Flickr Credit: wednesday181Wow. We've come to the last business day in November (with tomorrow being Thanksgiving and Friday being recover-from-Thanksgiving day). I've had fun recognizing NTEN Members for their dedication to their work and this professional community. Giving away free stuff was nice, too.

I hope you all got the message: we value your membership, because it means you value the work you do and the community of your colleagues.

Over the last couple of years, we've seen the landscape of nonprofit technology change, growing with new strategies and successes deploying mobile, web 2.0, constituent data, and e-communications channels for advocacy and charity causes. We've learned that everyone has to be on board with technology, from the board to the volunteers, from the IT staff to the development and marketing departments. We've got to work together to do it right.

You've been a part of that, and you'll continue to be in front of the curve because you're working with each other and your organizations to make smart technology decisions every day.

In 2009, we'll convene in San Francisco for the annual Nonprofit Technology Conference. Today I get to give a complimentary conference registration to an NTEN member, just for being a member:

We're down to two days of Member Appreciation giveaways, so you know it's going to be a big prize today.

How big, you ask? How about a lucky NTEN member getting their 2009 Membership renewed, on us?

I waved my hand over the trusty NTEN CRM and came up with that lucky NTEN member:

This is the beginning of the end of Member Appreciation Month, which is bittersweet for me.

Flickr Credit: obLiteratedOn the one hand, I've had a lot of fun giving stuff away and talking about how great NTEN members are these past few weeks. But the cool thing is, we've saved the best member appreciation prizes for last.

Today I get to give away a 2009 Season Pass for NTEN webinars!

It goes to:

Happy Friday! I'm going to wrap up this 3rd week of member appreciation month by giving away some NTEN Gear.

So, without further ado:

Flickr Credit: PhilonHave you attended an NTEN webinar lately?

Over the last year or so, we've really bulked up our online seminar offerings, usually with at least one per week, and often as many as three for you to choose from.

We know technology tools and trends evolve rapidly, and you need to stay on top of what the nonprofit sector is doing and using to achieve their missions more efficiently. We also know that traveling to conferences and in-person seminars is often beyond the reach of most folks, be that because of location, time, or costs involved.

I bring this up because I get to give out a free webinar to a member today as part of this month's Member Appreciation festivities. But I don't want to stop there.

I want all nonprofit program staff, IT staff, fundraising and communications staff, and yes, nonprofit executive directors out there to stay on top of the tools and strategies that will make your jobs easier, and perhaps, as a result, the world a little better.

So, let's do this:

Over the past year -- or, I guess, 2 years, really -- we've seen the power of people-to-people, word-of-mouth, long-tail, whatever-you-want-to-call-it fundraising with the success of the Obama campaign's online efforts. They broke all sorts of fundraising records, and did most of it with donations under $100.

What really excites me about the result is the lesson it can teach advocacy and nonprofit organizations across the country.

Hopefully, as the veterans of the Obama team share their time and information with the sector, we'll learn more about the details of the strategy and execution so we can apply it to volunteer, awareness, and fundraising efforts. In the meantime, I'm happy to be able to send a piece of this type of strategy to today's appreciated NTEN member:

Member Appreciation month continues with another NTEN give-away, a free webinar:

Terri Dufner, we're sending you a coupon for a free NTEN webinar so you can build on your nonprofit technology skills and put them to use toward your mission.

Reminder: All NTEN members can attend our special free webinar this Thursday:

> 10 Tactics for Growing Your Online community.

Happy 3rd-week-of-member-appreciation-month!

I'm excited to start off this week's NTEN give-aways with some NTEN Gear. I'm doubly excited to give that gear to an NTEN member participating in our group on Facebook:

All week, we've been running our CRM plus Consulting hours give-away, and I'm excited to announce the nonprofit NTEN organizational member that will be receiving the following:

• 2 free seats for the first year of Common Ground, the new CRM from Convio
• 10 free consulting hours to help get things set up, from Causeway Interactive

And the winner is:

When economic woes and job layoffs dominate the news cycle, we tend to examine our own careers and financial standing. Am I okay? Is my job safe?

Flickr Credit: RobbieG1It's times like these that being part of a community of professionals, a community of colleagues who share tips, insights, and even job opportunities, becomes even more valuable.

For us, the nonprofit technology professionals -- a niche that includes IT professionals as well as fundraising and communications folks, as well as the small nonprofit staffers who are jacks-of-all-trades -- to do our jobs well, there's the added need to stay on top of the fast-evolving technologies and trends.

Building that community and providing that professional development training is the idea behind NTEN, and the mission we pursue.