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News for April 2005

29 April 2005

Independent Sector | Value of Volunteer Time

The Independent Sector estimates that the dollar value of volunteer time is $17.55 per hour for 2004. I think it's amazing how much higher this is than the U.S. minimum wage. Chip Watkins pointed out to me that the methodology used by IS is flawed because it doesn't take into account what it is that volunteers actually do and what the market value of that work might be. It's merely based on an average wage for nonfarm labor. I'm disappointed. Posted: 4/29/05; 5:58:04 PM #

Return Path White Papers
	The online marketing company Return Path has a great selection of short white papers. Most of them are very practical guides to email marketing challenges. Posted: 4/29/05; 5:52:13 PM #

Whither the Renaissance Man?
	In Whither the Renaissance Man?, Michael Hawley explores the people and the social conditions that give rise to periods of innovation. He says we are woefully lacking in our versions of Benjamin Franklin and I think he may be right. Posted: 4/29/05; 5:45:38 PM #

28 April 2005

Typology of Syndication Applications
	This Typology of Syndication Applications at the Sun blogs is both a nice illustration of the ecosystem of RSS syndication and a good introduction to the applications. I love the diagram. Posted: 4/28/05; 5:06:50 PM #

Connexions - Sharing Knowledge and Building Communities - Browse Content
	Connexions has grown enormously since I last took a look at it. There are now over 2300 learning modules licensed for open use, by a worldwide community of authors. I encourage you to browse their content, where you will find free courses on topics ranging from "computer science to music and from mathematics to biodiversity". Posted: 4/28/05; 4:47:12 PM #

Where Have The Values Gone?
	In Where Have The Values Gone?, David Geilhufe offers a sharp critique of N-TEN and the recent Nonprofit Technology Conference, calling it a "corporate model of vendors, customers, sponsorships and schwag". I haven't reflected deeply on why I don't go any more and I've remained an N-TEN booster since I left the chairmanship, but this is food for thought. Posted: 4/28/05; 4:42:21 PM #

25 April 2005

Achieving Long-Term Political Change In the Middle East
	In Achieving Long-Term Political Change In the Middle East, Dov Zakheim makes the case for the central role of civil society organizations in achieving democratic objectives. It's refreshing to see that he isn't just referring to western style democracy or the NGOs that have played a support role in the corporate invasion. Posted: 4/25/05; 5:16:18 PM #

International Freedom of Expression eXchange

For international NGOs that rely upon a climate conducive to civil society and free communication, the International Freedom of Expression eXchange would be a valuable resource for planning and evaluating projects in various countries. With a leadership consisting of "organisations whose members refuse to turn away when those who have the courage to insist upon their fundamental human right to free expression are censored, brutalized or killed", IFEX serves as a useful clearinghouse for all organizations that depend upon free expression to conduct their work successfully. Posted: 4/25/05; 5:12:54 PM #

24 April 2005

Mike Best with Evidence That ICT4D Works

Mike Best is a leading figure in studying the relationship between information technology and development. He recently did some research testing a theory that multidirectional networking technologies (like email) are conducive to democracy. His results are summarized in Ethan Zuckerman's weblog. It turns out there is indeed a meaningful positive correlation and the results suggest some interesting avenues for further research and program development. Posted: 4/24/05; 9:57:41 PM #

SANGONeT Conference & Exhibition 2005
	SANGONeT has posted slides and handouts related to the programme of their recent Conference and Exhibition in Johannesburg, at which I spoke. There is a wealth of great material there. Posted: 4/24/05; 9:47:45 PM #

Email Is the New Database
	Five years ago at Social Ecology we wrote OrgMail, an application for email based knowledge building. I think our timing must have been off because now the mainstream press is reporting that email is the new database. Posted: 4/24/05; 9:45:03 PM #

Charities Are Silent on Loss of Estate Tax
	The politics of giving by the rich reveals itself in a New York Times article on the silence of charities on the loss of the estate tax in the United States. Posted: 4/24/05; 9:41:19 PM #

Who is .Org?
	I was one of the founding members of the Public Interest Registry's Council of Advisors, so it's with some pleasure that I have been learning about PIR's support and involvement with N-TEN. PIR runs the .org top level domain. For an introduction to the organization, take a look at their year two report (14 page PDF). Posted: 4/24/05; 9:35:36 PM #

22 April 2005

Nonprofit Professionals Advisory Group:  Article Library and Helpful Links
	The Nonprofit Professionals Advisory Group has a great little library of articles on topics related to nonprofit employment, job hunting, and human resource management. Posted: 4/22/05; 1:57:42 PM #

Communication Toolkit

Cause Communications has assembled a great Communication Toolkit, a 134 page book available as a free download. Although it really just barely touches on the power of online communication, it does provide a solid foundation in a number of basics, such as research, competitive analysis, identity, and message development. It also serves as a good introduction to the key traditional areas of communication including advertising and media relations. Posted: 4/22/05; 1:54:21 PM #

