This is a survey using information from 238 non profit organizations in seattle. I found it easy to read and interpret. It's a great snapshot of IT use and needs by non profits in a US city.
This is an example of one of the upcoming webinars that can help non-profits improve on using social media. For a low price, an entire non-profit staff could become educated on the best sites to choose, content to post, and time to be allotted. The woman who runs these webinars is a pioneer in using social media for non-profits.
With over 500 million users, Facebook is the undisputed king of social media. Many users are now turning to Facebook first to learn about businesses and organizations. So, how can a non-profit make the most of Facebook?
A detailed list of things non-profits can do to improve the way they use facebook. I'm sure it is surprising for organizations to find out how much work is truly involved in keeping a social media account up to date and relevant.
Gives good tips on how an organization should use facebook. Some of the good tips promote communicating to the fan-base as well as encourage fan-to-fan communication. One of the most important things about NPOs and Facebook is to have a purpose with your page. This article strongly condemns having a page "just to be on facebook" and says that having a strong purpose makes facebook that much more successful.
"It's important for any digitally-minded non-profit to be on Facebook because of the sheer number of active users. So, great - you set up a Facebook account for your organization. Now what?"
Note: "Eight of the world's top ten brand use the Buddy Media Platform (sponsor of "The Facebook Marketing Series") to power their social marketing on FB."
There is a Tech for Good contest for nonprofits to show how they are using Microsoft software to do good and Microsoft is donating $5000 in cash/up to $100,000 in new software to the winner.
Microsoft hosts a conference called Tech for Good Contest, where eligable nonprofits prove why they deserve the donated money anywhere from 5 to 100 thousand dollars worth of Microsoft software. Along with it they will receive consulting from the organization teaming up with Microsoft, NPower Seattle.
This article covers donor database implementation for a non-profit. Giftworks was endorsed for ease of use. Administrators are happier with a more customized solution when its possible. Microsoft Access was criticized because it seems less directed toward the non-profit sector. It was interesting to note that the competition for donor dollars is increasing. A highly integrated database clearly outperforms segmented data. The online database with a trained rep might be the best choice of all.
A non-profit out of California has created software for human rights workers that is designed to secretly store data about human rights violation abuses in the country where they are located. There is talk about it already being used in the Middle-East recently. The software includes a 'panic button' that a human rights worker could use that would instantly delete all the files on the computer about government violations. The data is then stored in the cloud and accessable only with a password and secret 'key.' This is a great example of nonprofits working together to fight enormous challenges, with human rights being one of the most dangerous and exhaustive areas of work in the non-profit sector.
Internal emails regarding Ridgeland, South Carolina speed camera system shows profit drives deployment decisions:
An ongoing federal lawsuit against the speed trap town of Ridgeland, South Carolina uncovered internal emails last month that shed light on the motivation behind the state's only photo enforcement program. Since July 2010, Ridgeland has allowed the private firm iTraffic to operate a mobile speed camera van on Interstate 95, despite a state law outlawing the practice and a pair of attorney general opinions warning that the photo ticketing was not legal.
Great example of crowd-sourced question site to help answer a specific question about a CRM (client relationship management) solution for a small nonprofit.
Article giving 7 tips on how non profits can use mobile phones to their advantage and gain donations. A good follow-up on class discussion of bar code scanning...