We are a small (70 employees), multi-region non-profit that is
starting to see the need for video conferencing due to high travel
costs.  No one knows anything about the current standards and options
in this technology and I would appreciate some pointers.  We could
pick up a web cam and a microphone from Radio Shack and download some
free chatting software for $30 dollars a month, but am wondering if
there is anything more substantial.  Although we don't know our
specific needs, the technology would ideally have capabilities for
multi person meetings (more than 2 people in the same room as well as
more than two geographical locations represented).  Ease of use is
also key, and having cameras that can just be set up at a office
workstation would also be very helpful.  Any and all suggestions of
what other non-profits are using would be extremely helpful.

Thanks,

Jay Gregory
Technology Associate
College Summit, Inc.
http://www.collegesummit.org

Dear Group:

We are a small NPO looking for an activist database.  We use GiftMaker
Pro for the donors.  Can anyone recommend a database we could use to
track our activist (members).  In addition, we are looking for
enewsletter software as well.

Thanks for any help you can provide.


Alesia Richards                      Advocates for Children and Youth

Assistant to the Director            8 Market Place, Suite 500
Baltimore, Maryland 21202            Phone: 410.547.9200 X3004  FAX:
410.547.8690
mailto:arichards@...              www.acy.org

Dear Colleagues,

On my laptop, I have a version of Microsoft Paint that is so feeble
that it does not give me the option of creating JPG files or
converting other formats to JPG.

So now I'm shopping for an open source product that is compatible with
Windows 2000/XP.  If it's free of charge, so much the better.

Any suggestions?

Many thanks and best regards from Deborah

Deborah Elizabeth Finn
Boston, Massachusetts, USA
deborah_elizabeth_finn@...
http://blog.deborah.elizabeth.finn.com/blog
http://public.xdi.org/=deborah.elizabeth.finn

-----original message-----
>>On my laptop, I have a version of Microsoft Paint that is so feeble that it
does not give me the option of creating JPG files or converting other formats to
JPG. So now I'm shopping for an open source product that is compatible with
Windows 2000/XP.  If it's free of charge, so much the better. Any suggestions?>>




You should probably consider the GIMP.  http://www.gimp.org/windows/

It sounds like it may be a bigger program than what you want, but it's very
powerful and there's a lot of documentation on the web and in bookstores.

-----original message-----
>>On my laptop, I have a version of Microsoft Paint that is so feeble that it
does not give me the option of creating JPG files or converting other formats to
JPG. So now I'm shopping for an open source product that is compatible with
Windows 2000/XP.  If it's free of charge, so much the better. Any suggestions?>>



Very simple to use, free and fun - is IrfanView, or IView.  Download is
available at tucows.com.

http://tucows.com/preview/194967

Regards,
Mariana Vilic
Chicago, IL

-----original message-----
>>On my laptop, I have a version of Microsoft Paint that is so feeble that it
does not give me the option of creating JPG files or converting other formats to
JPG. So now I'm shopping for an open source product that is compatible with
Windows 2000/XP. If it's free of charge, so much the better. Any suggestions?>>



Not open source per se but free and very very good and easy is IrfanView...
http://irfanview.com/ ...it is quite wondrous.

Just joined this group recently and this may be my first post. I run Eagle River
Partners, based in Colorado. We work with progressive non-profits and campaigns
around the country...primarily providing online communications design,
development and strategy.

Ted

---------------------
Ted Fickes
Eagle River Partners
Online Communications Solutions
ted at eagleriverpartners dot com
720-480-6975

Hi there,

Wanted to send you a quick reminder about this Webinar tomorrow, presented by
Greg Baldwin of VolunteerMatch <http://www.volunteermatch.org/> :

Webinar Tomorrow:

<https://www.ntenonline.org/eweb/Dynamicpage.aspx?webcode=EventInfo&evt_key=
577f46de-1f4c-4402-8926-d0312b7402f4> How the Internet has Changed Volunteering
Thursday, Nov. 3, 2005 | 10:00 am Pacific/1:00 pm Eastern | 90 minutes

Understanding a new generation of volunteers The Internet is a powerful force
connecting a new generation of volunteers. This webinar will focus on key
learnings taken from VolunteerMatch research work done in conjunction with Peter
D. Hart Associates. The findings include insights into the motivations and
behaviors of an emerging generation of volunteers. It will also explore how
nonprofits are responding to these changes.

