Dear ISFColleagues,

The Ethos Roundtable is an informal group of people who are interested
in 1) measuring and extending ethos, and 2) using technology for
positive social change. We meet once a month in Harvard Square
(Cambridge, Massachusetts) for discussions and presentations.

If you plan to be in the Boston area, please join us for our July session!

Tuesday, July 21st
4:30 - 6:00 pm
Charles Hotel
1 Bennett Street
Harvard Square, Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA
Featured guests: Peter Deitz and Christine Egger of Social Actions

Social Actions is an aggregator and search engine for actions that you
can take on any issue that concerns you. Instead of checking over 50
web pages, you can go to Social Actions, type in some key words, and
run a search. You'll see opportunities that include volunteerism,
political action, jobs in nonprofit organizations, fundraising
campaigns, social networking, and micro philanthropy. The partners
include Kiva, Pledgebank, Changing The Present, Idealist, Six Degrees,
Modest Needs, Volunteer Match, and many more.

Here's a little bit about our esteemed guests:

Peter Deitz is a blogger, social media consultant, and the founder of
Social Actions. He is a guest blogger on Social Edge, the Stanford
Social Innovation Review, and PopTech. Peter has spoken at several
2009 venues including the Nonprofit Technology Conference, the
NetSquared Conference, Connecting Up Australia, Semantic Technology
Conference, and My Charity Connects. Peter holds a BA in History from
McGill University and an MA in History from the University of Toronto.
He lives in Montreal, Quebec.

Christine Egger is a founding team member of Social Actions. She holds
a master's in International Development from Michigan State University
and brings 15 years' experience in for- and non-profit project
management, fund development, networking and collaboration, and
strategic planning to the Social Actions team. Her work focuses on the
intersection of international development, philanthropy, and the
complexity sciences. She lives in southeast Michigan.

This is definitely a project that exemplifies the spirit of the Ethos
Roundtable, by using information and communication technology to
create positive social change! If you'd like to participate in a
brainstorming session on this topic, we welcome you to the table.

Please remember that there's never any need to make a reservation to
attend Ethos Roundtable events. Just come if you can, and feel free to
invite others!

For more information about this session, please see
<http://ethosroundtable.blogspot.com/2009/06/social-actions-at-ethos-roundtable-\
on.html>.

For a preview of future Ethos Roundtable sessions, please see
<http://ethosroundtable.blogspot.com/2009/07/join-us-this-fall-at-ethos-roundtab\
le.html>.

For a general overview of the Ethos Roundtable, please see
<http://ethosroundtable.blogspot.com/2006/12/whats-it-all-about-ethos-roundtable\
.html>.

For a general overview of Social Actions, please see
<http://www.socialactions.com/> and <http://my.socialactions.com/>.

See you on the 21st!

Best regards from Deborah

Deborah Elizabeth Finn
Technology for the Nonprofit
and Philanthropic Sector
Boston, Massachusetts, USA

Email: deborah_elizabeth_finn@...
Blog: www.deborahelizabethfinn.com
Skype:  Deborah909
Twitter: Deborah909
LinkedIn: http://www.linkedin.com/in/deborah909
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/Deborah.Elizabeth.Finn

I bring resources and needs together for nonprofits and
philanthropies, mostly through strategic use of information
and communication technologies.

Does anyone know of a good room reservation/meeting scheduling software that is
ideally free, or if not cheap, and easy to use?  I check on Download.com and the
ones they list as free no longer download...

HAve they looked at any of the places that allow one to embed sharing scripts,
of the sort used on places like HuffPost?

Nicky McCatty
signify | Design
fusing image & information
talk@... | www.signifydesign.com



-----original message-----
>>An esteemed client of mine is a small nonprofit that currently uses
Dreamweaver to maintain its web site. The organization is looking hard at the
possibility of migrating to a solid content management system, but it the
meantime it is looking for an easy way to embed a "forward to a friend" function
on every page of the existing Dreamweaver web site.  Any recommendations about
how to do that with the current site?
Your help will be greatly appreciated! Please note, though, that the following
input will not be helpful:  - Sharepoint is better   - Open source web platforms
are better    - Dreamweaver is bad>>

Hello,

My name is Abby and I work with the International Freedom of Expression eXchange
(IFEX), an international network of 88 organizations that monitors, promotes,
and defends freedom of expression (www.ifex.org).  The IFEX Clearing House,
based in Toronto, is embarking on the creation of a member database. We are in
the research phase and would really appreciate hearing about civil society
organizations' experiences with member databases.Does your organization maintain
a member database? If so, would it be possible to put us in touch with the
relevant person at your organization?

Thank you,
Abby

Dear ISF Colleagues,
It's been quiet around here in the Information Systems Forum, so I thought
I'd encourage shy folks to post their questions.

If you're a nonprofit professional who has never posted to the ISF, please
consider this an open invitation to post any query about using information
and communication technology to increase your organization's effectiveness.
  To do this, just create a regular plain text email, and send it to this
address: <information_systems_forum@yahoogroups.com>.

If you're feeling just a little too shy for that, feel free to email your
questions to me privately <deborah_elizabeth_finn@...>.  I'll
strip out the identifying information to maintain your public anonymity, and
post your query to the list for you.

Many thanks from Deborah

Deborah Elizabeth Finn
Technology for the Nonprofit
and Philanthropic Sector
Boston, Massachusetts, USA

Email: deborah_elizabeth_finn@...
Blog: www.deborahelizabethfinn.com
Skype:  Deborah909
Twitter: Deborah909
LinkedIn: http://www.linkedin.com/in/deborah909
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/Deborah.Elizabeth.Finn

I bring resources and needs together for nonprofits and
philanthropies, mostly through strategic use of information
and communication technologies.


[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

(Guidelines for posting to the Information Systems Forum are posted
periodically for the edification of all.)




Dear ISF Colleagues,

Welcome to the Information Systems Forum, an online discussion for
nonprofit professionals who are interested information and
communication technologies to increase organizational effectiveness.

This is a moderated, flame-free email distribution list that is open
to anyone who is interested in the topic and willing to adhere to the
idea of civil society.

