NTEN: The Nonprofit Technology Network

NTEN Data Ecosystem Report Now Available

Holly — Tue, 09 Feb 2010 14:05:17 -0800

Today, we are very pleased to announce the release of the Data Ecosystem Report.

Life would definitely be easier if there was one piece of software that could do everything we needed it to, from donor management to email blasts. Of course, life is rarely that simple. The reality is that most nonprofits use a variety of software to meet their many needs.

In 2008, NTEN began asking the community to tell us what they thought of the tools they use. We conducted vendor satisfaction surveys for the Constituent Relationship Management, Content Management Systems, and the Donor Management Systems nonprofits use. The results elp organizations understand what software is in use by their peers, and how happy they are with the
service, support, usability and overall value of the software.

Still, these reports were only shedding light on a small slice of the software pie. In summer 2009, we went looking for a better way. Our great friend Paul Hagen suggested that we ought to be looking at the larger picture - at the data ecosystem. The data ecosystem is the collection of tools we use to manage all the ways we interact with donors, volunteers, activists, and supporters. We wanted to
find out how happy organizations are with each of the tools they use, but also what tools make up their ecosystems, and how happy they are with those ecosystems as well.

We hope that, by broadening our view of the software question, we can acheive two things. First, we hope it gives you a resource for helping you make better software selection decisions. Secondly, we hope it helps software vendors better understand the challenges and needs of our sector so that they can address these issues.

So download the report, and share with us what this report means to you and your organization. We love to hear from you.

Oh - and one more big shout out to Robert Weiner, who also helped us do a lot of thinking about how to structure this report and to the folks at Qualtrics, who donated the survey software!

What the Third Sector Can Learn from the Public Sector

Holly — Mon, 15 Mar 2010 09:41:31 -0700

Flickr Photo: h.koppdelaneyTransparent. Participatory. Collaborative.

Those are the values President Obama cited last December in his Open Government Initiative. Are those words you usually associate with your government? Even non-conspiracy theorists would likely have a hard time summoning up "transparent" as one of the top three adjectives to describe our government. We would all likely agree that it's a shame: our government should be transparent.

Now let's think about our sector.

Transparent. Participatory. Collaborative.

What do you think? Do those words describe the nonprofit sector? How about your nonprofit?

If I'm not mistaken, a somewhat famous social activist once said, "You must be the change you want to see in the world." I think our sector has a long way to go before we live up to that.

I attended "In Code We Trust: Open Government Awesomeness" at SXSWi on Friday. Panelists Noel Hidalgo, Alissa Black and Dmitry Kachaev shared what their governments -- the cities and states they work for -- are doing to live up to that presidential mandate. What they're doing, and how they're doing it, are great lessons for our sector.

The New York State Senate has a Twitter feed. They post everything, including links to live streams of sessions, statements, and legislative updates.
The New York State Senate website is built on Drupal. Their theory is that anything they build has to be built open source, so that the taxpayers can access and use any innovations.
All of the content produced and published by the New York State Senate is published under a Creative Commons license. Again, if it's built with public money, the public has the right to use it.
In San Francisco, datasf.org aggregates raw data from over 140 city departments, making it available to any member of the public, for any reason.
Since transparency is only one leg of the stool, San Francisco also sponsored an app development contest to get people involved in using the data for the public good.
San Francisco and Washington DC are collaborating around API accessiblity for their 311 phone lines.

Two city governments, on opposite sides of the country are going to better serve their citizens transparently, to ignite participation through collaboration. Will it be problem free? No. Is it worth striving for? Of course

One of my favorite moments of the session came when someone asked about the barriers to this kind of openness. Dmitry responded:

"Don't wait for all the data, or for the data to be perfect. If the data can contribute to the conversation, share it. The public will help you get it the rest of the way."

Let go and share -- with your stakeholders, your clients, your fellow organizations. Good things will follow

That said, it's fine for me to sit here and write this. It's another thing for NTEN to lead in this area. Although I think we're a fairly open organization, we have a long way to go. Look for a new "About Us" page on this site soon. We'll be posting all sorts of information about us, and we'll make all that data as open as possible. (If you're a Drupal wiz looking for a challenge, give us a call. We want to rock the sector.)

5 Questions: Anatomy of a Video

Holly — Fri, 12 Mar 2010 10:53:43 -0800

Ed. Note: As we prepare for the 2010 Nonprofit Technology Conference, we wanted share a wee bit of the wisdom our speakers will be serving up, so as not to overwhelm you when you get to Atlanta. We're asking them all to share their answers to five very important questions.