In Search of the Variable Geometry Firm: An Org Chart that Flexes and Flows
	After 20 years of consulting, I am convinced that org charts are the enemy, or at least, an agent of the enemy. They ossify roles and relationships and make change a great deal harder. So it was with great interest that I read this interview with Joshua Epstein, who is studying An Org Chart that Flexes and Flows, or what he calls the Variable Geometry Firm. Posted: 4/22/05; 1:45:20 PM #

Tools Are Great, But a Business Plan is Better
	Rick Christ obviously shares my frustration at how many nonprofits would rather spend money on tools than on the strategies with which to use them. He offers some questions that every nonprofit should answer before rushing to buy technology. I would go even further and recommend that organizations spend 30% of their budget for new technology on planning. Posted: 4/22/05; 12:28:50 PM #

.LRN - Galileo University - Case Study
	The open source platform used by Galileo University in Guatamala, and others, is called .LRN and is a free, feature-rich environment for online course management and delivery. I was an admirer of the precursors to this software so it's nice to see it getting some traction. Posted: 4/22/05; 12:16:03 PM #

Proxy Season Preview 2005
	Foundation assets are largely in shares of publicly traded corporations. As You Sow is an organization devoted to helping foundations use the influence they have as shareholders to advance their social goals. The current issue of their newsletter (16 page PDF) reviews key corporations and key issues coming up in the upcoming proxy voting season. Posted: 4/22/05; 12:09:48 PM #

21 April 2005

Net Talk and Net Action
	Activists have been debating two different online organizing strategies: the traditional top down, broadcast model and the bottom up, network model. I've never felt like these were so far apart. Adina Levin explains how they complement each other in her piece on Net Talk and Net Action. Posted: 4/21/05; 10:32:45 AM #

N-TEN Forecast: Open Standards – A Call To Action
	I've been an advocate for open standards for some time and in fact, I delivered the first session on the subject at an N-TEN conference several years ago. So, it's with some pleasure that I read Nick Gleason and Zach Rosen's Call To Action for Open Standards, published as an N-TEN Forecast. Now my question is: Will people respond to the call this time? Posted: 4/21/05; 10:28:23 AM #

17 April 2005

N-TEN Program Survey
	Whether you are a Nonprofit Technology Enterprise Network member or not, I want to encourage you to complete the N-TEN Program Survey (can be anonymous) to give them input on their program plans. They recently hired a new Executive Director and they are poised to grow in some new directions. Posted: 4/17/05; 10:36:28 PM #

genderIT.org - Global and regional highlights on gender and ICT policy
	The recently launched genderIT.org web site is an excellent international and regional resource on gender and ICT policy. Posted: 4/17/05; 10:33:06 PM #

Comparison of Blogs, Syndication Feeds, and Syndication Link Location and Type
	Molly E. Holzschlag has reviewed the emerging patterns on how weblogs present their syndication feeds and links. The article includes a useful table for those who want their RSS easily found. Ours, by the way, is visible after you login to our website, which comes when you subscribe to the newsletter. Posted: 4/17/05; 10:29:03 PM #

A Craving for Social Change
	In an expression of his frustration for the overselling of new technology, François Joseph de Kermadec writes about our craving for social change and how we get sucked into the hype. Posted: 4/17/05; 10:20:15 PM #

14 April 2005

Online Donor Cultivation: The Quest for Metrics

I just taught an online workshop yesterday on the subject of online donor cultivation, as part of our Frictionless Fundraising series. I believe that two of the great opportunities of online fundraising are the ability to cheaply cultivate relationships with many donors and the ability to track that cultivation numerically. I address the latter issue in my latest article entitled Online Donor Cultivation: The Quest for Metrics. Posted: 4/14/05; 5:27:01 PM #

13 April 2005

May Briefing Series: Email Newsletter Marketing

Because they were our most popular professional briefings to date, we've scheduled another series of Email Newsletter Marketing online workshops. They will be held online: May 17, 18, and 19, 2005. Based on our groundbreaking research and writing on the subject, the three session topics are: (1) The Email Newsletter Marketing Model, (2) Common Flaws of Nonprofit Newsletters and How to Fix Them, and (3) Creating Effective Content for Email Newsletters. Posted: 4/13/05; 4:10:08 PM #

12 April 2005

Photo Retouching with Photoshop, A Designer's Notebook

You may have noticed that I have been reading up on digital photography recently. With the widespread availability of cheap digital cameras, the role of photography in education and activism is taking an interesting historical turn. Just today, charges against various protesters during the Republican National Convention were thrown out when pictures taken on the scene revealed that many police officers' assertions were, to put it succinctly, untrue. They also caught the police department doctoring some video footage to leave out scenes that didn't support those assertions. All this contributes to my interest in another book in the Designer's Notebook series called Photo Retouching with Photoshop, which carefully and beautifully documents the techniques of eight different french photo studios. Posted: 4/12/05; 1:56:42 PM #

