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Wednesday, 24 August 2011 13:37 |
 flickr: dnnya17A while back, with the generous support of the Knight Foundation, a group of Nonprofit CTOs gathered in Miami to discuss the day-to-day challenges of nonprofit technology, share their success stories, and brainstorm solutions. We'll be posting highlights from this meeting of the minds on the NTEN blog. In today's installment, we tackle the CTOs' top six considerations for long-term IT planning.
1. What is the problem?
When someone in your... |
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Tuesday, 23 August 2011 12:46 |
 We're excited to announce that our one-day Cloud Computing Summit on August 29 will be broadcast live from San Francisco to the entire NTEN community.
Thanks to the generous support of Google, we're able to bring this livestream to you for free!
> Learn more and RSVP for free today.
You'll gain the knowledge you need to analyze whether a transition to the Cloud makes sense for your organization. On tap at this event:9:15 - 10:30: Allen Gunn on The... |
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Tuesday, 23 August 2011 10:56 |
 Earlier this summer, Idealware and NTEN released the updated Consumers Guide to Low Cost Donor Management, which provides reviews and comparisons of 29 donor management systems under $4000.
Included in the report are helpful considerations and guidelines for determining your organization's needs when it comes to donor management.
To start, do you even need a donor management system?
According to the report, "if you’re receiving more than a... |
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Tuesday, 23 August 2011 10:19 |
 When Jessica Lawrence became CEO of the Girl Scouts of San Gorgonio Council, she found herself running an organization with a declining membership. Rather than focus on any one department as responsible for the challenges the organization faced, Jessica searched for the root of the issue. She discovered that organizational health depends, in part, on organizational culture, and changing this culture was the key to innovation.
Organizations must be able... |
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Friday, 19 August 2011 16:45 |
 Flickr:Pulpolux !!!One of the most prominent attributes of NTEN members is the willingness to share: ideas, tips, lessons learned. This week we saw some great examples of members sharing their smarts and their suggestions - and have pulled some of the best together in this round up.
Have more news to share? Drop us a line or include your links in the comments!
Cody Switzer wrote about saying “thank you” this week in The Chronicle of... |
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Thursday, 18 August 2011 11:03 |
 For organizations looking to replace or overhaul their website, the project ahead may seem enormous, unwieldy, daunting. The path from initial planning to the successful launch of a well designed, functional website is long and full of twists. Trying to accommodate your leaders' feedback, while creating a website that has a unified voice and purpose, can seem nearly impossible.
Fortunately for us, Ryan Ozimek and Tim Forbes have broken down the website... |
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Wednesday, 17 August 2011 12:12 |
 [Editor's note: The following is an expert of an article in the June 2011 issue of NTEN:Change. Read the complete issue of NTEN's new quarterly journal for nonprofit leaders by subscribing to the journal for free! ]
By Michael Hoffman and Danny Alpert, See3 Communications
When the earthquake and tsunami hit Japan we saw the aftermath almost immediately. The world was hungry for stories and visuals of the devastation, and we were consuming this media as... |
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Tuesday, 16 August 2011 12:43 |
 By Jeff Ramos, Community and Content Manager, Games for Change
For the first time, this year's Games for Change Festival created an opportunity for producers of games in development to get live feedback from leading game designers, educators, and funders on the main stage. This "Demo Spotlight" highlighted six upcoming games to present their work in front of a stellar jury: Frank Lantz of Zynga New York and NYU, Ken Perlin of the Games for Learning... |
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Friday, 12 August 2011 11:07 |
 Flickr:swisscanEach day brings something new and exciting from a technology perspective. Whether you recently launched a blog, are trying to stay up-to-date on the latest social media tools, or looking for affordable software, there are more options out there than ever before. Luckily, our members take the time to share their knowledge, experience, and resources with the nonprofit community. Together, we can stay on top of technology, even in a time of... |
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Thursday, 11 August 2011 16:50 |
 By Seth Giammanco, Principal, Minds On Design Lab
Do you remember the chart your teacher had on the bulletin board or hanging right off the front of his/her desk? It was the one that had the gold stars for when you got a 100% score on your weekly spelling test. Do you remember that feeling of achievement when you earned a new star? Did you feel motivated to do well on your next test just so you can get another star?