Speaker: Michael Hoffman, See3

Session: Anatomy of a Video: Confessions From Organizations Big and Small

1. What's the most important trend in nonprofit technology for 2010?

The widespread adoption of social media is clearly the most important trend for nonprofit technology in 2010. While there are still complications about measuring ROI, and best practices are still being developed, we are seeing clear signals that web traffic is being driven from Twitter and Facebook, fundraising and advocacy outreach through social media is having impact, and a smart strategy of using YouTube contributes greatly to search engine optimization.

2. Why do you think your session topic is important for nonprofits to address?

The web is changing and becoming a much more media rich place. People are comfortable watching short videos online, and even full-length TV shows and movies. There is an expectation that people have that they can easily SEE the issue, and not just read about it. At the same time, video has become an important piece of the search engine optimization puzzle, and programs such as YouTube for Nonprofits, allow organizations to drive traffic directly from a video to an action. With all of this benefit, you would think nonprofits would be investing heavily in online video. Some are, but for many they just don’t know where to start and how to get it done given budget challenges.

This is what our session is about. What makes up an online video and how can we, whatever our circumstances, do one.

3. What's the one thing you want attendees to remember from your session?

That there is no reason not to do a lot more video in 2010 than they did in 2009. Budgets, time, and staff priorities can’t be an excuse because there are always ways to get it done if you have the road map.

4. Which Muppet do you most identify with and why?

Animal. Not really, I love him, but I am not quite so wild. I am more of a Kermit kind-of-guy, trying to hold things together amidst the chaos.

5. Where can people follow you online (twitter, blog, etc.)?

Twitter: @michael_hoffman

5 Questions: Bringing Community Organizing Into Online Campaigns

Holly — Thu, 11 Mar 2010 12:27:12 -0800

Speaker: Debra Askanase, Community Organizing 2.0

Session: Bringing Community Organizing Into Online Campaigns

1. What's the most important trend in nonprofit technology for 2010?

To sum it up: the rise of mobile technology. I think that the rate of smartphone adoption worldwide will continue to grow tremendously, and with that, the rise of smartphone mobile apps and use. I believe that nonprofit organizations should begin to plan now for how they will utilize the mobile web for good (such as smartphone apps, mobile text campaigns, mobile fundraising strategy, and so much more). Understanding the implications and opportunities in the areas of mobile search, use, and technology will be important for nonprofit organizations in 2010, and beyond.

2. Why do you think your session topic is important for nonprofits to address?

No one is talking about the relationship between community organizing and online organizing, and yet they are absolutely interrelated. If you work at a nonprofit, or are running an upcoming cause or fundraising online campaign, our session will help you understand how to leverage community organizing principles for your campaign, and use them to inform campaign design. All three session designers (myself, Ivan Boothe, Amy Sample Ward) have a background in community organizing, have run successful community organizing campaigns, and offer expertise in the field of social media.

3. What's the one thing you want attendees to remember from your session?

How to design your online campaign using the five basic principles of community organizing.

4. Which Muppet do you most identify with and why?

Doesn't everyone identify with Kermit? He's the cute green frog you just want to hug. He loves to talk to people, and he's always working so hard to bring the gang together to accomplish things. That about sums up my life as a social media consultant!

5. Where can people follow you online (twitter, blog, etc.)?

I blog about the intersection of social media, nonprofits and technology at Community Organizer 2.0
I love chatting on twitter: @askdebra
I have a Google profile, if you want to connect on Google Buzz
You can follow my slide decks at www.slideshare.net/debask

Activate Your YouTube Audience (Free Session with Ramya Raghavan of YouTube!)

Brett — Thu, 11 Mar 2010 08:51:23 -0800

So, apparently, there are a whole host of new tools available through YouTube that can help you engage your audience.

You can drive sign-ups and donations straight from your videos, find skilled video-makers through the Video Volunteers program, and even create choose-your-own-adventure style videos. (Just imagine: "You see a polar bear balancing on a small iceberg. Do you: a) Offer it a ride to the South Pole, b) enter the two of you in the pairs figure skating competition at the 2014 winter games, or c) step up the fight against global climate change.")

In partnership with YouTube and ReadyTalk, we've enlisted Ramya Raghavan, Nonprofits and Activism Manager at YouTube, to run you through the possibilities at our (free for everybody!) 2010 NTC preview session, "Activating Your YouTube Audience". You should join us!

> You should register for this FREE workshop here.

When: Thursday, March 18th, 11 am Pacific Time / 2 pm Eastern Time

Cost: FREE!

