AFP Blog: Nonprofit Technology

CEP | A Relaunch for the CEP Blog | The Center for Effective Philanthropy

2012-05-25T11:29:00.001-05:00

CEP | A Relaunch for the CEP Blog | The Center for Effective Philanthropy: n our strategic plan for 2011 to 2014, we state a desire to “facilitate the exchange of information and a sense of belonging to an important community among those who are most committed to using data to improve the effectiveness of their foundations.” In an effort to achieve this goal, we continue to repurpose insights from our research in hopes of making them both more easily digestible and more easily found through our increased use of new media.

We hope you enjoy the new look and feel of the CEP blog. Please explore and send us any feedback on what you think!

7 ways to create a fiercely loyal nonprofit community

2012-05-25T07:04:00.001-05:00

7 ways to create a fiercely loyal nonprofit community

3 Old-School Organizations For Good That Have Mastered Social Media | Co.Exist: World changing ideas and innovation

2012-05-24T09:26:00.001-05:00

3 Old-School Organizations For Good That Have Mastered Social Media | Co.Exist: World changing ideas and innovation: You hear a lot about hot new social strategies, but some of the oldest social good organizations in the country are making big strides to be at the vanguard of interacting with their constituents online--to very good effect.

10 top tools for cause campaigns

2012-05-23T11:43:00.001-05:00

10 top tools for cause campaigns

Marc Chardon and Hal Williams: The Imperfect Storm

2012-05-22T09:52:00.001-05:00

Marc Chardon and Hal Williams: The Imperfect Storm: he storm, for nonprofit organizations, is fully brewed. The demand for services is up; contributions have barely regained their pre-recession levels; government funding is way off; and expenses are rising. We are tempted to call this a perfect storm.

Marc Chardon and Hal Williams kick off Huffington Post guest blog series | BlackbaudCurrent.com

2012-05-22T09:49:00.001-05:00

Marc Chardon and Hal Williams kick off Huffington Post guest blog series | BlackbaudCurrent.com: That’s what happened when Marc Chardon, CEO of Blackbaud, Inc., and Hal Williams, an internationally respected outcome guide, met. Of course, sharing their perspectives on the sector with each other – from Marc’s role as the head of a software and services provider and Hal’s as an outcomes advisor to foundations and nonprofits large and small (and former CEO of The Rensselaerville Institute) – was only the beginning. Their discussions led to a commitment to write more formal pieces, which led to a guest blog series in the Impact section of The Huffington Post.

Danbury nonprofits tap new strategies to grow - Connecticut Post

2012-05-18T11:18:00.001-05:00

Danbury nonprofits tap new strategies to grow - Connecticut Post: A year later, Executive Director Brigid Guertin said the museum is gaining strength with a reliance on social media and a new brand of philanthropy that mixes volunteerism with dollars.

With technology, Guertin said, the museum is able to reach a far broader audience. It has sharpened its focus on providing varied programs to engage a wider range of museum goers.

Charities Seek Some of Facebook’s Billions - News - The Chronicle of Philanthropy- Connecting the nonprofit world with news, jobs, and ideas

2012-05-18T11:14:00.001-05:00

Charities Seek Some of Facebook’s Billions - News - The Chronicle of Philanthropy- Connecting the nonprofit world with news, jobs, and ideas: Pretty much every charity in Silicon Valley wants to “friend” Facebook and its workers as the company gets ready to go public on Friday.

As Facebook’s executives and employees await a life-changing windfall from its initial public stock offering, expected to set the company's worth at a record-breaking $100-billion, the company itself is coming under increasing pressure to demonstrate that it will be a big donor.

Nonprofits and Their Mobile Strategies - NPQ – Nonprofit Quarterly - Promoting an active an engaged democracy.

2012-05-16T12:02:00.001-05:00

Nonprofits and Their Mobile Strategies - NPQ – Nonprofit Quarterly - Promoting an active an engaged democracy.: One recent study from ZeroDivide found a dramatic lack of philanthropic investment in mobile strategies for community change.