Here are a few tips for making your contributions to the list more readable:

o Write about subjects that pertain to information and
communication technologies for nonprofit organizations. Readers
subscribe to the list because they are interested in this specific
topic. If you stray too far from it, other members of the group are
likely to ignore your messages.

o Trim, trim, trim! Unnecessary repetitions of previous posts,
list footers, and signature lines are tedious for other members to
negotiate. If you're replying to a previous message, please trim away
everything but the essentials of that message and your response to it.
If you don't trim your post down, and I think that it would benefit
from trimming, then I edit it myself. This means extra work for me,
and a trim job for your message that you (as the author) may deem
unduly harsh.

o Clean up jagged margins; readers tend to get so discouraged
by them that they skip your message and go on to the next one.

o Double-check your subject line, and make sure that it
summarizes the topic. If you subscribe to the digest format of the
list, then the subject line will automatically be something like
"Digest Number 123." Please change it to something more topical. It's
also helpful to trim away clutter from previous generations of
forwarding; "FW: Funding for nonprofit technology" is much more
readable than "Fwd: FW: Re: [Other Listserv] RE: Funding for nonprofit
technology."

o Avoid using all capital letters. In email, this is equivalent
to shouting, and considered an insult to one's readers.

o Write for an international readership. If you say that an
event is happening tonight at "the Firehouse in J.P.," the Bostonians
will know that you mean "the Firehouse Multicultural Art Center in
Jamaica Plain," but maybe the folks in Thailand won't. And if they
need to fly in from Thailand to attend, it's probably a good idea to
give them more than a few hours' notice.

o Frame your message in the language of civil discourse, and
avoid inflammatory rhetoric. The rule of thumb is to assume that
others are motivated by the best intentions, even when you think that
they are gravely mistaken.

The following kinds of posts are always unacceptable for posting to this group.

o Flames, or rhetoric that might incite flames. Sometimes
members of the group have perfectly good points to make, but choose
language that is inflammatory. Posts that are simply attacks on
someone else's religion, operating system, ethics, ancestry, internet
service provider, or attitude are usually deleted without comment.

o Advertisements of products or services. As the group
moderator, I delete the blatant spam before the rest of the group ever
sees it, but there are some borderline cases. For example, each
newcomer is invited to introduce him/herself to the group upon
joining, and it's appropriate to mention any products or services that
he/she sells to the community. That's fine, but thereafter it's best
to let your satisfied customers recommend your product or service.
Another borderline case is announcements about conferences and
workshops. These are fine if they are specifically tailored to the
needs of our community. Bulletins about workshops and conferences
given by nonprofits are usually approved; posts about for-profit
organizations that offer these events are approved on a case-by-case
basis.

o Solicitations of cash donations for organizations or
individuals. Requests by nonprofits for in-kind donations of either
products or services are approved on a case-by-case basis.
(Legitimate offers of cash or in-kind donations are acceptable.)

o Off-topic questions, out-of-office auto-replies, and personal
messages that were never intended to go to the whole list. I try to
catch these before they go out, and they are usually deleted without
comment.

Please note that the moderator (Deborah Elizabeth Finn) and alternate
moderator (John McNutt) reserve the right delete any inappropriate
messages without circulating them to the group, or to bar disruptive
individuals from membership in the group. While I will do everything
possible to encourage community building, fruitful dialogue, and free
expression, the moderators remain the only arbiters of appropriate
content for this community.

Thanks for your attention to these guidelines.

Best regards from Deborah

Deborah Elizabeth Finn
Information Systems Forum moderator

Cyber-Yenta
Boston, Massachusetts, USA
www.cyber-yenta.org

Dear ISF Colleagues,

Did you know that the Information Systems Forum has an unmoderated version?  You
can post anything you like there at any time.  There are no restrictions
whatsover.

To view the unmoderated ISF's message archive, please go to
<http://tech.groups.yahoo.com/group/Information_Systems_Forum_UNMODERATED/messag\
es>.

To join the unmoderated ISF, please send a blank email to this address: 
<Information_Systems_Forum_UNMODERATED-subscribe@yahoogroups.com>.

To post a message to the ISF, please send it to this address:
<Information_Systems_Forum_UNMODERATED@yahoogroups.com>.

Many thanks and best regards from Deborah

Deborah Elizabeth Finn
Cyber-Yenta
Boston, Massachusetts, USA
deborah_elizabeth_finn@...
www.cyber-yenta.org
Skype:  Deborah909
Twitter: Deborah909
LinkedIn: http://www.linkedin.com/in/deborah909

"Everybody can be great...
because everybody can serve."
- Martin Luther King jr. (1929 - 1968)

(Dear ISF Colleagues:  If your nonprofit's mission is at all related
to community service or civic engagement, I'd like to encourage you to
participate in this survey.  Steve Clift and E-Democracy.Org are
awesome.  Best regards from Deborah)


-----original message-----
From: Steven Clift <slc@...>
Date: Wed, Jun 10, 2009 at 10:40 PM
Subject: [DDN] Does an E-Conference on Social Media in Public Life
interest you - survey
To: ITFORUM@..., EDTECH@..., The Digital Divide
Network discussion group <DIGITALDIVIDE@...>


Greetings,

I'd love to get your input on whether you'd be interested in
participating or presenting at an "e-conference" on Social Media in
Public Life with an emphasis on community service.

The quick survey is here:

http://www.surveymonkey.com/s.aspx?sm=QSYia1RDJnulTuMZBIr_2bYg_3d_3d

We also ask about follow-up in-person community service "unconferences."

Context:

E-Democracy.Org, a volunteer-based community service and civic
engagement organization, with local online "Issues Forums" across 15
local communities, is considering putting in a bid to become one of
the Corporation for National and Community Service's national training
providers. We've done webinars - http://e-democracy.org/webinars -
helped with unconferences - http://e-democracy.org/unconf - and over
the last 15 years I've spoken/lead seminars across 27 countries on
using the Internet in civic engagement - http://stevenclift.com - ...
so submitting (or joining a bid) to bring social media training online
is a good fit. We also fairly uniquely deliver community service using
volunteers via the Internet itself and most recently in the low
income/high immigrant/diverse neighborhoods of the Twin Cities -
http://blog.e-democracy.org/posts/172

We are more interested in "collabortition" than competition, so we've
taken an open source approach with our drafting. Details and links to
the call and an online group you can join to participate in our
potential bid are all available from:

http://pages.e-democracy.org/Social_media_in_community_service

Please pass this on to those you think might be interested in
attending or presenting (our bulk of our budget suggests 30 paid
e-presenters paid for 10 days of work with a laundry list of duties
and deliverables released under the creative commons).