Presenter: Ramya Raghavan, YouTube

Incidentally, the correct answer is, of course, c). Given the lack of drive-thrus in South America, the polar bear would devour you before you reached the South Pole -- and no way could a polar bear land a triple lutz,

2010 NTC Preview: Jocelyn Harmon and Allyson Kapin on IT Diversity

Holly — Wed, 10 Mar 2010 09:18:30 -0800

Allyson Kapin Jocelyn HarmonYes, the iPad is small, lightweight and slim. But can you swim with it?

You remember the flap over the iPad, right? Most women certainly do. It's a clear reminder that technology is a man's world.

Of course, it shouldn't be, especially in the nonprofit sector. Our workplaces should reflect the values we're working for -- because it's the right thing to do. It's also the sensible thing to do. Diversity in your teams will ensure you're not alienating the very people you're trying to include.

What's the right way to approach diversity in our tech teams? Lucky for us, Allyson Kapin and Jocelyn Harmon put together a great session for the 2010 Nonprofit Technology Conference: "Diversifying Your Tech and Online Communications Teams". I had a great chat with them where we covered everything from "the masses" to "quotas."

Take a listen:

Subscribe to the NTEN Podcast

5 Questions: Working with Open Source Software and Vendors

Holly — Wed, 10 Mar 2010 08:13:27 -0800

Speaker: Gregory Heller, CivicActions

Session: Working with Open Source Software and Vendors

1. What's the most important trend in nonprofit technology for 2010?

Free and Open Source Software. Whether it is on the desktop like Firefox and Open Office or the Ubuntu Linux operating system, or on servers (Linux, Apache, MySQL, PHP) and running CMSs and CRMs (like Drupal and CiviCRM). I think that many nonprofit organizations are looking at these open source tools as they have really matured and been adopted by government and big companies including many fortune 500s. The late 2009 release of the Open Government Directive is really exciting and I'd like to see an analog in the nonprofit community -- an Open Nonprofit Directive if you will, to encourage transparency, participation and collaboration. Of course Twitter and social media in general will continue to be big, and we may see advanced collaboration tools like Google's Wave gain adoption in 2010 as people figure out how to use it.

2. Why do you think your session topic is important for nonprofits to address?

We're in a deep recession. Nonprofit funding is not what it may have been 2 or 3 years ago. When you don't have to pay for proprietary software licenses, or work with only a small group of vendors providing proprietary tools, I think there are great values to be found. Last year's Keynote speaker Eben Moglin talked about the morality of free and open source software and what he really identified as a moral imperative for nonprofit organizations to spend their limited resources advancing FOSS rather than boosting profits at proprietary software companies. My session, "Working With Open Source Software and Vendors", will give non profit decisions makers an idea of how to identify and work with open source vendors and tools and provide an opportunity for them to ask questions of vendors, software project developers and people like them who have gone down this road already.

3. What's the one thing you want attendees to remember from your session?

Free and Open Source Software is mature, robust and enterprise ready. Choosing the right vendor for your organization is important as your vendor will, in a big way, define your experience of the tools. That's two things, and they should remember them both!

4. Which Muppet do you most identify with and why?

Gonzo. Gonzo is an entertainer, a showman, and a daredevil. I like to take the stage, show off new and exciting technologies, and every once in a while, get fired out of a cannon. Gonzo was also a traveling plumber, and that is something I can identify with. Over the last four years or so, I've traveled to work with many clients helping them unclog the the internet strategy "tubes" and get things flowing.

5. Where can people follow you online (twitter, blog, etc.)?

Blog: http://www.CivicActions.com/blog
Twitter: @gregoryheller
Delicious: http://delicious.com/GregoryHeller

5 Questions: Superheroes of Online Fundraising: Become a Data-Driven Strategist

Holly — Tue, 09 Mar 2010 08:30:02 -0800

Speaker: Sarah DiJulio, M+R Strategic Services

Session: Superheroes of Online Fundraising: Become a Data-Driven Strategist

1. What's the most important trend in nonprofit technology for 2010?

I think the most important trend this year is multi-channel convergence: using mobile, email, web, broadcast, print, twitter, etc. to maximize your impact. Email alone isn't as effective as it used to be, and given the media clutter these days, the only way to stand out is to get your message out via multiple channels, so that your constituents are hearing from you from all angles. Some initial testing of mobile text has shown that, while direct response is relatively low (unless you are the Red Cross!), complementary text messages can significantly improve email response rates. While it's harder to conduct a scientific A/B test, the same appears to be true for channels like Facebook and Twitter.

