Then apply for a CTC VISTA and hurry - the deadline to complete the first phase of the application process is this Friday.

CTC VISTAs can be placed with any nonprofit that uses technology to address the needs of low-income communities. Special consideration is given to organizations that work in community networking, technology assistance, digital media, and community organizing projects. And if you're an NTEN member, you'll get top priority for volunteer placement.

We can highly recommend the CTC VISTA project - we love our VISTA Karl!

You can find more information about the project and the application process online.

If your organization is not an NTEN member and you want priority placement, become a member today.

I had a great time at NTC - it was wonderful to see old friends and meet new ones. But I was struck by how much the same the problems are that nonprofits continue to face. I think perhaps we need to ask some deeper questions.

From the stories I've heard this week, small and medium-sized nonprofits still don't have in-house technology expertise to make evaluations about what directions to go in. They struggle mightily with software, no matter whether it's free/open source or proprietary, shrink-wrapped or custom-built, on their desktops or web-hosted. The technology has gotten more sophisticated - but the problems many nonprofits are facing are exactly the same.