Group items tagged

"ROI -- or Return on Investment -- is a pre- and/or post-evaluation process and analysis of three factors: benefits, costs, and value of a specific technology purchase over time. ROI can help your organization avoid a technology purchase that is a huge mistake or avoid not investing in a technology that could return many dividends."

Modernizing the 990-PF to Advance the Accountability and Performance of Foundations: Part 2 (posted 03/21/2011 to website) (John Craig is executive vice-president and COO of The Commonwealth Fund. Craig is chair of the Nonprofit Coordinating Committee of New York, and a former chair of The Investment Fund for Foundations (TIFF). He serves on the boards of the TIFF Education Fund, the Greenwall Foundation, the International Women's Health Coalition, and the National Center for Law and Philanthropy, and on the investment committee of the Social Science Research Council.)

Technology investment as a strategic investment. Also, collaboration between peer organizations is something technology does best.

I found this article to be very interesting, especially relating to the comparison of the U.S. and Chinese patent system. China is increasing it's supply of patents, hoping to stimulate innovation and start-up inventions in the country. China is starting to heavily invest in 4G telecommunication. Wadhwa is offering a different perspective on this issue and ultimately plays down the hype of this story. He asks for the U.S. to concentrate on being a leader in innovation, rather than patents, which seem like nuclear weapons in an everlasting tech arms race that doesn't seem to allow for revision.

Obama talking about the importance of investing in wireless technology in Marquette, MI, up north last Thursday, Feb. 10, 2011. This part of a new White House focus on "innovation, competitiveness and infrastructure as a pathway to jobs and 'winning the future.' The president compared the goal of extending wireless access to important successes that connected previous generations of Americans: the building of railroads and the federal highway system."

I really like the plans he is pushing for. Mobile devices is obviously the current frontier to win. The impact on nonprofit activity will be enormous. Most businesses for that matter now have to consider a mobile device plan in supplement to their initial web design plans.

Someone needs to stay on this mission, inside or outside of the organization. The only way to keep things current is to keep someone watching over the process. A failure to monitor your IT investments is a colossal waste of the investment. Social media is a long-term obligation if you want to participate. This article also recommends that interns shouldn't overlook this process. You want to choose an associate for the long-term but it is ok to choose someone outside of the organization if they understand what is required.

The shared IP is a good affordable choice... Nexcess.net was mentioned but there certainly others that would offer a comparable cost of 135.00 per year. You do have to shop wisely and avoid pitfalls in certain offers. Typically there is cost overruns when a certain amount of traffic is achieved. It would be imperative to understand what your anticipated traffic is and exactly how much you could afford. Some of these plans are designed to pigeon-hole the consumer. It would be considered a good problem to need a higher traffic plan at 270.00 because the investment should return much more than cost.

For what it's worth, I always find snippets like this in the news to be interesting because everyone thinks the same thing: What are they talking about? A dozen tech execs attended a private dinner hosted by President Obama in California. With Zuckerberg to his right and Jobs to his left, one can't help but wonder what was discussed. Being a poli sci major, I feel the Obama administration certainly needs the Silicon Valley tech giants to help get re-elected in 2012. Nonetheless, i guess investment in Silicon Valley is obviously worth a dinner with the President.

It,s important to releazie the sitaution in which we were few before technology arrived. A decade ago, access to technology was limited and wiring schools was one of the nation's highest education priorities. Ten years of substantial investments have vastly improved this picture. therefore, this article has discusses the importance of technology in significan ways. According to the Secretary's Fourth Annual Report on Teacher Quality, virtually every school with access to computers has Internet access (99%), compared to only 35 percent of schools in 1994, according to the National Center for Education Statistics.

These are several steps that will help you become more creative when funraising. These tips include: Bcome your own lead technology funder, support training for accidental techies, map critical technology functions to program functions, use nonprofit technology assistance providers, understand the total cost of ownership of technology, and share knowledge and resources.