2. Why do you think your session topic is important for nonprofits to address?

My session topic -- Becoming a Data-Driven Superhero -- provides insight into one of the most cost-effective ways to grow your online program. What if you could increase your response rates by 20%? Or your average gift by $15? Or convert twice as many web site visitors to subscriber? All without a significant new marketing initiative? Using data and testing to optimize your program is an essential strategy that all nonprofits should have in their toolkit!

3. What's the one thing you want attendees to remember from your session?

Test! Analyze! Test some more!

4. Which Muppet do you most identify with and why?

Kermit the frog.

5. Where can people follow you online (twitter, blog, etc.)?

Website: www.mrss.com, www.e-benchmarksstudy.com
Twitter: @dijulio

5 Questions: Are You For Real? Working with a Virtual Team

Holly — Mon, 08 Mar 2010 11:09:52 -0800

Speaker: Jenn Sramek, CivicActions

Session: Are you for real?! Working with a virtual team

1. What's the most important trend in nonprofit technology for 2010?

Openness and FOSS (free and open source software) are really perfect fits for nonprofits who share the values of collaboration, community, empowerment, and sharing. We are seeing significant numbers of nonprofits gravitate to open source tools such as CiviCRM and Drupal as more attention is paid to usability and support for the non-technical user.

2. Why do you think your session topic is important for nonprofits to address?

Working with virtual teams is an important topic for nonprofits to address because more and more, they are working with staff members or contractors who do not share an office with them. The field of virtual work and virtual workforce management is growing, and increasingly, program directors and organizational directors are finding themselves in the position of having to use more technical tools to keep a far-flung team in close communication. Working with people from afar is not the same as being in-person, so developing practices that are effective in team management is a must.

3. What's the one thing you want attendees to remember from your session?

That virtual work could save the planet! And contributes to productive, healthy, and balanced work lives when it is managed properly.

4. Which Muppet do you most identify with and why?

Oh, that would have to be Scooter. He was the blond muppet who played stage manager and stayed behind the curtain and helped herd people on stage while also helping Miss Piggy and Kermit work out their latest relationship crisis. He did all of this while also having Gonzo around his neck and Animal swinging on a chain from the ceiling trying to bite him. I have been known to provide a lot of invisible support under some interesting conditions so that the show goes on. Because it must!

5. Where can people follow you online (twitter, blog, etc.)?

CivicActions blog: http://civicactions.com/blog/jennsramek

CivicActions blog: http://civicactions.com/blog/jennsramek
Twitter: @ideaseed
LinkedIn

NTEN Member Buzz Round-Up: First week of March 2010

Annaliese — Fri, 05 Mar 2010 11:59:03 -0800

(Note: This is a weekly round-up of NTEN members doing and sharing their nptech awesome. Members are in bold. Tag your own news with "nten member" or "nptech" to help us find your awesome online, or contact Annaliese with your updates.)

NPower Seattle welcomed a new Executive Director: Alison Carl White. Weclome!

Avencia has become Azavea: same GIS technology and web and mobile geo-spatial services and software development, but with a new name!

The March 501 Tech Club in NYC will be a panel on "Texting for Good: Trends, Tools, and Tips for Nonprofits" with Katrin Verclas (MobileActive), Jed Alpert (MobileCommons), and George Weiner (DoSomething.org). Full details and RSVP here. It's free!

Deborah Elizabeth Finn announced the prototype of a tool that will search and aggregate questions and answers regarding nonprofit management. With help from Third Sector New England, Social Actions, and the Boston Foundation, a first prototype focusing on Massachusetts nonprofit organizations will be available March 4th.

This month's NetSquared (a project of TechSoup Global) Think Tank topic is on effective social media policies. If you're unfamiliar with Net2 Think Tanks, it's a way to get nonprofit and social media practicioners to discuss and share insights and resources on the given topic. You can read more details on how to participate in this month's think tank here.

Paul Lamb (ZeroDivide) has an article in the Christian Science Monitor about today's activists: how they marry old school and new school (read: social web and mobile technologies) tactics to have their voices heard. You can also hear a shorter version of Paul's piece from KQED podcast.

Amy Sample Ward live-blogged from an event in London last week on the topic "Is Technology Really Good for Human Rights?" Thank you for taking the notes and sharing!

And, finally, don't forget to keep an eye on the NTEN blog this month leading up to our annual conference, because Holly Ross will be interviewing some of our conference speakers, including a series titled "5 Questions," which asks these experts about the nonprofit technology landscape.