“We’re doing about 96 percent of our work with organizations outside the U.S.,” said Katrin Verclas of MobileActive.org, a leading network and resource on the use of mobile technology for social impact. “Our experience is that, except for a handful of funders, there just isn’t awareness of the opportunities in mobile or much support for this work here yet.” Here’s why I think nonprofits aren’t connecting with mobile.

11-year-old uses social media to solicit donations - The Indiana Gazette Online: Home & Lifestyle

2012-05-16T12:00:00.001-05:00

11-year-old uses social media to solicit donations - The Indiana Gazette Online: Home & Lifestyle: Bailey, who used to attend Bonsack Elementary School, isn't knocking on doors or setting up a lemonade stand to raise money. This is the 21st century and she uses social media and the click of a mouse to solicit donations. Bailey, whose Twitter handle is @littlechuckfan, uses the platform to connect with fans, actors and writers of the former prime-time TV series "Chuck."

Setting Yourself Up for Social Media Success - Resource Center - AFP

2012-05-16T08:57:00.001-05:00

Setting Yourself Up for Social Media Success - Resource Center - AFP: Howe is vice president of public relations for the American National Red Cross and oversees the organization’s social media program. Catch her Distinguished Speaker session live at the AFP TechKnow Conference, happening June 4 and 5.

Aussie charity arm leads global website overhaul - Strategy - Business - News - iTnews.com.au

2012-05-15T09:50:00.001-05:00

Aussie charity arm leads global website overhaul - Strategy - Business - News - iTnews.com.au: He expected to meet its Australian target of $2 million for the year, compared to $1.4 million from last year’s campaign.

“We’ve raised a lot more money,” he said, noting that 25 percent of funds were typically raised after the week-long event.

“The site provides a much better user experience and much better integration. More people sign up to participate because the sign-up process is easier.”

Larry David joins Twitter for charity, his assistant confirms - Celebritology 2.0 - The Washington Post

2012-05-15T09:14:00.001-05:00

Larry David joins Twitter for charity, his assistant confirms - Celebritology 2.0 - The Washington Post: The “Curb Your Enthusiasm” creator and star was lured into joining the site by the recently created project Charity Bribes, which crowdsources tasks for famous people to do then gives the celebrity 30 days to complete it in exchange for a charitable donation. David was the group’s first target.

COMIC ARTIST NIGHT @ THE OPERA | Portland Opera

2012-05-15T07:43:00.001-05:00

COMIC ARTIST NIGHT @ THE OPERA | Portland Opera

Effective Internet Searching | BLACKBAUD'S Prospect Research Blog for Non-Profit Fund Raising

2012-05-14T06:50:00.001-05:00

Effective Internet Searching | BLACKBAUD'S Prospect Research Blog for Non-Profit Fund Raising: Late last year, I presented a session for my local AFP chapter entitled Prospect Research for the Non-Researcher. My intent was to focus on the basics: What is Prospect Research? What types of information can a researcher typically find/not find out about a prospect? How can a frontline fundraiser quickly, and for free, begin to do their own online research? And, how can we assure our colleagues, executives and board members that the data we collect is legal and appropriate to use?

Charities fear new EU rules on website cookies will deter users | Third Sector

2012-05-11T11:39:00.001-05:00

Charities fear new EU rules on website cookies will deter users | Third Sector: Website operators will have to get permission from users before putting cookies on computer systems

Charities are concerned about what new EU cookie laws will mean in practice and how they should comply.

From 26 May, all website operators must gain the consent of web users before putting cookies on their computer systems.

The rule stems from an EU directive that was passed in May last year, but UK operators were given a year’s grace to comply.

Goodbye QR Codes, Hello Near Field Communication? � Engage365

2012-05-11T07:34:00.001-05:00

Goodbye QR Codes, Hello Near Field Communication? � Engage365: nother day, another technology being called “THE” thing to have this year. Discussion around Near Field Communication (NFC) technology in smartphones has been bubbling for months if not years, coming to a head recently with Google’s official support of NFC and their dropping of QR code support in the Google Places service.

