Wild Apricot Blog


	This blog is for volunteers, webmasters and administrators of associations and nonprofits. We discuss issues and trends in web technologies that help your organization do more with less. The blog is brought to you by Wild Apricot. Our web software helps you manage the 'boring stuff' like membership and contact records, payments, donations, website updates, event registrations, mass emails and more. Wild Apricot starts at just $25 a month (flat monthly fee; tech support and version updates are free). Take 10 seconds to sign up for a free trial and see for yourself.

02 September 2010

Association Jam: Top Links for August 2010

Blog posts and articles on Leadership and Social Media topped the active topics at AssociationJam.org last month. Events came in close behind, as association professionals were all geared up for ASAE10. Fundraising, Membership, Technology, and Volunteers were tied for third. Here are the most popular links at “AJam” in August 2010. Read More...

Posted Thursday, September 02, 2010 12:41 PM by Rebecca | 0 Comments

Filed under: Associations, Non-profit technology, General non-profit interest, nptech, online community, Non-profit Communications, Association Jam, association management

30 August 2010

20+ Free Webinars for Nonprofits: September 2010

September is a busy month for just about everyone – a new school year for many, harvest time for both fundraisers and farmers - and a whole new crop of free nonprofit webinars is here. Have a look – you’re sure to find an online learning opportunity that’s of interest to folks in your organization. As always, you’ll want to check back from time to time through the month, as late-coming webinar notices are often added in the comments section, down below. And if you’re aware of a free nonprofit webinar Read More...

Posted Monday, August 30, 2010 6:31 PM by Rebecca | 0 Comments

Filed under: Non-profit technology, General non-profit interest, Fundraising, nptech, Marketing, Best practices, Volunteers, E-mail marketing, events, Social networking, case studies, Non-profit Communications, websites, training, Membership management, Donor management, webinar, software, social media, newsletters

26 August 2010

20 Great Google Docs Templates for Non-Profits

Creating a presentation for your board? Wading into the end-of-project paperwork? Or maybe you’re signing up a new crop of volunteers for your non-profit... Whatever the task, odds are that there’s a time-saving template, free at Google Docs, to help you do more with less effort. Browse the Template Gallery , or narrow your search by Documents, Spreadsheets, Presentations, Forms, and Drawings. You’ll find thousands of templates – some by Google itself, and many unique templates that were contributed Read More...

Posted Thursday, August 26, 2010 11:01 AM by Rebecca | 5 Comments

Filed under: Non-profit technology, General non-profit interest, nptech, Volunteers, Staffing, Non-profit Communications, office, collaboration, websites, surveys, event management, project management, spreadsheets, Google Docs, print, productivity, documents, templates

23 August 2010

What Makes a Good Non-Profit Website?

A lively LinkedIn discussion was kicked off when Elizabeth Watkin , program coordinator at Africa Carbon Credit Exchange,asked, “ What makes a good non-profit website? ” What do you like to see on a charity/non-profit/NGO website and what do you dislike? Would a website encourage you to donate or get involved? If you have been inspired by a particular website, can you pass on the link? Among the participants in the discussion is David Berg , who has been researching the fundraising and communications Read More...

Posted Monday, August 23, 2010 8:31 PM by Rebecca | 6 Comments

Filed under: Non-profit technology, Usability, nptech, Best practices, Non-profit Communications, websites, Accessibility, content, website

19 August 2010

Social Networks vs. Real Life Networks

There is no end to the challenges of social media for nonprofits. How can we keep our personal and professional lives separate online? How can we identify the "influencers"? Which social media tools are best? Here, Paul Adams, Senior User Experience Researcher at Google, shares his team's insights into how people actually connect and behave online. Read More...

Posted Thursday, August 19, 2010 2:07 PM by Rebecca | 3 Comments

Filed under: Non-profit technology, nptech, online community, Google, Social networking, Non-profit Communications, research, social media

17 August 2010

In Defence of Jargon

The buzzwords of business-speak have evolved, in part, as a shorthand way of letting us refer to complex ideas with just a few words. Annoying as the overuse of jargon may be, the specialized language of the nonprofit sector may actually serve a useful purpose. Read More...

Posted Tuesday, August 17, 2010 6:55 PM by Rebecca | 5 Comments

Filed under: General non-profit interest, nptech, Non-profit Communications

13 August 2010

Rich Media Search Tool for Your Website

Are you looking for a way to help your website visitors easily find relevant related information online? The folks over at ReadWriteWeb have just added a great new search feature to their site, courtesy of Apture.com . When you highlight any word, phrase, or even a part of a word on any page on the website, a small “speech bubble” appears with the word “search”; click on that, and you’re given a small window with articles, videos, and images that are directly related to the highlighted term. Here’s Read More...