Sincerely,

Steven Clift
E-Democracy.Org
clift@...
http://twitter.com/democracySWu

-----original message-----
From: Rahim Kanani <rkanani@...>
Date: Fri, Jun 26, 2009 at 11:46 AM
Subject: [boston] Justice and Human Rights - Harvard's Hauser Center
for Nonprofits
To: "boston@..." <boston@...>


Dear Nonprofit Professionals,

My name is Rahim Kanani and I’m here at Harvard’s Hauser Center for
Nonprofit Organizations and we just launched the new Justice and Human
Rights Domain, initially focused on international justice at:

http://hausercenter.harvard.edu/jhr

In addition, we now have a new Facebook Fan page to build a community
of students interested in these issues (launched yesterday) at:

http://www.facebook.com/pages/Cambridge-MA/Justice-and-Human-Rights-at-Harvards-\
Hauser-Center/96293019572?ref=mf

I am beginning the process of reaching out to students, scholars,
practitioners and policymakers from around the world to contribute via
commenting on the website, conducting interviews, and writing feature
pieces, and I thought this network is a great launch-pad to solicit
individuals interested in contributing substantively to further the
dialogue on issues relating to international justice.  If you would
like to write an op-ed length piece on a particular issue / wish to be
interviewed on a specific topic for the feature section of the
website, please contact me here or through the website, as I would
love to give you a platform to share your insight.

Thank you all for your time!

Take good care,

Rahim

-----
Rahim B. Kanani
Research Associate, Justice and Human Rights
Hauser Center for Nonprofit Organizations
Harvard Kennedy School of Government
Tel: +1 617.460.9238
Email: rkanani@...
Web: http://hausercenter.harvard.edu/jhr

-----original message-----
>>An esteemed client of mine is a small nonprofit that currently uses
Dreamweaver to maintain its web site. The organization is looking hard at the
possibility of migrating to a solid content management system, but it the
meantime it is looking for an easy way to embed a "forward to a friend" function
on every page of the existing Dreamweaver web site.
Any recommendations about how to do that with the current site?>>



http://www.addthis.com/
http://www.sharethis.com/

Not familiar with Dreamweaver, but you only have to add a bit of HTML to
a page for these.

--
Mike Shultz
Information Technology Assistant
Project Vote Smart

Phone: 406-859-8683
Toll Free: 1-888-VOTE-SMART
Jabber/Gtalk: mike@...
Key Server: pgp.mit.edu

Greetings friends,

I'm delighted to tell you about an event being co-organized by Aspiration and
Community IT Innovators (CITI)!

Are you interested in how to better manage technology projects in your nonprofit
or as a consultant to nonprofits? We're hosting our third Nonprofit Technology
Project Management event in Washington on Wednesday and Thursday, July 22nd and
23rd, 2009. The first two events in New York and Oakland were big successes and
very well received by participants.

Managing Nonprofit Technology Projects DC will examine the tools and best
practices that help nonprofits achieve successful technology solutions - whether
web sites, packaged software implementations, or custom applications.

Interactive sessions and demos will allow participants to compare processes,
tools, successes, and lessons learned. We will discuss areas such as team
collaboration, project planning, software selection, migration, and project
roll-out, and map out the software tools – from project management packages to
collaborative communication to issue tracking and more – that support
successful technology projects.

Aspiration’s skill in facilitating practitioner knowledge combined with
CITI’s experience in managing nonprofit technology projects will contribute to
an informal, collaborative, and information-rich event.

Complete details are at

http://www.aspirationtech.org/events/mntp-dc

and you can register directly at

http://tinyurl.com/lsf53z

What's On the Agenda?

The agenda will be designed specifically to ensure participants interact with
and learn from each other, while also providing a solid grounding in essential
topics. Some of the sessions will include:

* Anatomy of a Well-Managed Technology Project: Drawing from case studies good,
bad and ugly, this session will focus on key aspects of successful project
management.

* What Should a Web Site Cost? Using anecdotal data and participant input, we
will explore costing for different types of web sites, from simple
"brochure-ware" sites to custom, database-backed applications and points in
between.

* Using Wikis for Effective Collaboration: This session will map out best
practices and techniques for successfully utilizing wiki technology ((see
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wiki) for project collaboration. Also discussed
will be when not to use wikis, and when more structured information sharing
tools are advisable.

* Managing Consultants and Dealing with Vendors: This peer sharing workshop will
invite participants to compare their processes and tactics for managing critical
project relationships that fall outside of organizational boundaries.

* Software Share: Basecamp, MS Project, DreamTeam and more – Nonpprofit
practitioners will provide a variety of 10-15 minute software demos to allow
participants to see the packages in real-life situations and compare the
strengths and weaknesses.

See the full description of the event at

http://www.aspirationtech.org/events/mntp-dc

for more sessions. Or let us know what you'd like to talk about - the agenda
will be designed collaboratively up to and during the event.

Who Should Come?

This event will focus on growing the community of nonprofit technology project
managers by providing support to those currently practicing as project managers,
recruiting and offering support to those new to (or bewildered by) this craft,
and creating a space for the "accidental project managers" to share their
stories, discover their allies, and grow into more "intentional" project
managers. A significant part of the event will be built around mentoring
relationships; experienced individuals with knowledge and stories to share will
collaborate with participants who want to learn more.

What Are They Saying?

The feedback from the first two MNTP events was quite enthusiastic. Just a few
of the comments included:

* "The event was very energizing, and renewed my enthusiasm for tackling some
complex issues"

* "This gathering will inform everything I do in IT from here on."

* "I used to be super intimidated - now I feel more empowered about what I do
know and how to find answers to what I don't"

* "It was a fun, casual, open, responsive learning environment for non-techies"

* "I learned that I'm not alone, and I can learn from a rich community of people
facing similar challenges"

* "I was impressed with all that happened - it was amazing"

How Do I Get Involved?