Crowdfunding raised $1.5 billion worldwide last year

2012-05-11T06:49:00.001-05:00

Crowdfunding raised $1.5 billion worldwide last year: Almost US$1.5 billion was raised in 2011 by crowdfunding platforms around the world, according to an industry report released Tuesday by Massolution, the research group of industry body Crowdsourcing.

There were almost 350 crowdfunding platforms, or online fundraising platforms that generally accept small donations, at the end of 2011, the report found, up by more than 50 percent from the beginning of the year. The platforms hosted roughly a million campaigns, it said.

A Facebook Promotion Connects a Charity With a Loyal Donor - Social Philanthropy - The Chronicle of Philanthropy- Connecting the nonprofit world with news, jobs, and ideas

2012-05-11T06:32:00.001-05:00

A Facebook Promotion Connects a Charity With a Loyal Donor - Social Philanthropy - The Chronicle of Philanthropy- Connecting the nonprofit world with news, jobs, and ideas

MediaPost Publications Mobile To Become Top Email Platform 05/02/2012

2012-05-11T06:28:00.001-05:00

MediaPost Publications Mobile To Become Top Email Platform 05/02/2012: Return Path projects that mobile will overtake Webmail and the desktop PC to become the leading platform for e-mail by year’s end. Email readership on mobile devices accounts for 30% of all opens, up from 10% a few years ago, according to a new study by the email certification and reputation monitoring company,

What will the Blackbaud-Convio Merger Mean? - NPQ – Nonprofit Quarterly - Promoting an active an engaged democracy.

2012-05-10T07:58:00.001-05:00

What will the Blackbaud-Convio Merger Mean? - NPQ – Nonprofit Quarterly - Promoting an active an engaged democracy.: One of the most significant mergers in the realm of nonprofit technology in recent years is now in the books. This week, Blackbaud and Convio began operating as one entity in the wake of a merger in which the former acquired the latter for $325 million. Blackbaud specializes in software and services that increase efficiency for nonprofit organizations, and Convio is “a leading provider of constituent engagement solutions that enable nonprofit organizations to maximize the value of every relationship,” according to its website.

12,000 ATMs to include charitable donations this summer - Civil Society - Fundraising - News - providing news and in-depth coverage of charities, voluntary organisations and not-for-profits

2012-05-08T08:27:00.003-05:00

12,000 ATMs to include charitable donations this summer - Civil Society - Fundraising - News - providing news and in-depth coverage of charities, voluntary organisations and not-for-profits: All of the Royal Bank of Scotland’s cash machines will include charitable donations this summer to coincide with the Diamond Jubilee and London 2012 Olympics

12,000 ATMs to include charitable donations this summer - Civil Society - Fundraising - News - providing news and in-depth coverage of charities, voluntary organisations and not-for-profits

2012-05-08T08:27:00.001-05:00

Blackbaud Completes Acquisition of Convio : Page 1 of 2 : FundRaising Success

2012-05-07T14:03:00.001-05:00

Blackbaud Completes Acquisition of Convio : Page 1 of 2 : FundRaising Success: harleston, S.C. (May 7, 2012) - BlackbaudOpens in a new window today announced that it has completed its acquisition of ConvioOpens in a new window, a leading provider of on-demand constituent engagement solutions. Under the terms of the merger agreement, Blackbaud paid an aggregate purchase price of approximately $325 million. Blackbaud financed the deal through a combination of cash and borrowings from its credit facility.

The verdict: is blogging or tweeting about research papers worth it? | Impact of Social Sciences

2012-05-07T14:00:00.001-05:00

The verdict: is blogging or tweeting about research papers worth it? | Impact of Social Sciences: n October 2011 I began a project to make all of my 26 articles published in refereed journals available via UCL’s Open Access Repository – “Discovery“. I decided that as well as putting them in the institutional repository, I would write a blog post about each research project, and tweet the papers for download. Would this affect how much my research was read, known, discussed, distributed?