Learn more and sign up for this and all N-TEN webinars at
http://www.nten.org/webinars

We hope you can join us for this informative online session tomorrow!

Regards,

Camron

Camron Assadi
Marketing and Business Director
N-TEN, The Nonprofit Technology Enterprise Network
http://www.nten.org <http://www.nten.org/>
camron@...
(415)397-9000 office
(415)397-1833 fax

<><><><><><><><><><><><>

N-TEN's Webinar Series
Online seminar series on the hottest topics in nonprofit technology
http://www.nten.org/webinars





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

-----original message-----
>>On my laptop, I have a version of Microsoft Paint that is so feeble that it
does not give me the option of creating JPG files or converting other formats to
JPG. So now I'm shopping for an open source product that is compatible with
Windows 2000/XP.  If it's free of charge, so much the better. Any suggestions?>>



I use the Gimp. Freeware and open source, and does a lot of the things photoshop
does, to say nothing of (ick) MS-Paint.

http://gimp-win.sourceforge.net/ (installers)

Why not just use GiftMaker? - lot's of opportunity to track members as well as
donor's, and I would suppose that they ought to overlap quite a bit.  They're a
very solid company run by extremely smart people dedicated to the nonprofit
sector.

You can export emails from GiftMaker if you'd like to do more of a hand-crafted
enewsetter on your own (quite easy for low volumn list) or you can import them
into any of the dedicated mailing list tools.

tim mills-groninger



-----original message-----
>>We are a small NPO looking for an activist database.  We use GiftMaker Pro for
the donors.  Can anyone recommend a database we could use to track our activist
(members).  In addition, we are looking for enewsletter software as well.>>

I second the recommendations for both IrfanView and the Gimp.

IrfanView doesn't really allow for picture creation or editing, but it is great
for resizing pictures, cropping them, and converting between about 8 zillion
different image formats. It's a small program, easy to download and to run.

The Gimp is more in the Photoshop league - very complex, but you can do many of
the same things you do in Photoshop. It's a big app to download and takes a
while to start up.

-Steve

Alzheimer's Association
the compassion to care, the leadership to conquer

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

Hi Alesia,

Why can't you track your activist (members) in GiftMaker Pro?  Wouldn't it make
sense from a list management perspective to have one location for your donors
and activists?  Aren't some of your donors activists and vice-versa? Please
consider this carefully before you move to another database.  The difficulties
of managing two databases may not be worth any benefit a second application
would provide.  I would be glad to talk with you more about on or off list.

GiftMaker Pro also has Volunteer and Membership modules (they may be add-ons)
that should be able to handle all of your needs.

If you decide that you still want a separate database you could try the
Organizers' Database (ODB) which is an open source application developed by the
Organizers Collaborative.  Their website is www.oc-tech.org.  It is a great
application for tracking activists, members and fundraising too.

Steve Wishengrad
The Data Collaborative
157 Dame Rd
Durham, NH 03824

voice: (617) 395-8094
voice/fax: (603)659-4668
email: steve@...

I too recommend the Gimp, I have been using it for 3-4 years. It can not do
everything Photoshop and PaintShop Pro can do, but it can do most of it,
including animations. It is my first choice for graphics program, and then if I
can't do it in Gimp, I move to Paintshop Pro or Fireworks. It takes a bit of
getting used to because  the tools and canvas are all separate floating windows,
but it is a wonderful program and the documentation Grokking the Gimp is
excellent.