Illustrations with Photoshop, A Designer's Notebook

I'm a strong believer in the power of a good image to communicate. Although I am not an illustrator, I have been considering some projects which may require them and so I have been trying to educate myself about the tools of the trade. One book that I particularly enjoyed was Illustrations with Photoshop, part of the Designer's Notebook series that compiles the work of contemporary French artists into a very educational format. The thing that I found so valuable about this particular book is that it gave me an understanding of the specific kinds of illustrations that can be done digitally. Posted: 4/12/05; 1:49:54 PM #

10 April 2005

Dabblers and Blowhards
	Because I frequently point to articles by Paul Graham, the author of Painters and Hackers, I feel it's only fair to point to Maciej Ceglowski's excellent rebuttal to some of Graham's ideas, in his essay entitled Dabblers and Blowhards. Posted: 4/10/05; 6:54:25 PM #

Discovering the Iceburg of Knowledge Work
	Lilia Efimova's Discovering the Iceburg of Knowledge Work is an examination of the role of weblogs in complex communities of practice. I was particularly impressed by the way she divided knowledge work into the three dimensions related to the individual, to communities, and to ideas themselves. Posted: 4/10/05; 6:51:24 PM #

8 April 2005

Collaboration Handbook: Creating, Sustaining, and Enjoying the Journey

I wrote a short piece about collaboration in the April 2005 issue of Nonprofit Online News Magazine. If you enjoyed that article, I want to encourage you to read the Wilder Foundation's excellent Collaboration Handbook: Creating, Sustaining, and Enjoying the Journey, by Michael Winer and Karen Ray. There is a tension between their approach and mine, but I think theirs is equally practical. It's a four stage process, starting with connecting individuals, working its way up to the connection between organizations, and finally connecting the organizations to the community. It's very smart work. Posted: 4/8/05; 10:52:22 AM #

Resolving Conflict in Nonprofit Organizations

I've taught a few workshops recently for nonprofit executives who are dealing with technological changes and one of the sessions focuses on creating synergy between communication and technology staff. The topic of conflict resolution is a key theme in that I see healthy approaches to the natural tension between certain staff roles as a potential gold mine of creative energy for an organization. But often times, we don't have the luxury to lay the groundwork for synergy, which is where classic conflict resolution techniques come in handy. Marion Peters Angelica's book Resolving Conflict in Nonprofit Organizations is a fabulous resource. It covers both practical steps to apply in most conflicts as well as specific approaches to use in uniquely sensitive situations. Posted: 4/8/05; 10:50:41 AM #

Mind Hacks: Tips and Tools for Using Your Brain

I had a hard time with this being part of O'Reilly's great Hacks series, since I envision a 'hack' as something immediately practical and most of the ideas in this book, while utterly fascinating, would only bear fruit after much work. Nevertheless, if you want your eyes opened to how the human mind works, I can heartily recommend Mind Hacks: Tips and Tools for Using Your Brain, by Tom Stafford and Matt Webb. To me, this book is a wake up call for anyone who doesn't think they need to verify their intuitions about how people work, whether it's in designing a user interface or a social program. Posted: 4/8/05; 10:49:57 AM #

7 April 2005

NON Journal April 2005

I'm very excited about the April edition of Nonprofit Online News Journal. Our latest improvements include a topical organizing of the news items and resources, using the same taxonomy that we use for our annual compilations. Our latest one page Quicksheet is on Identifying Online Fundraising Opportunities. In addition to several reprints, we are also publishing two original articles by me, which will be seen in the Journal first: (1) A Practical Approach to Collaboration, and (2) Everyday Software: Publishing Nonprofit Online News. Posted: 4/7/05; 8:20:43 PM #

6 April 2005

A Decade of Online Fundraising
	In A Decade of Online Fundraising (7 page PDF), Michael Stein and John Kenyon take a snapshot of the field. Even if, like me, you would date the birth of online fundraising back to the first email appeal, long before the birth of the web, this is definitely worth reading. Posted: 4/6/05; 6:06:41 PM #

Groundspring Realigns Organization
	In a strategic development in the nonprofit technology service provider field, Groundspring has announced that it is getting out of the software development business, letting its developers go, releasing its code, and focusing on service delivery. Posted: 4/6/05; 10:45:34 AM #

1 April 2005

rebecca blood :: weblogs: a history and perspective

Tonight is the eighth anniversary of the first public post of Nonprofit Online News. It started before that as a private link list for my colleagues. When it was opened to the public, it was a weblog, before the word had been coined. (It's probably tied for the oldest weblog still being published.) For more information on the history of weblogs, I recommend Rebecca Blood's work. Eight years after it started, Nonprofit Online News may be a lot more than a weblog -- it's a newsletter, a magazine, a community -- but it will always be a weblog at heart. Posted: 4/1/05; 11:30:40 PM #