Interested in hearing more? View the full description of the event online at
http://www.aspirationtech.org/events/mntp-dc.

Ready to register? The 2-day event is $195 for those from organizations with
budgets under $5,000,000, $295 for those from organizations with budgets over
$5,000,000.  We have a limited number sliding scale and scholarship seats
available as well.

You can Register Online via check or credit card at

http://tinyurl.com/lsf53z

Questions? Comments? Want to be added to a low-volume email list for event
reminders and key dates? Have a burning desire to be there but just can't afford
it? Contact us at mntp@....

We hope to see you there!
thanks & peace,
gunner

- --
Allen Gunn
Executive Director, Aspiration
+1.415.216.7252
www.aspirationtech.org

Aspiration: "Better Tools for a Better World"

Hi Deborah,

I have a bit of exposure - The mission of Mozilla Service Week is for people to
"step up and make a difference by using the Web to better their community".
There are also a few bullet-points listed at the end of this post that Mozilla
have identified as being the types of project that would support this mission.

So in a nutshell... Like a lot of people I sincerely hope this initiative leads
to some good work for NPO's, shools, charities and other 'good will' orgs
operating in participating developed countries - However no, I think it's
unlikely to offer any real gains for the global south (as understood in the
'global south' to mean our brother nations currently experiencing high rates of
poverty), simply because these nations lack the basics of infrastructure and
education required to achieve these objectives (eg: very few libraries outside
Europe and the US have computer clusters installed or access to the 'net and
social networking sites!)

•  Teach senior citizens how to use the Web.

•  Show a non-profit how to use social networking to grow its base of
supporters.

•  Install a wireless network at a school.

•  Create Web how-to materials for a library’s computer cluster.

•  Refurbish hardware for a local computer centre.

•  Help a non-profit update its website or database.

Don


-----original message-----
>>Is anyone participating in Mozilla Service Week? Can anyone tell us how
effective this program is? One of my clients is an international nonprofit that
has a number of affiliates in the global south. The affiliates would definitely
benefit from some assistance in bridging the digital divide. However, I'm
reluctant to recommend it, if it turns out to be far stronger in noble
intentions than in implementation. I have quite a soft spot for anything that
Mozilla undertakes, but I don't have any solid information about this project
What are your thoughts?>>

Dear ISF Colleagues,

Is anyone participating in Mozilla Service Week? Can anyone tell us
how effective this program is?

<http://serviceweek.mozilla.org/>

One of my clients is an international nonprofit that has a number of
affiliates in the global south.  The affiliates would definitely
benefit from some assistance in bridging the digital divide.  However,
I'm reluctant to recommend it, if it turns out to be far stronger in
noble intentions than in implementation.

I have quite a soft spot for anything that Mozilla undertakes, but I
don't have any solid information about this project

What are your thoughts?

Many thanks from Deborah

Deborah Elizabeth Finn
Technology for the Nonprofit
and Philanthropic Sector
Boston, Massachusetts, USA

deborah_elizabeth_finn@...
www.deborahelizabethfinn.com
Skype:  Deborah909
Twitter: Deborah909
LinkedIn: http://www.linkedin.com/in/deborah909
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/Deborah.Elizabeth.Finn

I bring resources and needs together for nonprofits and
philanthropies, mostly through strategic use of information
and communication technologies.

Just put in a "mailto:" link with a subject and a bit of a body tag in the
footer of the page. Really not a good solution, but to plug the gap...




-----original message-----
>>An esteemed client of mine is a small nonprofit that currently uses
Dreamweaver to maintain its web site. The organization is looking hard at the
possibility of migrating to a solid content management system, but it the
meantime it is looking for an easy way to embed a "forward to a friend" function
on every page of the existing Dreamweaver web site. Any recommendations about
how to do that with the current site? Your help will be greatly appreciated!
Please note, though, that the following input will not be helpful: - Sharepoint
is better  - Open source web platforms are better - Dreamweaver is bad >>

"Send to a Friend" Dreamweaver extension:
http://www.topdreamweaverextensions.com/send-to-a-friend




-----original message-----
>>An esteemed client of mine is a small nonprofit that currently uses
Dreamweaver to maintain its web site. The organization is looking hard at the
possibility of migrating to a solid content management system, but it the
meantime it is looking for an easy way to embed a "forward to a friend" function
on every page of the existing Dreamweaver web site.
Any recommendations about how to do that with the current site? Your help will
be greatly appreciated! Please note, though, that the following input will not
be helpful: - Sharepoint is better  - Open source web platforms are better -
Dreamweaver is bad >>

Dear ISF Colleagues,

An esteemed client of mine is a small nonprofit that currently uses
Dreamweaver to maintain its web site.  The organization is looking
hard at the possibility of migrating to a solid content management
system, but it the meantime it is looking for an easy way to embed a
"forward to a friend" function on every page of the existing
Dreamweaver web site.

Any recommendations about how to do that with the current site?

Your help will be greatly appreciated!  Please note, though, that the
following input will not be helpful:

- Sharepoint is better

- Open source web platforms are better

- Dreamweaver is bad

Many, many thanks from Deborah

Deborah Elizabeth Finn
Technology for the Nonprofit
and Philanthropic Sector
Boston, Massachusetts, USA

deborah_elizabeth_finn@...
www.deborahelizabethfinn.com
Skype:  Deborah909
Twitter: Deborah909
LinkedIn: http://www.linkedin.com/in/deborah909
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/Deborah.Elizabeth.Finn

I bring resources and needs together for nonprofits and
philanthropies, mostly through strategic use of information
and communication technologies.

Please excuse cross postings.

I am researching how people move from being aware of a local problem to taking
action to solve it. As part of this research, I am developing a comprehensive
list of regional/community-based and driven models for social change/civic
engagement both in the US and internationally.  If you are using or operating a
local system of any type, please send the link. I will be happy to pass along
what I find to others.

