Friday, March 21, 2014

Google CEO Says He’d Give Billions to Elon Musk, Not Charity – Philanthropy Today - Blogs - The Chronicle of Philanthropy

Google CEO Says He’d Give Billions to Elon Musk, Not Charity – Philanthropy Today - Blogs - The Chronicle of Philanthropy: Larry Page, the chief executive officer of Google, said Wednesday that he would rather donate his fortune to the billionaire technology entrepreneur Elon Musk than to a philanthropic enterprise, Business Insider and Wired report.

Forget The Status Quo: Final Thoughts On NTC 2014 | The NonProfit Times

Forget The Status Quo: Final Thoughts On NTC 2014 | The NonProfit Times: Technology won’t fix the problems your nonprofit is trying to solve. It will enable your people to tackle those problems in new ways that might be much more efficient than your old ways.

This was one of the themes prevalent in discussions during the 2014 Nonprofit Technology Conference (#2014NTC), last week sponsored by the Nonprofit Technology Enterprise Network (NTEN).

Thursday, March 20, 2014

Soliciting Funds From the Crowd? Results Will Vary - NYTimes.com

Soliciting Funds From the Crowd? Results Will Vary - NYTimes.com: ESTABLISHED museums like the Smithsonian Institution are increasingly turning to crowdfunding appeals to help pay for exhibits and programs that tight budgets might otherwise preclude.

Individual artists have been soliciting donations from the public for years, using Internet fund-raising platforms like Kickstarter, Indiegogo and Razoo to defray the costs of producing their work. Museums, long reliant on corporate sponsorships, gifts and bequests, have been more hesitant to raise funds digitally because the substantial commitment of staff time required for such campaigns does not always produce a big financial win.

To give or not to give: Here are the stingiest tech gazillionaires | ZDNet

To give or not to give: Here are the stingiest tech gazillionaires | ZDNet: Inside Philanthropy has a fascinating list of the top philanthropists in the tech industry. (You’ll be surprised at who is at the top: Leonard Bosack and Sandy Lerner, the original founders of Cisco Systems).

It also includes the six least generous (a generous way to say, “the tightest and least charitable”) tech billionaires.

Give your website an organic role in growing your nonprofit � Philanthropy North Carolina

Give your website an organic role in growing your nonprofit � Philanthropy North Carolina: Your nonprofit’s website should embrace visitors and engage them in your work.

It should be your welcome sign, your open door, your directory and your help desk.

It should make clear to visitors, instantly, who you are, who you serve and the difference you make.

Wednesday, March 19, 2014

Meet the 12 Most Generous Tech Leaders. . . And 6 of the Least� - Tech Philanthropy | Donors | Foundations - Inside Philanthropy

Meet the 12 Most Generous Tech Leaders. . . And 6 of the Least� - Tech Philanthropy | Donors | Foundations - Inside Philanthropy: On balance, we think that generosity is important no matter where one is in their career trajectory. And what we'd say to super wealthy techies who are perplexed by where to give their money is: Get a cause. There are plenty around, and you can always switch later. Also, you don't need to be a big innovator with your philanthropy. Just do some good.

Okay, enough throat clearing. Here's our list of the most generous philanthropists, in ascending order.

KoboToolbox Gets $100K 'New Digital Age' Grant from Google

massnonprofit.org ::: KoboToolbox Gets $100K 'New Digital Age' Grant from Google

March 13, 2014 — KoboToolbox, a Cambridge nonprofit that enables fieldworkers in distant conflict and disaster zones to gather information easily without active Internet connections, was recently awarded a $100,000 grant from Google to revamp its software platform to make it easier and faster to deploy.

KoboToolbox was one of 10 nonprofits in the U.S. and internationally, and the only one in Massachusetts, to receive the New Digital Age Grants, each valued at $100,000. Each grantee uses technology in innovative ways, Google said, “helping ensure that technology will be a force for good as five billion people connect to the Internet for the first time in the coming years.”

You Just Destroyed Your Phone — Now What?

You Just Destroyed Your Phone — Now What?: A couple of days ago, I had the misfortune of dropping my smartphone, shattering and rendering the screen unresponsive. As the alert notifications forlornly streamed in and the battery quickly draining I am left to ponder my options. Since it was a Friday and I was leaving for NTC in a few days, repairing was not a viable option, so I ended up getting a new phone. (I do, of course, recognize the great fortune being able to get a new phone relatively easily, but that's another post).