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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• Accessibility
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• Best practices
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• crowdsourcing
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• 06 October 2008

  How Do You Thank Your Volunteers? 

  Thank you. It’s a powerful pair of words, and that simple statement of appreciation, spoken one-on-one, can go a long way to tell volunteers how much their work is valued — but you want to do more. A special effort or long-term commitment, in particular, calls for a special acknowledgement. What does your organization do to thank its volunteers? CASA of Camden County acknowledges its volunteers by sending birthday, anniversary, holiday, and thinking-of-you cards at intervals through the year — not Read More... Posted Monday, October 06, 2008 6:11 PM by Rebecca | 4 Comments Filed under: General non-profit interest, nptech, Volunteers, case studies

• 26 September 2008

  Case Study: Calgary Meals on Wheels Takes Campaign Online 

  Many of us are familiar with the Meals on Wheels concept - to deliver nutritious and affordable meals to people in need: seniors, convalescents, and people living with disabilities. In desperate need of a new facility in which to prepare all those meals, Calgary Meals on Wheels has just launched a major capital campaign - and a new website. We asked Leann Hackman-Carty to tell us about it... Read More... Posted Friday, September 26, 2008 6:53 AM by Rebecca | 2 Comments Filed under: Non-profit technology, General non-profit interest, Fundraising, nptech, case studies

• 09 July 2008

  Award-Winning Youth Helpline gets Web 2.0 Right 

  People born since 1980 — the first generation to grow up in a wired world — have a whole new set of expectations about communication. Nonprofits who want to reach this audience need to rethink the traditional outreach methods and learn to understand how this group operates. Whether we call them Millenials, Net-Genners, or Generation Y, these young people “dislike and tune out traditional news media,” says Joanne Fritz, PhD, Nonprofit guide at About.com. “They are more likely to use their internet Read More... Posted Wednesday, July 09, 2008 8:45 PM by Rebecca | 1 Comments Filed under: Non-profit technology, General non-profit interest, nptech, Web 2.0, Best practices, case studies, websites

• 11 June 2008

  Crowdsourcing: How Business and Nonprofits Tap into the Wisdom of Crowds  

  “Welcome to the age of the crowd,” wrote Jeff Howe in The Rise of Crowdsourcing (2006). In coining the term "crowdsourcing," Howe pointed to the rise of the open-source software movement; to the success of user-created Wikipedia; and to profitable businesses like MySpace and eBay “that couldn’t exist without the contribution of users.” Nowadays, user-driven innovations and crowdsourced solutions are popping up faster than you can say "open API" and "online community"... Read More... Posted Wednesday, June 11, 2008 10:01 PM by Rebecca | 2 Comments Filed under: Non-profit technology, General non-profit interest, nptech, Web 2.0, online community, case studies, collaboration, open source, crowdsourcing

• 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

• 09 April 2008

  Is Your Nonprofit Risking a Communications Nightmare? 

  Could your organization get a message to all your members within 48 hours? One small assocation thought so -- until last week, when an unexpected event revealed a major flaw in how the group was communicating with its members. This is a real-life example of a real nonprofit organization: a small interest-based nonprofit with a very small budget, run by volunteers working a few hours a month from their own homes. Does this sound like any group you know? Read More... Posted Wednesday, April 09, 2008 3:32 PM by Rebecca | 3 Comments Filed under: Non-profit technology, General non-profit interest, nptech, case studies, Non-profit Communications, membership

• 01 April 2008

  Campaign Maps: How 3 Nonprofit Organizations use Online Maps to Send a Message 

  Maps have come a long way from the traditional classroom wall map that many of us grew up with. Online, maps have taken on added dimension with multimedia mashups and a new level of interaction: the information they can deliver goes far beyond topographical features and geo-political boundaries. Here are three maps from three different nonprofit websites: all deal in some way with food sources, but each sends its message in a very different way. Read More... Posted Tuesday, April 01, 2008 2:29 PM by Rebecca | 6 Comments Filed under: Non-profit technology, General non-profit interest, nptech, Web 2.0, Google, case studies, Non-profit Communications, maps

• 18 December 2007

  Case Study : How to Reach New Constituents, Build Relationships and Drive Actions  

  For this month's case study, we caught up with Curtis Brown from Mission Movers Group for an interview about using email and web 2.0 to reach new constituents and building relationships. As President of Mission Movers, Curtis works with clients across the country to impact their marketing efforts and drive brand identification. He works with for profit and non profit businesses to develop virtual communication systems. In addition, Curtis conducts ongoing seminars and conferences to introduce businesses Read More... Posted Tuesday, December 18, 2007 9:00 AM by Creative Apricot | 1 Comments Filed under: Associations, Non-profit technology, General non-profit interest, nptech, Web 2.0, case studies

• 27 November 2007

  Case Study: Reaching a Wider Audience through Podcasting 

  On July 15, 2005, after many, many months of planning – Jodi Diehl and Angela Parker launched their “brainchild” -- RemoteProfessionals.com . A networking organization for outsourcing professionals, Remote Professionals use teleclasses, webchats and podcasts to bring speakers and presenters on topics of interest to members. They also strive to help others who, although they may not be members, have an interest in working independently or who currently offer outsourcing services. Using podcasts is Read More... Posted Tuesday, November 27, 2007 9:00 AM by Creative Apricot | 0 Comments Filed under: Associations, Non-profit technology, General non-profit interest, nptech, Web 2.0, podcasting, case studies