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 September 2008

  Online Donations: Survey Shows Potential for Growth  

  The American Express Charitable Gift Survey , released late last year in partnership with the Center on Philanthropy at Indiana University , sought to answer two key questions: “How do people give online?” and “How much do they give per donation?” The study reports that the average gift size is $172, but most gifts are less than $100, suggesting that most nonprofits rely on large numbers of small donors rather than on the headline-making major bequests. Six percent of donors give online, and there Read More... Posted Monday, September 08, 2008 6:42 PM by Rebecca | 1 Comments Filed under: General non-profit interest, Fundraising, nptech, surveys, Donor management, research

• 03 June 2008

  Top 5 Web Tools to Create Your Own Online Quiz 

  In response to our Top 10 round-up of tools for online polls and surveys, some readers asked about the best web-based tools to create custom quizzes and tests. Here, we've rounded up 5 web-based quiz tools to help get you started. Some of these quiz-makers are ideal for student-teacher use. Others can more easily make the leap to nonprofits, helping to engage visitors with your organization and your cause. As the lasting popularity of TV game shows like Jeopardy prove, we all love a chance to test our knowledge! Read More... Posted Tuesday, June 03, 2008 7:09 PM by Rebecca | 6 Comments Filed under: Non-profit technology, General non-profit interest, nptech, Web 2.0, training, surveys

• 15 April 2008

  8 Tips for an Effective Online Survey 

  Your organization may send out a feedback request with its appeals or reports to members. And perhaps you routinely ask those who attend your special events to fill out a quick survey. But if you need data quickly, or from a broader range of respondents, why not consider an online poll or survey? Here are 8 quick tips to help you get started: 1. Identify your goals. Online surveys can be an easy and cost-effective way to identify your constituents' needs and priorities, to learn what you're doing Read More... Posted Tuesday, April 15, 2008 4:51 PM by Rebecca | 12 Comments Filed under: Non-profit technology, General non-profit interest, nptech, Web 2.0, Best practices, Reader Polls, Non-profit Communications, surveys

• 08 February 2008

  Data Collection Made Easier with Google Forms and Spreadsheets 

  The more you know about your members, the better your organization can serve them. As we've mentioned, a variety of free tools for online polls are available to answer the simple questions -- but sometimes you need more detailed information from your members. Would you like to be able to track each individual's response, instead of seeing only the simple percentages for each answer choice? That could certainly be very useful. And what if you also had an easy way to collect those responses in a spreadsheet? Read More... Posted Friday, February 08, 2008 5:28 PM by Rebecca | 6 Comments Filed under: Non-profit technology, General non-profit interest, nptech, E-mail marketing, Google, membership, database, surveys

• 06 September 2007

  Top 10 cool, easy-to-use web poll and survey tools for your blog and website  

  Polls are always a good way to get a conversation started with your website or blog visitors. Most of us have participated in polls on websites and blogs. Recently I also conducted a poll about our own blog asking readers about their most painful administrative tasks. Polls provide a way for a visitor to interact with the site and express their opinion. Visitors can also get a sense of how your readers feel about a topic simply by viewing the results of the poll on your site. I took some time to Read More... Posted Thursday, September 06, 2007 2:00 PM by Creative Apricot | 23 Comments Filed under: Associations, Non-profit technology, General non-profit interest, nptech, Web 2.0, Reader Polls, surveys