This blog is for volunteers, webmasters and administrators of associations, clubs, charities, communities and other groups. We discuss issues and trends in modern web technologies that help your organization achieve more with less. This blog is sponsored by Wild Apricot membership software: a set of tools for membership administration, event registration, website management, online fundraising - with friendly and knowledgeable tech support. See for yourself how affordable and easy it is to use: - Take a tour!

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• 08 May 2008

  How Well Does Your Website Work for its Users? 

  How easy do you think it should be to make a charitable donation? Getting a charity to accept your money might not be quite as easy as you'd think — if the charity's website is designed to meet its own needs, that is, rather than the needs of the people who visit and use the site. Here's an example: When an acquaintance passed away this week, I decided to pay my respects with a memorial donation to a major national charity. In a few spare minutes at lunch hour, I wrote out a cheque and sealed it Read More... Posted Thursday, May 08, 2008 6:52 PM by Rebecca | 5 Comments Filed under: Non-profit technology, General non-profit interest, Usability, Fundraising, nptech, Best practices, case studies, websites, Accessibility

• 06 December 2007

  6 Unique Online Fundraising Techniques for Your Nonprofit (Part 4 of 6) 

  This post has been contributed by Lance Trebesch and Taylor Robinson from TicketPrinting.com 4a. Wiki Pages A “wiki” is a website that can be easily edited by its users. The most popular wiki today is Wikipedia which is an online encyclopedia where people from all over the word update and add information. However, wiki pages can be used by your nonprofit in innovative ways to do more than simply provide basic information found on Wikipedia. Your organization can create its own wiki pages for topics Read More... Posted Thursday, December 06, 2007 2:23 PM by Creative Apricot | 2 Comments Filed under: Associations, Non-profit technology, General non-profit interest, Fundraising, nptech, Web 2.0, Best practices

• 29 November 2007

  Tips to Manage your Year-End Fundraising Campaigns 

  It's crunch time for nonprofit fundraisers looking to take advantage of the holiday giving season. If you don't have a plan in place yet, no worries. This guide from Care2's Eric Rardin and Heather Holdridge , along with Mark Rovner and Sarah Haug of Sea Change Strategies , " A Procrastinator's Guide to Year-End Fundraising " will give you a crash course on best practices for maximizing online giving and how to connect with new supporters, and communicate year-round to foster the best possible relationships Read More... Posted Thursday, November 29, 2007 2:18 PM by Creative Apricot | 1 Comments Filed under: Associations, Non-profit technology, General non-profit interest, Fundraising, nptech, Web 2.0, Best practices

• 30 October 2007

  Technology to make fundraising ‘good to go': New report by Network for Good 

  Network for Good released a new report called The Wired Fundraiser: How technology is making fundraising 'good to go'. The report written by Katya Andresen and Stacie Mann covers what happens when people with a cause take it to cyberspace; why marketers and fundraisers like us should care; and what we should do about the phenomenon. The full report can be downloaded here . The report starts with a profile of the two types of Wired Fundraisers. Type I - The Personal Fundraiser These individuals are Read More... Posted Tuesday, October 30, 2007 9:00 AM by Creative Apricot | 1 Comments Filed under: Associations, Non-profit technology, General non-profit interest, Fundraising, nptech, Web 2.0, Best practices, Widgets, Micro-philanthropy

• 28 August 2007

  How to use MySpace to drive new activists and donors: An interview with Tim Fullerton of Oxfam America 

  Tim Fullerton is the Online Communications Lead for Oxfam America , an organization committed to creating lasting solutions to poverty, hunger and injustice. In the following interview, Tim and I talk about the use of social networking sites MySpace to reach out to people, build a community and recruit new activists and donors. As Online Communications Lead, Tim helps to manage Oxfam’s online communications program and social networking pages. Tim managed the online component of the Rock for Darfur Read More... Posted Tuesday, August 28, 2007 1:48 PM by Creative Apricot | 2 Comments Filed under: Associations, Non-profit technology, General non-profit interest, Fundraising, nptech, Web 2.0, Best practices, online community

• 20 July 2007

  Using online tools to build alumni relations- La Habra High School Alumni Association Mini-Case Study  

  In this Mini-Case Study, we interview Priscilla Christian and highlight La Habra High School Alumni Association as a very special project. Priscilla Christian, Vice Chairwoman and Webmaster La Habra High School Alumni Association Priscilla serves as Vice Chairwoman and Webmaster. Over the last 20 years she has transitioned from traditional printing to digital illustration and onward to Web development. She now serves the LHHS Alumni Association using a blend of these skills to grow their membership, Read More... Posted Friday, July 20, 2007 9:00 AM by Creative Apricot | 2 Comments Filed under: Associations, Non-profit technology, General non-profit interest, Wild Apricot, Fundraising, nptech, Marketing, Web 2.0, Best practices, E-mail marketing

• 05 June 2007

  How to promote your non-profit's cause on Facebook in five easy steps 

  Non-profits organizations using Facebook can now launch a social-networking-based fundraising drive for their cause, promote it to their friends and network, and raise money. That in a nutshell is what a new mini-application within Facebook called Causes is all about. Launched by Project Agape , this new service extends the “group” features and allows users to create causes, take donations, and recruit members. Why is this feature good for charities? According to digitaljournal.com : “This is a good Read More... Posted Tuesday, June 05, 2007 4:24 PM by Creative Apricot | 17 Comments Filed under: Associations, Non-profit technology, General non-profit interest, Fundraising, nptech, Web 2.0, Best practices, Facebook

• 20 April 2007

  Five Ways Nonprofits Can Use Flickr to Reach New Audiences 

  A couple of weeks ago, I attended a Flickr session at the Non-Profit Technology Conference . A common question asked was “How can we use Flickr to reach new audiences?” A lot of nonprofits have started using Flickr to increase their visibility online. Flickr has become a popular social media tool because it allows nonprofits to upload their photos and supports an active community where people share and comment on each other's photos. But what truly sets it apart is its tagging feature. Tagging (keywording) Read More... Posted Friday, April 20, 2007 7:29 PM by Creative Apricot | 11 Comments Filed under: Non-profit technology, General non-profit interest, Fundraising, nptech, Web 2.0, Best practices, Volunteers

• 18 December 2006

  Transforming Your Web Visitors into Eager Donors and Volunteers 

  Your website can be a great tool in engaging prospective donors and volunteers. To do this you need to foster a sense of community with your target audience, and then call them to action. Here are a few things you might want to consider: Build meaningful relationships A blog (short for the term “Web log”) is a great place to tell stories about what your non-profit is doing, if it is personable enough and genuine in approach. You can use a blog to share with potential donors/volunteers: what your Read More... Posted Monday, December 18, 2006 6:14 AM by Chief_Apricot | 5 Comments Filed under: Non-profit technology, General non-profit interest, Fundraising, nptech, Best practices