from frogloop: Cheap, Fast, and Good. Can Nonprofits have them All? When a nonprofit organization is beginning the process of doing a software implementation (such as a new website, or a new CRM or donation management product,) it is often unaware of the things that might underly whether such a project will succeed, how long it will take, and how much it will cost. Since nonprofits focus on their mission, and not software projects, that is an unknown to them, and understandably so. In software development or implementation projects, this triangle is often talked about. Software projects can be fast (that is, done quickly), done well, and/or cheap. But you only get to pick two of those. A project can be good, and cheap, but it won't be done quickly. It can be fast and cheap, but it won't be … Continue Reading
Blogging Tips, Traps and Tales
Whether you already have a blog, or are thinking of beginning one, here's a comprehensive article on what you should know - focused to the nonprofit world. from Fundraising Success: Blogging Tips, Traps and Tales In the webinar "Blogging for Nonprofits: Tips, Traps, and Tales" last month, Kivi Leroux Miller, founder of EcoScribe Communications and keeper of the Nonprofit Marketing Guide, covered blogging inside and out, including information about the types of blogs nonprofits can create and questions organizations should ask themselves to make sure a blog is right for them. … Continue Reading
Network for Good to Acquire ePhilanthropy Foundation
Network for Good, a leading provider of online fundraising services and how-to resources for nonprofits, announced today that it has acquired the ePhilanthropy Foundation, an educational organization helping other nonprofits to use best Internet practices. The move comes as Network for Good seeks to expand its help tools for nonprofits at a time when many small- to medium-sized organizations are struggling to raise funds and need assistance in starting online giving programs. Because of their low costs and high yield, online outreach programs are especially important during an economic downturn. … Continue Reading
Trends in Giving
Making Donations with a social conscience, keeping up with changing technology, bracing for an economic downturn - these are just a few of the stories in a special section called "Trends in Giving" in this week's Forward. Here is a snapshot of just two: Technologically Impaired? Jewish Organizations Struggle To Keep Pace With New Technologies So what exactly is breaking down when you take the term “not-for-profit” and put the word “Jewish” in front of it? It could be a matter of where the money’s coming from. MoveOn.org and Kiva.org are both extremely well funded by a wide range of sources, which makes it easy for them to experiment with new technologies. Plus, many secular not-for-profits receive a push to embrace new technology from behind the scenes. “Some of the … Continue Reading
The Generosity of Crowds
"It's more difficult to give money away intelligently than it is to earn it in the first place." Andrew Carnegie The US has over a million registered non-profit institutions including tens of thousands most have never heard of. You'd like to contribute, but effectively allocating your available funds among all these good causes seems like a hopeless task. Now comes an experimental website called Donation Dashboard, which uses machine learning techniques to recommend a customized portfolio of good causes based on individual ratings of sample non-profit organizations. Here's how it works: the site visitor is presented with brief descriptions of non-profit institutions and asked to rate each in terms of how interested they are in donating to it. The system analyzes the ratings in light of … Continue Reading
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