Friday, October 14, 2011

Nonprofit Weekly for Friday, October 14, 2011 - BizTimes

Nonprofit Weekly for Friday, October 14, 2011 - BizTimes: New social network for nonprofits launches at Nonprofit Center

The Helen Bader Foundation founded MKE123 as a way for the nonprofit sector to collaborate. MKE123 is now housed under the Nonprofit Center of Milwaukee.
“The online platform is really designed to meet the needs of the nonprofit community in the Greater Milwaukee area,” said Matt Brown, project director of MKE 123. “What started as a collaboration tool designed for nonprofit organization has transformed into a way for organizations to reach other constituencies within the sector as well.”
According to Brown, friends of nonprofits as well as donors and other supporters as well as clients can be a part of MKE123, as well.

The Nonprofit Quarterly | @npquarterly | The FCC and Nonprofits: Negotiating a Complicated Landscape

The Nonprofit Quarterly | @npquarterly | The FCC and Nonprofits: Negotiating a Complicated Landscape: On Wednesday, the FCC announced an initiative aimed at increasing U.S. broadband adoption rates among low-income households, rural communities, seniors, and minorities. The Connect to Compete program is a public-private-philanthropic initiative designed to help close the digital divide and reduce unemployment by training individuals in tech skills that are currently in demand by employers. The announcement identified at least 24 foundations, corporations, and nonprofit partners.

Charles Howard: Anonymity in Giving: A Case Study of 52times52.com

Charles Howard: Anonymity in Giving: A Case Study of 52times52.com: The person on the other end of the phone line is a writer who has chosen to only be known as "Giver Girl." She and husband "Giver Boy" are the mysterious yet inspiring duo behind the website and project 52times52.com.

The premise is pretty straight forward. Starting this past January, they committed to donating $52 to a different charity, each of the 52 weeks of the year.

Summit County Boy Scouts using technology to raise funds | SummitDaily.com

Summit County Boy Scouts using technology to raise funds | SummitDaily.com: The new program, Buy Local with the Boy Scouts, is similar to Groupon but with a twist: 70 percent of collected fees go to the Scouts. If successful, its creators hope to benefit not only local troops and packs, but residents and businesses with deals and exposure.

Breckenridge Troop 187 assistant scoutmaster Chris John calls the model a “triple win.”

Wednesday, October 12, 2011

BlackBerry users face third day of woe - Yahoo! News

BlackBerry users face third day of woe - Yahoo! News: - Sent using Google Toolbar

Microsoft donates $16.7M in cash, software to Calif. nonprofits

Microsoft donates $16.7M in cash, software to Calif. nonprofits: Microsoft said Tuesday it has donated $16.7 million in cash and software to more than 60 San Francisco Bay Area nonprofits.

Just last week the company kicked off its annual Giving Campaign and announced it had donated more than $949 million to charity last year. During the month of October, Microsoft employees host fundraising events, including a 5k run, 24-hour relay race and an online auction, with proceeds going to local charities.

Connection Caf�: To App, or Not to App? That's the (Mobile) Question.

Connection Caf�: To App, or Not to App? That's the (Mobile) Question.: Sure, I’m as much of an app-aholic as the next smartphoner – even willing to pay for apps that deliver great charity content or interesting ways to get involved, particularly for causes I’m passionate about. Having just written a guide for nonprofits on getting started with mobile (co-authored with fellow Convian Lacey Kruger), I am also a realist with an argument to make, which is this:

Tuesday, October 11, 2011

ASPCA Ties 1 Million Facebook Fans To Contest For More - TheNonProfitTimes

ASPCA Ties 1 Million Facebook Fans To Contest For More - TheNonProfitTimes: The American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (ASPCA) hit 1 million Facebook fans on October 3 and is commemorating the milestone with a “We ‘Like’ You, Too!” sweepstakes for all of its supporters. Now through October 31, the ASPCA is urging the public to join it on Facebook by clicking ‘Like’ and entering the sweepstakes. One grand-prize winner will receive:

* Round-trip airfare and hotel accommodations for two to New York City from November 16-18;

Should you evaluate your blog the way you evaluate your employees?

Should you evaluate your blog the way you evaluate your employees?: So how should you get started with evaluating your social media presence? Start by taking a look are your company’s regular employee evaluation form. Chances are the form has some variation on the following questions:

What are three things the employee does well?
What are three things the employee needs to improve?
What are the employee’s goals for the coming period?
What progress has the employee made on their goals from the previo