Thanks, Nancy

Nancy Stutts, Ph.D.
Executive Director, ConnectNetwork
Assistant Professor, Wilder School of Government & Public Affairs
Virginia Commonwealth University
809 S. Cathedral Place
PO Box 843062
Richmond, VA 23284-3062
804.827.2164 Phone
804.827.2166 Fax

connectnetwork.org     Connecting people to ideas, information and each other

Hi Russ and welcome. Like many in IT, while I have quals in Information Systems
Management my workplace roles & responsibilities have moved me more towards an
IT Security focus; especially as it pertains to gateway, monitoring & detection
securities. This results from simple necessity in a world where NPO's are not
exempt from online criminal activities. In my experience the NP sector mirrors
other sectors in that security expertise is in high demand due primarily to
short supply. I think you have made a good choice, and am happy to help in any
way I can. We do need to share the expertise!

Cheers, Don


-----original message-----
>> My name is Russ and I just joined the group today (snip). >>

Russ - my advice, if your goal is to move into the nonprofit sector, that you go
for a more generalized IT degree.  While IT security is no trivial topic, the
number of jobs in our sector that are strictly IT security positions can
probably be counted on one or less hands -- security is generally one of the
areas that a Sysadmin or techie handles among other responsibilities.

I won't soon forget attending an InfoWorld roundtable on the topic of security a
few years back, with about 25 people, most of them employed at banks, insurance
companies, and large retailers.  At one point, a consensus formed that any
company that didn't have at least one full-time security professional on their
IT staff was criminally irresponsible, at which point I offered that, in my
environment, maintaining a large, specialized IT staff was not the way to keep
our Guidestar ratings up or, to my mind, effectively support our mission-focused
work.  We do want to provide appropriate staffing and budget to IT, but
'appropriate", and even "responsible", in our world, is not the same thing as it
is at Walgreen's or Bank of America.

---
Peter Campbell
Nonprofit Technologist
Org: http://www.earthjustice.org, "Because the earth needs a good lawyer"
Sites: http://techcafeteria.com, http://www.idealware.org/blog
Find me online as peterscampbell

We wrote a book.  You should totally read it!
Managing Technology to Meet Your Mission:
http://www.meetyourmission.org



-----original message-----
>>? My name is Russ and I just joined the group today. I have been an electronic
technician for 20 years. I have recently become unemployed, and made the
decision to go back to school for my B.S degree. I am taking on-line classes at
the University of Phoenix. My area of?interest is in Information Technology
System Security.  ? I have joined this group for two reasons. The first is that
my classes require a background in Information Systems or access to individuals
who work in the field. Even though I have 20 years in electronics, I am sorely
lacking in the IT environment. I hoping that I could possibly post questions to
the forums to help complete my assignments. I will never ask about anything
propietary, it is just general information regarding hardware, Os's and app's. 
? The second reason for joining the group is to further my knowledge of the
field by reading the postings of others. I am deeply committed to learning as
much as I can, so that I can start a new career in the field. ? I truly hope
none of this is in conflict to the policy or guidelines of the forum. >>

Dear Russ,

Welcome to the Information Systems Forum!  You are indeed welcome here, but it's
important to understand that this is an online discussion for nonprofit
professionals who are interested information and communication technologies to
increase organizational effectiveness.

Here are some guidelines for posting:

o Write about subjects that pertain to information and communication
technologies for nonprofit organizations. Readers subscribe to the list because
they are interested in this specific topic. If you stray too far from it, other
members of the group are likely to ignore your messages.

o Trim, trim, trim! Unnecessary repetitions of previous posts, list footers, and
signature lines are tedious for other members to negotiate. If you're replying
to a previous message, please trim away everything but the essentials of that
message and your response to it. If you don't trim your post down, and I think
that it would benefit from trimming, then I edit it myself. This means extra
work for me, and a trim job for your message that you (as the author) may deem
unduly harsh.

o Clean up jagged margins; readers tend to get so discouraged by them that they
skip your message and go on to the next one.

o Double-check your subject line, and make sure that it summarizes the topic. If
you subscribe to the digest format of the list, then the subject line will
automatically be something like "Digest Number 123." Please change it to
something more topical. It's also helpful to trim away clutter from previous
generations of forwarding; "FW: Funding for nonprofit technology" is much more
readable than "Fwd: FW: Re: [Other Listserv] RE: Funding for nonprofit
technology."

o Avoid using all capital letters. In email, this is equivalent to shouting, and
considered an insult to one's readers.

o Write for an international readership. If you say that an event is happening
tonight at "the Firehouse in J.P.," the Bostonians will know that you mean "the
Firehouse Multicultural Art Center in Jamaica Plain," but maybe the folks in
Thailand won't. And if they need to fly in from Thailand to attend, it's
probably a good idea to give them more than a few hours' notice.

o Frame your message in the language of civil discourse, and avoid inflammatory
rhetoric. The rule of thumb is to assume that others are motivated by the best
intentions, even when you think that they are gravely mistaken.

The following kinds of posts are always unacceptable for posting to this group.

o Flames, or rhetoric that might incite flames. Sometimes members of the group
have perfectly good points to make, but choose language that is inflammatory.
Posts that are simply attacks on someone else's religion, operating system,
ethics, ancestry, internet service provider, or attitude are usually deleted
without comment.

o Advertisements of products or services. As the group moderator, I delete the
blatant spam before the rest of the group ever sees it, but there are some
borderline cases. For example, each newcomer is invited to introduce him/herself
to the group upon joining, and it's appropriate to mention any products or
services that he/she sells to the community. That's fine, but thereafter it's
best to let your satisfied customers recommend your product or service. Another
borderline case is announcements about conferences and workshops. These are fine
if they are specifically tailored to the needs of our community. Bulletins about
workshops and conferences given by nonprofits are usually approved; posts about
for-profit organizations that offer these events are approved on a case-by-case
basis.

o Solicitations of cash donations for organizations or individuals. Requests by
nonprofits for in-kind donations of either products or services are approved on
a case-by-case basis. (Legitimate offers of cash or in-kind donations are
acceptable.)

o Off-topic questions, out-of-office auto-replies, and personal messages that
were never intended to go to the whole list. I try to catch these before they go
out, and they are usually deleted without comment.

Please note that the moderator (yours truly) and alternate moderator (John
McNutt) reserve the right delete any inappropriate messages without circulating
them to the group, or to bar disruptive individuals from membership in the
group. While we will do everything possible to encourage community building,
fruitful dialogue, and free expression, the moderators remain the only arbiters
of appropriate content for this community.

Thanks for your attention to these guidelines.