Posted Friday, August 13, 2010 2:12 AM by Rebecca | 3 Comments

Filed under: Non-profit technology, nptech, websites, application, search, website

12 August 2010

Twylah for Twitter Listening

Yet another Twitter tool? Yes, and there’s room for one, too. While CoTweet, Hootsuite, Seesmic and Tweetdeck are all great for managing your Twitter account (or multiple accounts) and scheduled tweets, where Eric Kim’s Twylah shines is as a content discovery tool and social media monitor. Read More...

Posted Thursday, August 12, 2010 10:01 AM by Rebecca | 0 Comments

Filed under: Non-profit technology, nptech, Twitter, application, social media

10 August 2010

Contest for Science & Technology Nonprofits

GreatNonprofits.org’s 2010 Science and Technology Campaign, in partnership with Guidestar, NTEN, TechSoup Global, Anita Borg Institute for Women and Technology, Association for Women in Science, Inveneo, and Tonic, seeks top-rated nonprofits who are making a difference in the fields of science and technology. Does this sound like your nonprofit? Read More...

Posted Tuesday, August 10, 2010 4:12 PM by Rebecca | 0 Comments

Filed under: Non-profit technology, General non-profit interest, nptech, contests

09 August 2010

How “Facebook Questions” Can Help Small NonProfits

Facebook is rolling out a new feature called Facebook Questions – similar to what’s offered by LinkedIn, Yahoo Questions, and other Q&A sites. Ask questions, answer them, and rate (or be rated) for best answers. What does this mean for nonprofits? A new way to reach potential supporters, and to spread the word about your cause! Read More...

Posted Monday, August 09, 2010 1:16 PM by Rebecca | 5 Comments

Filed under: Non-profit technology, nptech, Marketing, Social networking, Facebook, Non-profit Communications, social media

04 August 2010

Voice Over PowerPoint: Free GoldMail for Non-profits

Looking for an easy way to add your voice over a PowerPoint presentation, then share it by email or online? Here's a cool tool to try – and a special offer for non-profit organizations. Read More...

Posted Wednesday, August 04, 2010 2:23 PM by Rebecca | 4 Comments

Filed under: Non-profit technology, Fundraising, nptech, E-mail marketing, Non-profit Communications, PowerPoint, application, audio

02 August 2010

6 Social Media Lessons for Nonprofits

Wild Apricot Blog welcomes a special guest today: Carol Buckheit of NonprofitMediaWorks. Carol’s been studying Idealware’s Nonprofit Social Media Decision Guide – the latest in a line of Idealware’s terrific research-based publications – and she’s kindly agreed to share her top “take-aways” from this new publication. Read More...

Posted Monday, August 02, 2010 9:13 AM by Rebecca | 1 Comments

Filed under: General non-profit interest, nptech, Social networking, Facebook, Twitter, research, social media

30 July 2010

42+ Free Nonprofit Webinars for August 2010

Ready for a bit of professional development, before Labor Day brings the start of another busy fall season? August is a great time for online learning – in fact, this month we’ve rounded up more free online seminars than ever before! There’s something for everyone from board members and administrators, to fundraisers and volunteer coordinators, to active members of all interests and levels... Read More...

Posted Friday, July 30, 2010 9:09 AM by Rebecca | 1 Comments

Filed under: Non-profit technology, General non-profit interest, Fundraising, Marketing, Volunteers, Non-profit Communications, event management, Membership management, Donor management, webinar, social media

27 July 2010

Best of Association Jam for July 2010

Blog posts and articles on Fundraising, Leadership, and Membership topped the active topics at AssociationJam.org this month, in terms of the numbers of submissions, views and reader votes, while the Volunteers, Technology, and Social Media came in almost as strong. Best of all, you’ll find a number of brand new faces here, among the excellent content submitted to and voted up in “AJam” through July 2010. Read More...

Posted Tuesday, July 27, 2010 9:09 AM by Rebecca | 0 Comments

Filed under: Associations, General non-profit interest, nptech, online community, Non-profit Communications, Association Jam

25 July 2010

Facebook’s New ‘Like’ Button Features

Facebook has just added 3 new features to the ‘Like’ button that hold a promise of greater connectivity and better analytics. Not unusual for Facebook, the release came on a weekend, so no real chance yet to thoroughly explore the bells and whistles – and the implications. And there’s a lot to take in! ‘Like’ acts more like ‘Share’; Facebook analytics are beefed up; and Facebook Pages get to pipe their content right into the newsfeeds of all who ‘Like’ them. Here’s a quick first look at two of those Read More...

Posted Sunday, July 25, 2010 2:53 PM by Rebecca | 3 Comments

Filed under: Non-profit technology, nptech, Marketing, Web 2.0, Facebook, Non-profit Communications, websites, social media

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