Some really incredible presentations here at the NetSquared conference, both from featured projects and individual speakers. Seth Horwitz and I are busily collecting information for next Tuesday's Philly NetSquared event.
Nonprofit Technology
Nonprofit Technology includes articles on innovative uses of web campaigns, nonprofit software and integration across advocacy, social networks and fundraising; mobile/cell phone and texting/SMS activism; and Second Life and organizing in virtual worlds.
Hundreds Gather for Social Change Tech at NetSquared Year Three
Posted by Ivan Boothe, 27 May 2008The NetSquared Year Three conference has gotten off to a great start — nonprofit staffers, activists, techies and funders gathering to talk about — and award some money to — using technology for social change.
Just what kind of social change are you interested in?
Posted by Ivan Boothe, 21 May 2008Some nonprofits, older and more institutionalized, are wary of giving their members "control" of their "message" in the realm of social networks and social media. Mostly, I think that's nothing more than a fear of losing power. When you think you know how to change the world, it can be hard for some people to want to involve others — or give anyone else the credit. What's interesting here is that there's a significant ability for activists to self-organize. The message to nonprofits from the past few years seems pretty clear: Stand in our way, and we'll just go around you.
Mulch: Drupal for Nonprofits, or, How to Build Social Networks for Change
Posted by Ivan Boothe, 1 January 2008In return for NetSquared's generosity, I wanted to post some tips for nonprofits thinking about using Drupal for their sites — when to use it and when not to use it, as well as a few useful tidbits from a recent workshop.
Resource: Idealware
Idealware "provides candid Consumer Reports–style reviews and articles about software of interest to nonprofits. Through product comparisons, recommendations, case studies, and software news, Idealware allows nonprofits to make the software decisions that will help them be more effective."
Resource: Technology for the Nonprofit and Philanthropic Sector
Nonprofit technology and software for techies, "accidental techies" and nonprofit executives alike, from Deborah Elizabeth Finn.
Resource: Zen and the Art of Nonprofit Technology
Michelle Murrain's perspectives on nonprofit technology, with a specific focus on open-source software.
Tool: DreamHost
There are lots of web hosts out there, and for particularly large or robust sites DreamHost might not be the best solution. But for smaller nonprofits it could be exactly what you're looking for — because DreamHost offers free webhosting to 501(c)(3)-registered nonprofits in the United States.
Tool: Eventbrite
Move beyond Evite! Set up professional event registration pages, complete with ticket sales, discount codes, post-event surveys and posting to Google Calendar. Payment is through PayPal or Google Checkout, which cost about 2.5% per transaction. Eventbrite charges an additional 2.5%, with a maximum of $10 — but is completely free for free events.
Reviews:
CrunchBase
Reviews:
Comparison chart from Eventsible Tool: GIMP
Can't swing the cost of Photoshop, even with a TechSoup discount? The GIMP is a completely free, downloadable alternative to Photoshop that offers a surprising array of powerful image-editing abilities. Even better, it works on Windows, Macintosh and Linux platforms.
Tool: Vertical Response
Stop overwhelming your web host by sending out your email newsletter through Outlook — and start sending out targeted messages to subsets of your subscriber lists. Although there are many mass-email providers, including Emma, Electric Embers and Constant Contact, Vertical Response offers free email list management to nonprofits who send out up to 10,000 emails per month. If you're just getting off the ground, this is a good way to professionalize your communication with supporters without spending a bundle of cash.
Tool: Doodle
Need to coordinate a phone conference or online meeting but don't want to play the email scheduling game? Doodle allows you to easily set up a list of possible times and allow attendees to check off when they're available — leaving you with a easily-visible chart of the ideal meeting times.
Reviews:
Lifehacker
Reviews:
MakeUseOf.com Tool: TechSoup
TechSoup is a nonprofit that helps other nonprofits in the United States and Canada acquire deeply-discounted software and online services. Microsoft Office for $16? Adobe InDesign for $60? Flickr accounts for $3/year? It's all in TechSoup's stock.
Additionally, TechSoup has a vibrant forum community and blog postings relating to the use of technology by nonprofits.
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