Best regards from Deborah

Deborah Elizabeth Finn
Information Systems Forum moderator

Hi,

? My name is Russ and I just joined the group today. I have been an electronic
technician for 20 years. I have recently become unemployed, and made the
decision to go back to school for my B.S degree. I am taking on-line classes at
the University of Phoenix. My area of?interest is in Information Technology
System Security.

? I have joined this group for two reasons. The first is that my classes require
a background in Information Systems or access to individuals who work in the
field. Even though I have 20 years in electronics, I am sorely lacking in the IT
environment. I hoping that I could possibly post questions to the forums to help
complete my assignments. I will never ask about anything propietary, it is just
general information regarding hardware, Os's and app's.

? The second reason for joining the group is to further my knowledge of the
field by reading the postings of others. I am deeply committed to learning as
much as I can, so that I can start a new career in the field. ? I truly hope
none of this is in conflict to the policy or guidelines of the forum.

? Thanks,
? Russ

[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

(Dear ISF Colleagues:  Many thanks are due to Katrin, for passing this
along.  Best regards from Deborah)



------original message------
From: Katrin Verclas <katrin@...>
Date: Sun, Jun 14, 2009 at 6:25 PM
Subject: [NTEN Discuss] Why Funders Should Fund Innovation - from a funder
To: nten-discuss@..., Progressive Exchange
<Discuss@...>

FYI.....(disclosure, Vince Stehle is a funder of MobileActive.org and NTEN)

Grant Makers Should Focus on Innovation in Addition to Serving Emergency Needs

By Vince Stehle, Chronicle of Philanthropy

From the issue dated May 7, 2009

In the face of a disastrous economic downturn that has depleted
philanthropic resources even as human needs have escalated to heart-
wrenching proportions, it is only natural that many foundations have
refocused their grants to ameliorate human suffering and shore up
frail organizations. The natural tendency in philanthropy will be to
increase our commitments to alleviate the severity of the economic
collapse.

But grant makers should recognize that this may also be a good time to
invest in path-breaking solutions and social innovations that may not
fit neatly into each foundation's priorities.

After all, for the first time in history, the Internet has made it
easy to spur collective action for relatively little money. As Clay
Shirky, author of Here Comes Everybody: The Power of Organizing
Without Organizations, put it, "Our electronic networks are enabling
novel forms of collective action, enabling the creation of
collaborative groups that are larger and more distributed than at any
other time in history."

Indeed, now may be the best time for grant makers to invest in the
types of innovative social networks and other Internet services that
are already becoming some of the strongest drivers of growth in the
broader economy. Philanthropy should make sure that nonprofit groups
benefit from the explosive communications revolution reflected in the
growth of Internet-based communications, commerce, and research
services like Google, YouTube, and LinkedIn.

Ironically, an economic slump can be the right time to support
nonprofit technology projects. The talent and equipment that can help
a project expand can be too expensive for a nonprofit effort to afford
in good times, but can suddenly become much more affordable in a
recession.

For example, GuideStar, Idealist.org, TechSoup Global, and
VolunteerMatch are all highly successful Internet-based services that
have each delivered great benefit to tens of thousands of nonprofit
organizations. They were all able to take advantage of the dot-com
bust to expand their organizations from small-scale and struggling
services to nationally recognized leaders in the field of nonprofit
technology. Back in the day we had a term for it: the revenge of the
dot-orgs.

But how can grant makers best find the next generation of enterprises
that will promote a vibrant and diverse exchange of educational
information, cultural expression, and political discourse over the
Internet?

While Silicon Valley venture firms are willing to put billions of
dollars into the next Google or Facebook, there is no equivalent
capital pool available for investment in the expansion of social
enterprises operating in the public interest. So the real challenge is
for grant makers to figure out how to effectively identify, vet, and
support promising new-media and information services that put the
public interest before commercial profits.

One easy way is for grant makers to stop spending so much time talking
to one another and go to the places where innovative nonprofit leaders
are talking about new technology approaches. Among the places where
great ideas can be found: NetSquared, Pop!Tech, and the annual meeting
held by the Nonprofit Technology Network, each of which focuses on
social innovation and social enterprise with a strong emphasis on new
technology solutions.

The tougher challenge is to figure out what type of service —
commercial enterprise, government agency, or noncommercial
organization — can be counted on to ensure that quality and diversity
are given a prominent place.

Recent experience suggests that a new type of hybrid organization,
driven by a strong noncommercial mission but operating with success in
the consumer marketplace, may offer the optimal balance of financial
sustainability and commitment to the public interest.

Two powerful examples of this new type of enterprise are the Wikimedia
Foundation, which operates Wikipedia, and the Mozilla Foundation,
which publishes the popular Firefox Web browser.

Both of those organizations run popular online consumer-information
services, operating with relatively small paid staffs and thousands of
volunteers who help to accomplish significant work for the
organizations.

However efficient these organizations are, they are not entirely
without costs. And it is particularly hard for them to get started
because they have to operate on a very large scale to demonstrate
their value to potential creators and consumers. Unfortunately, there
is very little capital available for such start-up efforts.

Many people will argue that philanthropy has no role in developing
technology tools and resources; that the market will provide what we
need. But the market tends to focus on profits first and not so much
on mission.

In 1995, Rob Glaser — fresh from a successful stint at Microsoft —
founded a new company, Progressive Networks, which was initially
intended to help distribute politically progressive ideas to
counterbalance the strength of conservative organizations in getting
their message out. Along the way, Mr. Glaser stumbled upon an early
version of software that would make it feasible, for the first time,
to transmit audio content over the Internet. He quickly redirected his
company to focus on software development, changed the name to
RealNetworks, and took the company public.

Now RealNetworks is a powerhouse in streaming media, delivering a
large share of the audio and video that is available on the Internet.
Now that RealNetworks has achieved a strong position in the
marketplace, it's interesting to go back to the original mission of
the company — promoting progressive content in the media. How is it
doing?

On a recent morning, the RealNetworks media service Rhapsody sent out
an online alert touting a typical mix of programming available. Two
highlights: One implores users to "See sexy pics of pop's sun-kissed
beauties," and another promises images of pop fashionistas: "See what
happens when your favorite rockers and divas take over fashion
runways."

