Your guide to resources that will help you put technology to work for your cause.

Get the Most Out of Your Online Campaign

> While more Americans are learning about this year's electioneering from their daily newspaper than the Internet, social media tools have gained traction. Wired recently took a look at one campaign's use of new technologies in "The Tech of Obamamania". You can get the NPTech slant on the election from Care2's Election Blog.

> Of course, most nonprofits aren't trying to win an election, but many of the fundraising and organizational principals remain the same. And while there's been a lot of buzz about the death of social networking -- be sure the check out Slate's "The Facebook Philanthropos" -- Beth Kanter assures us that the reports are overblown. We just need to think more strategically about how we're using all the new toys.

> In that spirit, you may want to take a look at the online campaigning overview on CNN -- yes, CNN! (Sometimes, sound bites are helpful.) -- before checking out two posts on the Wild Apricot blog: "7 Tips to Make Your Charity Badge a Success" and "Online Fundraising 101". Network for Good's study on "The Wired Fundraiser" is also an excellent resource. 

Organize Volunteers Online

> Having trouble keeping your supporters' version of your message in line? Beth's got you covered: "My Organization's Fundraiser Was Abducted by Aliens!"

> And while you could just start your own social networking site, with your own rules, wouldn't be easier just to get the recording of Peter Deitz's excellent webinar, "Sharing the Message: How to Work Effectively with Your Organization's Wired Fundraisers". (Might this be a good use of NTEN's new webinar MultiPasses? Yes, it might.)

> Wait, what's that you say? You have to organize real, live people? Oh, boy. Fortunately, NTEN Members enjoy a discount on Mission Research's GiftWorks, which has a Volunteer Management component. The World Cares Center offers trainings for working with volunteers in disaster situations. And Coyote Communications has a good section on volunteer management, including an overview of available software options.

> If you just want to volunteer yourself, you've got a lot of options, like Network for Good, VolunteerMatch, and the unfortunately named Nabuur.com. 

Rock YouTube

> So, you want to rock YouTube harder than the dueling 1984 parody ads created by rogue supporters of the Clinton and Obama campaigns? First, get your organization signed up for YouTube's nonprofit program. Then, follow Holly Ross's advice and check out Project for Awesome.

> This guy's got an oh-so-meta series on gaining YouTube subscribers. You can also dress up your video using one of the many tools available or by following some tongue-in-cheek advice from across the pond. Just take care: as NPR reports, somebody may put the "anti" in "social media" by critiquing your video.

The CTC VISTA Project is now accepting applications from nonprofit organizations that would like to receive a CTC VISTA volunteer for Summer 2008. 

If you don't know about CTC VISTA, you should: "The CTC VISTA Project is a non-monetary foundation that helps match highly qualified AmeriCorps*VISTA candidates with organizations that use, or would like to use better, information and communications technologies." Here at NTEN, we liked our VISTA volunteer (Karl) so much, we hired him full time.

The deadline to apply is February 22nd.  You can find the application guidelines and eligibility requirements at: http://ctcvista.org/apply/org

APIs and data exchange are lighting up the sector this week, so much so I can hardly see straight! While most of the news has been focused on accessing your own data, here comes some really exciting news: United eWay and 1-800-Volunteer.org have started sharing volunteer opportunity listings.

From the press release I just received:

"The idea originated after Hurricane Katrina in which United Way of America wanted to have a simple way for individuals to access volunteer opportunities, regardless of the technology vendor they used for their search. After several years of leading the discussion, the concept of developing a process for volunteers to access opportunities in their community, regardless of the service the local Volunteer Center uses, is now in place."

See everyone? Being open is good. Good for you, and even better for mission! Now, where is the volunteer listing widget I can put on my blog?

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.

We've teamed up with VISTA/Americorps to get tech-savvy volunteers hooked up with the nonprofits that need them - and NTEN members will have top priority for volunteer placement!

CTC VISTAs can be placed with any nonprofit that uses technology to address the needs of low-income communities. Special consideration will be given to organizations that work in community networking, technology assistance, digital media, and community organizing projects.

NTEN organizational members that would like to apply for

Updating contact lists can be a major headache for organizations and often the only way to get the work done is to hire an intern or a temp. Green Media Toolshed came up with a different solution.

With its Media Volunteer Center, GMT asks people to go online and update a few contacts in its database. But what's really neat is that the website makes this so easy it's hard to resist. Really. There are three types of information you can update - a reporter's contact information, a media