During my study and practice of... |
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Thursday, 11 August 2011 15:37 |
 Flickr: Tracy HunterWe've heard whispers about Results-Only Work Environments – mostly from the corporate world.
Well, in July 2008, Jessica Lawrence led Girl Scouts of San Gorgonio Council to become the first nonprofit organization in the country to migrate to an ROWE.
In April 2010, Girl Scouts of San Gorgonio Council was selected by The Non-Profit Times as the eighth best nonprofit in the country to work for.
We're excited to have Jessica on the... |
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Wednesday, 10 August 2011 15:43 |
 Flickr: AlexdecalveloSXSW Interactive is offering 5 scholarships to attend the 2012 conference. The scholarships are open to anyone using new media channels to tackle community problems –including nonprofit leaders, grassroots organizers, individual citizens and civic-minded entrepreneurs.
Applications are due August 26th, at 11:59 PM PST. No organization doing good should miss this opportunity to learn and collaborate with other organizations... |
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Wednesday, 10 August 2011 13:18 |
 Session proposals for the 2012 Nonprofit Technology Conference are due Friday, August 12. If you haven't submitted a proposal already, we hope you will.
Every year, we receive a lot of great proposals from vendors and consultants who work with nonprofits – and we love to get those, so keep them coming! – but we want to make sure we have sessions that:
a) Speak to what nonprofit staffers want to learn about.
b) Tap into the expertise you've gained... |
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Wednesday, 10 August 2011 11:38 |
 Maybe the first question here should be: do you know what list "churn" is?
Basically, "churn" is the term used to describe the rate at which subscribers – be they in your email lists, Facebook fans, Twitter followers, etc. – leave your list, by either unsubscribing, un-liking, un-following, etc.
When it comes to your organization's Facebook page, you've probably already been doing a good job at tracking your number of fans; it's right there on your... |
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Tuesday, 09 August 2011 12:25 |
 "There are a lot of places out there looking for systemic change. The only way you can track systemic change is through your results with data."
-- Katie Rozycki
Development Specialist, Florence Crittenton Service
As more data becomes available to us and the tools to understand it all become more user-friendly, nonprofits have an opportunity – even a duty – to use data to gain a more robust understanding of our work, the communities in which we work... |
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Monday, 08 August 2011 17:35 |
 Christina Smith, Marketing and Social Media Specialist, YourMembership.com Inc.
It's easy to write off "gamification" as something your mature audience wouldn't find value in. But when we break down what gamification is and how it can serve as an engagement tool for the members of your online community, you'll see the practical application behind it.
First, what gamification is not: It's not a pricey piece of software that will have your members using... |
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Monday, 08 August 2011 14:31 |
 It's hard to think about redesigning your org's website – and aren't we all? – without thinking about the fable of the "Tortoise and the Hare".
We know it's a marathon, but inevitably, there are going to be times when it seems nothing gets done (and we're sleeping under a tree) and times when we need to sprint to catch up.
I'm not saying slow and steady wins the race; I'm saying if that bunny had planned properly and used the available resources... |
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Monday, 08 August 2011 09:32 |
 Flickr: rrunawayA while back, with the generous support of the Knight Foundation, a group of Nonprofit CTOs gathered in Miami to discuss the day-to-day challenges of nonprofit technology, share their success stories, and brainstorm solutions. We'll be posting highlights from this meeting of the minds on the NTEN blog. In today's installment, we tackle the CTOs' top five staffing tips.
1. Use your networks
The best hires are frequently folks you already... |
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Friday, 05 August 2011 12:47 |
 Flickr:hellojenuineLast week, the entire NTEN staff came together for a week of strategic planning. We want to make sure our programs, events, and content are the best they can be for our members. While we talked strategy, our members put their strategies into action – and used some cool technology along the way.
Have more news to share? Drop us a line or include your links in the comments.
The Independent Television Service is beginning its... |
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Thursday, 04 August 2011 19:13 |
 By Alessandro Mazzega, Communication Manager, Alittleb.it and DarkWave Games
The process of gamification involves the integration of typical game components into websites, online communities, content portals, or in general, other non-gaming contexts.
There are two different concepts to be considered during the gamification process: game-mechanics and game-dynamics. Game mechanics are the tools needed to create the gamification infrastructure that lies... |
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Nonprofit Tech Network