Most days Rhapsody offers a similar come-on.

The simple truth is the market wants what the market wants. And even
with the best of intentions, a commercial media enterprise is
generally going to deliver content choices that follow the cold
calculus of the marketplace. For RealNetworks, nee Progressive
Networks, it is a far cry from the company's original mission to help
spread politically progressive ideas.

This example is not intended to castigate Rob Glaser or RealNetworks
for abandoning the organization's original mission. And it's not meant
to proclaim moral indignation in the face of more cleavage or carnage.
It's just a reality. There's a reason for the term crass
commercialism, after all.

Vince Stehle is a program director at the Surdna Foundation,
overseeing grants to improve nonprofit organizations.

Hey There: Passing along this helpful article on 5 Tips to Engage New Online
Activists: http://www.frogloop.com/engage

Cheers,
Allyson

Allyson Kapin
Partner, Rad Campaign
Check out our website!
http://www.RadCampaign.com
Rad Campaign
Web Design & Development I Online Marketing I Strategy
240-475-3362
Follow me on Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/womenwhotech
- -
Women Who Tech
http://www.WomenWhoTech.com

[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

(apologies in advance for any cross-posting)

Hi everyone-

Well, there's very little sun coming into San Francisco at the moment. However,
I wanted to let you know that there is Sun of a different sort coming in!
TechSoup is excited to have a new donation partnership with Sun
<http://bit.ly/PPWBd>  to offer donated remanufactured servers to qualified
nonprofits and public libraries, currently in the U.S. only: http://bit.ly/PPWBd

We've also compiled some handy discussions and articles to demystify server
options out there and help organizations determine if a Sun servers is right for
them.

You can find relevant server discussions here under the "server" tag:
http://forums.techsoup.org/cs/tags/server/default.aspx

If you use RSS, you can subscribe to server-related discussions:
http://forums.techsoup.org/cs/search/Searchrss.aspx?o=DateDescending&tag
=server&orTags=0

You can learn about more hardware servers with these Learning Center articles:
Do I Need a Server?
<http://www.techsoup.org/learningcenter/networks/page7473.cfm>  and A Field
Guide to Servers <http://www.techsoup.org/learningcenter/techplan/page11064.cfm>
and Virtualization 101
<http://www.techsoup.org/learningcenter/software/page4826.cfm> .

And you can always ask any server-related questions in the TechSoup Hardware
forum: http://forums.techsoup.org/cs/forums/23.aspx

Best,

Megan

******************************************************

Megan Keane <http://friendfeed.com/penguinasana>
Online Community Manager, TechSoup Global <http://www.techsoup.org/>
435 Brannan Street, Suite 300
San Francisco, CA 94107
Voice: 415-633-9474
Fax: 415-633-9400
Email: megan@... <mailto:megan@...>
Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/penguinasana
Skype: penguinasana
Nonprofits in Second Life: http://www.nonprofitcommons.org
<http://www.nonprofitcommons.org/>

[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

Dear ISF Colleagues,

Did you know that the Information Systems Forum has an unmoderated version?  You
can post anything you like there at any time.  There are no restrictions
whatsover.

To view the unmoderated ISF's message archive, please go to
<http://tech.groups.yahoo.com/group/Information_Systems_Forum_UNMODERATED/messag\
es>.

To join the unmoderated ISF, please send a blank email to this address: 
<Information_Systems_Forum_UNMODERATED-subscribe@yahoogroups.com>.

To post a message to the ISF, please send it to this address:
<Information_Systems_Forum_UNMODERATED@yahoogroups.com>.

Many thanks and best regards from Deborah

Deborah Elizabeth Finn
Cyber-Yenta
Boston, Massachusetts, USA
deborah_elizabeth_finn@...
www.cyber-yenta.org
Skype:  Deborah909
Twitter: Deborah909
LinkedIn: http://www.linkedin.com/in/deborah909

"Everybody can be great...
because everybody can serve."
- Martin Luther King jr. (1929 - 1968)

Happy June! Who said school was out for the summer?  Here at Idealware, we have
a great summer line up of seminars to help you make the most of your technology.

Idealware's online seminars are designed to give nonprofits the tactical advice
they need to make software decisions. They are capped at 25 participants, to
ensure all your questions are answered. Many are selling out these days, so
register early.

Each of these online seminars is $40 per participant, and all you need is an
internet connection and a phone line to participate.  Or looking for a less
expensive option?  All of our seminars are available as recordings, for only
$20, at http://www.idealware.org/online_seminars/recordings.php

Here's the course schedule for the next month or so:

Getting Started with Online Donations http://tinyurl.com/cg4eml Thursday, June
11th, 1:00 - 2:30 EST What online donation tools are available? How do they
work? How do you know which one is right for your organization? We answer these
questions, and discuss some of the specific tools that are available, such as
Network for Good, PayPay, Click & Pledge, eTapestry, MemberClicks, AuctionPay,
and more.

Considering Social Media for Your Organization http://tinyurl.com/cjh4wv
Wednesday, June 17th, 1:00 - 2:30 EST There's a lot of talk these days about
social media - blogs, RSS, YouTube, Flickr, social networking, MySpace,
Facebook, Twitter, oh my! What are these things, and how do they fit into the
communications methods you're already using? We'll talk through how social media
tools and techniques can help you to engage your constituents and spread the
word about your organization.

Optimizing Your Website for Search Engines http://tinyurl.com/d3nspn Thursday,
June 18th, 1:00 - 2:30 EST Does your organization show up on the first page of
results in search engines In this session, we'll talk through the techniques
that can help - from straightforward ones that anyone can do, to a few of the
structural and technical ones that can make a big difference.  No technical
skills necessary!

Building an Effective Email List http://tinyurl.com/raqlyj Thursday, June 25th,
1:00 - 2:30 EST Successful online fundraising, actions, and outreach all start
with a solid and substantial list of email addresses. We'll discuss a wide
variety of tools and techniques to gather solid email addresses, from direct
mail to social media and viral marketing list building efforts - and how all of
those things fit together.

Introduction to Website Analytics http://tinyurl.com/omp296 Wednesday, July 8th,
1:00 - 2:30 EST We'll talk through the tools and strategies you can use to
understand how people are using your site. Through demos AWStats and Google
Analytics, we'll look at what these tools can tell you about your site, and what
the statistics mean.

