions Welcomes CanadaHelps, Changents, DoSomething, KnightPulse, NGO Post, PolicyPitch, TakingItGlobal, and Wildlife Direct

Fri, 12 Dec 2008 12:41:56 PST

I'm excited to announce that Social Actions is now aggregating actions from CanadaHelps , Changents , DoSomething , KnightPulse , NGO Post , PolicyPitch , TakingItGlobal , and Wildlife Direct . The eight new platforms add a new territory (geographic and demographic) to Social Actions' open database of opportunities to make a difference. We welcome the new action-sources and look forward

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Social Actions Welcomes CanadaHelps, Changents, DoSomething, KnightPulse, NGO Post, PolicyPitch, TakingItGlobal, and Wildlife Direct

Fri, 12 Dec 2008 12:41:56 PST

Guest Post from I LIVE HERE I GIVE HERE

Fri, 12 Dec 2008 11:08:07 PST

The headlines have made it official: we’re in a recession. In truth, this was no revelation. The economists’ facts and figures only confirmed what most of us have been feeling for some time now – painfully pinched. Like many of you, I’m making instead of buying my morning coffee, pushing my running shoes to go those few extra miles, and setting up carpools instead of driving solo.

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Trying to Change the World with Technology? Would Free Money Help?

Fri, 12 Dec 2008 10:11:57 PST

Ashoka In association with WeMedia , Ashoka's Changemakers.net is sponsoring a competition to suss out "the best new ideas for inspiring a better world through media and technology." quot; Ashoka's Jenna Lawrence says that with "The Power of Us", Changemakers is: running running the equivalent of a business plan competition to provide up to $50,000 in funding for early

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MicroPhilanthropy on Twitter: Follow @mrsrosey and she will donate $ to Breast Cancer

Fri, 12 Dec 2008 05:11:03 PST

I couldn't sleep and was up early and Maria Thurrell and Tori Tucan told me about this micro-philanthropy ( #5 on Lucy Bernholz's buzzword list ) on Twitter to support Breast Cancer. Simply follow this @mrsrosey and she will donate $1 dollar to Susan G. Komen Foundation for each follower.

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Predictions for 2009

Fri, 12 Dec 2008 04:22:12 PST

Tools for individuals are great, but what we’ve seen in 2008 is that the tools that individuals like the most and use the most are the ones that create the most dynamic communities. What was your favorite innovation from 2008 ? ...Tags: It’s the time of year when people start placing their bets on where we’re going next. Developers, consultants, experts and users all like to weigh in with their predictions for 2009’s big developments, innovations and attempts for the coming year.

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Giveaway: A License for Techsmith's Screencasting Tools - Camtasia and Snagit

Thu, 11 Dec 2008 14:34:18 PST

Two years ago, I got little obsessed with screencasting hoping that more nonprofits would use the tools for training materials or maybe even fundraising . If you travel through my flickrstream , you'll see that I'm addicted to screenshooting - taking stills of the screen. There's no better tool for that than snagit . The

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Free Webinar: Social Media for Social Good

Thu, 11 Dec 2008 14:23:00 PST

Want to learn more about Web 2.0 and the latest social media trends? Convio is hosting a free webinar with Emily Riley , Senior Analyst from JupiterResearch, and social media blogger Beth Kanter of Beth's Blog . In only 75 minutes, attendees will learn about the latest findings on the use of social media, real-world examples of effective social media campaigns and how nonprofits can leverage "word of mouth" marketing techniques on 2009.

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Twitter Under The Microscope: The Trusted Circle

Thu, 11 Dec 2008 13:29:58 PST

Source: HP Labs: Twitter Under the Microscope Jeremiah Owyang has a post that summarizes the key learnings from the HP Lab Research report. What stood out for me was that while social networks like Twitter can connect us to lots of people, we can only really develop deeper relationships with a small subset. This concept is known as the Dunbar number or 150 to be exact.

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Launching the Change the Web Volunteer Wiki! - Join Us!

Thu, 11 Dec 2008 11:26:34 PST

It's now super easy to change the world by getting involved with the Change the Web Challenge - check out the new Change the Web Volunteer Wiki and see where you can jump on board! Since Since we announced the contest a few weeks ago, the anticipation for the Change the Web has been picking up some mighty steam, and we're ecstatic to see that many of you are so enthusiastically behind the idea of this innovative competition. If

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Launching the Change the Web Volunteer Wiki! - Join Us!

Thu, 11 Dec 2008 11:26:34 PST

The One Thing You Need To Know Before You Donate

Thu, 11 Dec 2008 10:19:25 PST

Nathaniel Whittemore asked me to contribute one idea to his post on charitable giving. It is giving me a good opportunity to reflect on a question I've heard several times in the last month when talking about person-to-person fundraising or fundraising w/social media tools. "How How does the donor know that it isn't a scam, that the charity is legit?"

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NTEN Water Cooler Chat 12/11

Thu, 11 Dec 2008 10:18:00 PST

Help Social Actions Reach 9 Goals For 2009 by giving $20.09 to Social Actions

Thu, 11 Dec 2008 08:46:22 PST

I also remember when Peter Deitz launched the community discussion about his idea for Social Actions API back in January, 2008 - he titled it " Help Me Clone Beth Kanter " as part of helping me with a Cambodian campaign was I working on at the time. For the last 2.5 years, Peter has been working extremely hard to build Social Actions from scratch.

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Public Service - Socitm to merge with charity body

Thu, 11 Dec 2008 07:51:00 PST

Public Service - Socitm to merge with charity body: "Socitm has announced its merger with the Charity IT Resource Alliance (CITRA), a non-profit membership organisation supporting IT professionals in the third sec

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On Kawasaki's "How to Pick up Followers on Twitter"

Thu, 11 Dec 2008 05:22:00 PST

I was recently asked to do a quick summary of this post by Guy Kawasaki, "Looking for Mr GoodTweet: How to Pick Up Followers on Twitter" which has been doing the rounds. It's a long post with a bunch of tips, so here's the short version for those of us with many hats and/or short attention spans and/or not much time in the day, etc. etc.

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Guest Post: An ARG at the Smithsonian--A Success?

Thu, 11 Dec 2008 00:08:00 PST

The “Ghosts of a Chance” alternate reality game (ARG) ran from July 18 until October 25, 2008 and was a collaboration between the Smithsonian American Art Museum and CityMystery . This guest post was written by Georgina Bath Goodlander, the Interpretative Programs Manger for the Luce Foundation Center at the Smithsonian American Art Museum. Georgina will be monitoring the comments to respond to your questions.

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