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INTRODUCTION
I love the end of the year. It's the one time when it's okay to stop what I'm doing, sit down, and reflect on what I've accomplished, and -- more often than I might like -- what I didn't. Although I never managed to lose those last 10 pounds this year, I did manage to be at least 10% less snarky. And I read real books more, and spent more time with my kid. You, dear NTEN community, had a banner year as well. You were busy changing the world with Facebook and Linked In. You used online tools like never before, telling your story with maps and figuring out how to eke 5% more productivity out of your time with Google Calendar. You raised money for your causes online, via email, and even on mobile phones. I hope that in 2007, NTEN helped you do all that and more. And I look forward to seeing what you'll accomplish in 2008. Best, Holly If we learned one thing in 2007, it's that people are hungry for information on how social networks can actually be used by nonprofits. Here are the top articles from NTEN Connect:  Online Communities: Why They Matter to You Nonprofits naturally go to where people hang out in the hope to recruit supporters, donors, and activists. There are more than 20,000 nonprofit and philanthropic groups on MySpace alone. With more than half of MySpace visitors 35 or older, they are on to something. O’Reilly's architecture of participation is in full swing with corporations and nonprofits alike using social networking to stay competitive, secure 'mind share', and harness collective intelligence. But is this effective? What is the potential of these social networks and why should nonprofits care?
Nonprofits Can Be LinkedInMonique Cuvelier, Talance, Inc. Only 10 years ago, social networks were built quite differently. We might pump a few hands at conferences, place a few phone calls or meet people for lunch. A labor-intensive way of expanding the little black book, to be sure, but that's the way everybody did it. Networks lived in brainspace and on slips of paper. But a decade is a long time. Person-to-person meetings are still a great way to make connections, but networks have increasingly less to do with seeing people and more to do with outlets such as LinkedIn. You may also want to read: From GIS to IM to all things Google, we had you covered in 2007:  Ten Cool Tools For Working on the Web New services and applications are coming online all the time and some of them can prove immediately useful for nonprofits. Here are ten of my current favorite tools for research, collaboration, and productivity.
The On-Demand Nonprofit The biggest challenge for Google Apps and other on-demand productivity suites is making the case to nonprofits: What is the value proposition making the transition from their current systems and processes a worthwhile investment? The beauty of web apps is that they augment rather than replace systems. To that end, let's take a look at how an organization might use a suite of on-demand productivity tools, in this case, Google Apps, as part of their system. Oh, but that's not all:
What makes nonprofits tick? Check out:  The Merging of Technology and Marketing As a (hopefully) smart marketer, I am fully aware that I need to engage my constituents at a variety of levels in a variety of venues. And while the verdict is out on whether or not “web 2.0” tactics will ever raise significant funds, it’s quite obvious that social networking and the entire gaggle of new technologies are acting as an enabling platform that will allow organizations to build bridges to their constituents.
 An Intimate Look at a Successful Online Fundraising Campaign Online fundraising -- specifically the email appeal -- is successful when you manage to bundle the long list of fundraising best practices into one package and send it on to your e-supporters. Using a real campaign, I'll unravel the two important best practice components and highlight key tactics and benchmarks to give you a bucket of new tricks for your next email fundraising campaign. NTEN Connect also featured: HOW TO: PUT TECHNOLOGY TO USE
Your end-of-year guide to the best resources that will help you put technology to work for your cause.
Interestingly, the top rated How-tos of the past year almost exactly mirrored our most clicked articles. We'll keep that in mind as we work to make NTEN Connect even better in 2008. Get the Most out of Social Networks > About to launch a social networking campaign? Christine Herron has some smart things to say about that. > If you're not, is it because "you're squeamish about putting all that information 'out there'"? Find out how to get past that with "5 reasons your nonprofit is not using new media - and how to clear the hurdles". > NTEN Member Michelle Martin provides a great starting point for organizations looking to get started with Facebook. Why Facebook? "It's infinitely less annoying than MySpace." Reach Constituents and Raise Money Online > Before you can reach your constituents, you should help them organize themselves. Check out "Building a User Community", complete with disambiguated 50s-style graphics. And if you haven't already, join NTEN's Affinity Groups to find and talk to passionate Techies for Good. > Once you've organized your users, you'll want to work that into your fundraising campaigns. NTEN Member Paul Lamp has the 411 on online fundraising tools. And can we pass up the chance to mention Facebook one more time? No, we can't. Read Peter Deitz on "Raising Money on Facebook". Choose and Use Other Online Tools > With so many options out there, how do you separate the cream from the chaff? First, mind your metaphors. Then read the Nonprofit Open Source Initiative's "Choosing and Using Free and Open Source Software". > Narrow down your options with the CMS Matrix and NTEN's latest report, the "2007 CRM Satisfaction Survey", now available as a PDF document free to NTEN members. Deborah Elizabeth Finn and Arthur Prokosch have another report on "free or cheap web-based organizing and collaboration tools".
The year-end edition of "Things We Like", featuring the items you, our readers, clicked the most. Read more posts on our blog.
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2008 NTC
Registration for the 2008 NTC is now open.
This year's NTC will be held in New Orleans. NTEN members save $200, so join today, then register before January 15th to get the best rate possible. CRM SURVEY RESULTSChoosing a CRM can be overwhelming. With so many choices and so little time to research all the options, turn to the report from NTEN's first CRM Satisfaction Survey for help. We've surveyed hundreds of your peers to provide you with a wide array of opinions about CRM systems, and the characteristics of the vendors providing those products. TECH LEADERSHIP
Our Technology Leadership Series sold out in the fall, so we're offering it again, beginning January 10, 2008.
Join John Kenyon to get the information and skills you need to understand technology, make your work life easier, and get more done with the same resources. But hurry: there are only 25 spots, and they're filling quickly. MEMBER DISCOUNTSConsistent Computer Bargains ContractAnalyst from TrakSoft NEXT NTEN CONNECTBe sure to read the January 2008 issue of NTEN Connect, when we'll preview the 2008 NTC by publishing articles by some of our featured NTC presenters. Can't get Connected enough? Read every 2007 issue in our Newsletter archive. |
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NTEN CONNECT is the monthly e-newsletter of the Nonprofit Technology Network (NTEN). |
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