Editing a Website without Technical Skills http://tinyurl.com/luvqy7 Thursday,
July 16th, 1:00 - 2:30 EST If you need a way to update your website, but you're
not sure where to start, this is the session for you. We'll talk about what
content management systems are, and look at various affordable options for
creating an easily updateable site, including toolslike DreamWeaver, Contribute,
Homesite, WordPress, Joomla, Drupal, and more.

Choosing Broadcast Email Software http://tinyurl.com/qcmpx7 Wednesday, July
22nd, 1:00 - 2:30 EST Mass emails are a great way to reach out your audience,
but it can be complex to send and track thousands of emails. We’ll walk through
what you need to know and talk about some of the reliable and affordable (even
free!) tools most useful for nonprofits.

Hope to see you there!

Laura
--
Laura S. Quinn
Idealware
Candid Information about Nonprofit Software
www.idealware.org

[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

(Dear ISF Colleagues:  I've been asked to pass this survey
announcement along to you.  NTEN is looking for input from both
members and non-members.  If you are working with information and
communication technology for the nonprofit sector, please participate!
  Many thanks from Deborah)



-----original message-----
From:  <annaliese@...>
Date: Wed, Jun 10, 2009 at 3:00 AM
Subject: Annual NTEN Survey (tell us what matters to you when it comes
to NTEN and tech on your job)
To: deborah_elizabeth_finn@...

Hi Deborah,

The NTEN community has changed quite a bit over the years. So has
NTEN.  When we started, NTEN was focused on the circuit riders and
accidental techies (aka "Program Assistants") and IT Directors who
were helping nonprofits get constituent and donor data off of index
cards and into databases - or at least spreadsheets!

Well, there's still that, but now there's also the Fundraising staff
who are learning how to raise money via mobile phones, say, or the
Communications staff who are figuring out best practices for using
Twitter to engage supporters.  And there's also the fearless (and yes,
especially the fearful) Executive Directors trying to put all the
pieces together into an overall plan that aligns with the
organization's mission (we even came up with a book for that - see my
email sig!).

How do we keep up with the changing landscape of nonprofit technology
professionals and their needs and interests?  We ask!

<http://www.surveymonkey.coms.aspx?sm=OJ1kEXltsA1MJsV7AUGcfw_3d_3d>

As a current member of NTEN, we especially want to hear from you, so
please take just a few minutes (definitely under 10, and likely under
7) to tell us about:

* How NTEN's current programs and services are meeting your
professional needs * How you use tech in your organization * Your
organization's most significant tech challenges

<http://www.surveymonkey.coms.aspx?sm=OJ1kEXltsA1MJsV7AUGcfw_3d_3d>

We use the responses to both track the trends of this community and
guide our program and service development.

You can see past NTEN Community Survey Reports
(http://nten.org/research/community) to see how the community of
nonprofit technology professionals has changed over the years, and
stay tuned for the resulting report of this year's survey for a
picture of how you fit in with your colleagues and how the NTEN
community gauges their nonprofit technology needs and adoption.

And if the sense of community contribution isn't enough to entice you
to give us some feedback, you can enter to win a *free registration to
the 2010 Nonprofit Technology Conference!* (Should I have mentioned
that earlier?) :)

> Take the Survey:
http://www.surveymonkey.com/s.aspx?sm=9VtAOpxJaGYtXJP6jB5Ucw_3d_3d

Thank you for being a member of NTEN and contributing to this community!

Best,
Annaliese
----
Annaliese Hoehling
Membership and Outreach Manager
NTEN: Your Nonprofit Technology Community
www.nten.org | 415 397 9000 | annaliese@...

Because People Who Change the World Need the Tools to Do it!

We wrote a book.  You should totally buy it! Managing Technology to
Meet Your Mission: http://www.meetyourmission.org

Note: We are using SurveyMonkey to conduct this survey, and if you
would NOT like to participate and want to be REMOVED from survey
invitations, please opt out here:
http://www.surveymonkey.com/optout.aspx?sm=9VtAOpxJaGYtXJP6jB5Ucw_3d_3d

Hi Dan,

I've never used it but I evaluated this for a client a while back and it sounds
like it might match some of your requirements (though probably not all):
http://www.retreatmanager.com/

Good luck,

Steve.



-----original message-----
>>Anyone have any experience with software written specifically for retreat
centers/hospitality-focused organizations that must track rooms and room
assignments, group registrations, complex pricing structures with custom
discount, inventory of AV and room equipment, etc. I am familiar with many of
the event registration systems and more robust events management modules of
fundraising and association management systems, but am not as familiar with any
vertical specific to organization focused on retreats and hospitality. The
question would then also be what kind of general CRM abilities do they have, and
do they have decent APIs to link to CRM/donor management systems.>>

Request #2:  Anyone have any experience with software written specifically for
retreat centers/hospitality-focused organizations that must track rooms and room
assignments, group registrations, complex pricing structures with custom
discount, inventory of AV and room equipment, etc.  I am familiar with many of
the event registration systems and more robust events management modules of
fundraising and association management systems, but am not as familiar with any
vertical specific to organization focused on retreats and hospitality.  The
question would then also be what kind of general CRM abilities do they have, and
do they have decent APIs to link to CRM/donor management systems.

Thanks,

Dan

------
dan shenk-evans | community it innovators - citi<http://www.citidc.com> | senior
information systems consultant | 202-234-1600 x360 |
dshenkevans@...<mailto:dan@...>





[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

I would appreciate any feedback on systems you have used with particularly
strong volunteer management, especially those with online functionality.  The
system would not only have the standard ability to track people's skills and
interests and availability, and be able to assign them to specific tasks and
supervisors, would also have some kind of web portal.  The online portal would
allow the publishing of a calendar of volunteer opportunities, online sign-up
form, show which volunteer opportunities are filled (for ongoing needs), and
then of course allow for the staff to do at least basic CRM activities and the
matching of opportunities to volunteers that are good fits.

Thanks,

Dan

------
dan shenk-evans | community it innovators - citi<http://www.citidc.com> | senior
information systems consultant | 202-234-1600 x360 |
dshenkevans@...<mailto:dan@...>





[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]