We’ve talked before about how nonprofits are using Facebook to connect with their supporters online, figuring out ways to work around the “closed door” model of the popular social-networking site. For example, setting up a nonprofit Facebook Page  that can be viewed by anyone on the Web  is often more effective than just having a ...

No budget for custom graphics — yet you need a map for your website or presentation, to help show your membership reach or the areas in which your organization does its work? No problem. The internet offers a variety of free map graphics, many of which you can customize as needed. To get you started, here are 6 useful sources for different ...

This is the third part of our series on free and open-source software and the resources to help your organization make the most of what FOSS has to offer. When you need to know the meaning of a word, you flip open a dictionary. It’s a trusted authority. It gives the information you need to use an essential tool (language) more ...

Facebook is fast becoming a popular way to publicize an organization’s event, invite guests, and track who plans to attend. Facebook Events may be just what your group needs — but could you be shutting out some of the people who might support your event, by relying solely on Facebook to manage it? The fact is, for non-members of the site, ...

This is the second part in our series taking a closer look at free and open-source software: the real costs, the barriers, and the trade-offs; the best FOSS alternatives to “brand name” software; and the resources to help you make the most of it. One of the on-going criticisms of free or open-source software (FOSS), as a general class of ...

As more cash-strapped non-profits, businesses, and individuals turn to free or open-source software to stretch their budgets, the open-source movement is booming. There may be no better time to talk frankly about the realities of using free or open-source software in your organization. For just about any type of “brand name” software you can ...

A great deal of reliable statistical data has long been available to the public eye — but it’s often been a challenge for resource-strapped nonprofit organizations to track down the information you need for policy development or to support your fundraising appeals with cold hard facts. UNdata has just made that research task a bit easier. A ...

Techsoup.org, one of the best non-profit resources online, has suffered an SQL Injection attack. The site was taken down promptly when suspicious activity was identified, but Techsoup account holders and anyone who has visited the site in the past few days are urged to take security precautions immediately. These types of attacks are known to ...

Has this ever happened to you? The printer jams, just as you’re trying to rush out a newsletter. Or you come up short on stationery and stamps, a few letters short of your mailing list run. Or you’re on the road with only a web-enabled phone at hand, when you remember an urgent note that must go out by mail… Some days, we can’t help wishing ...

Why would your organization want to pay for an email marketing service, instead of simply using Outlook and your regular email server to contact your members? There are a number of compelling reasons why even a small e-newsletter subscription list might best be handled by a dedicated email marketing service, starting — first and foremost — ...