--
Caroline Robinson
Website Co-ordinator
www.masslegalhelp.org

Another vote for IrfanView and The Gimp - though I prefer the GIMPShop interface
(Gimp modified to work, and to some degree even look, like PhotoShop):

http://blog.yumdap.net/archives/43-GIMPshop-2.2.8-for-Windows-released.html

FYI - for the video conferencing we use Raindance (I have used Webex but it is
too expensive for the non-profit sector).  They have recently integrated video
into their webconferencing package.  You can test drive a trial account at
Raindance.com

[Gabriela Gomez]

Deborah,

There are a couple of alternatives out there.  One that many folks have already
mentioned is the GIMP (http://gimp-win.sourceforge.net/), which is very
powerful.  Unfortunately it has an interface that was apparently designed by
space aliens.  I personally find it nearly incomprehensible.

A good alternative that's free, but not OSS, is Serif PhotoPlus.  Serif is a UK
company that makes productivity software -- photo editor, DTP, web editor, and
so on.  They have an interesting model: they charge US$99 or so for the latest
versions of their software, but if you don't need the cutting edge features, you
can download an older version for free at http://www.freeserifsoftware.com/ .

Why do this?  The free software is like an ad: if you like the old version,
you'll REALLY like the newest version.  In that sense it's like a
try-before-you-buy, except with no time limit.

Example: their image editor, PhotoPlus, is currently at version 10, which costs
US$80.  However, on the free software site, you can download version 6 for free.
PhotoPlus 6 handles all the basic image editing functions quite capably, so for
many users it's all you will need.

Even better, if you register the free version they will usually follow up with
an offer to upgrade that's very sweet -- usually something on the order of
"Upgrade to PhotoPlus 8 for $5".  So you can get _some_ advances for practically
nothing.

It's a clever approach I wish more companies would adopt...

-- Jason Lefkowitz

-----original message-----
From: Steven Clift <slc@...>
Date: Nov 2, 2005 12:16 PM
Subject: [Air-l] Researchers focused on e-activism/e-advocacy
To: air-l@...


As I have detailed on my blog <http://www.dowire.org/notes/?p=64> I am
helping facilitate the online portion of an advisory group on
"Community Campaigning" in the UK. This is a 395,000 GBP government
funded project - here is there blog:
http://www.communitycampaigning.org

I'd like to bring in a few more academic experts who have dug into the
details of the use of online tools in citizen activism/advocacy.  The
more local your research the better, but anyone with granular analysis
on the techniques, tools, and best practices in e-activism/e-advocacy
should drop me a note:

clift@...

Cheers,
Steven Clift

Steven Clift - http://publicus.net - Reply to: clift@...
Join DoWire: http://dowire.org
E-Democracy: http://e-democracy.org

(Dear Colleagues:  The annual Nonprofit Technology Conference is THE
definitive gathering for folks in our field.  If you'd like to
participate in planning the agenda, here's your opportunity!  Best
regards from Deborah)



------original message-----
From: Holly Ross <holly@...>
Date: Nov 2, 2005 6:25 PM
Subject: [ntc] Heads Up: 2006 NTC Agenda Planning About to Kick Off
To: ntc@...


Hi folks -

We're about to kick off the agenda planning process for the 2006 Nonprofit
Technology Conference (NTC), and we'll need your input! Please take these
simple steps to get involved:

<> Review the agenda planning and speaker selection process at:
http://www.nten.org/conferences-speaking

<> Watch for a message next week about the conference agenda.  You'll get the
chance to vote on what sessions you want to see on the agenda, volunteer to
speak at or lead a session, or suggest something you think we missed.

The rest of this message contains more information on the NTC, our agenda
goals, and the planning process. If you have any questions, please contact
Holly Ross, N-TEN Director of Programs, at holly@...

CONTENTS:
1) 2006 NTC Overview
2) Conference Agenda Goals
3) Agenda Planning Process

<><><>

1) 2006 NTC OVERVIEW

The 2006 NTC will be held March 23-24 in Seattle, WA.  We expect over 800
people to join us for the premier event in the sector.  For more information,
see the 2006 NTC Home Page at http://www.nten.org/ntc.

<><><>

2) CONFERENCE AGENDA GOALS

<> Develop approximately 50 sessions that will meet the needs of the 800
attendees we're expecting at the Conference.

<> Insure that every session is a high-quality, balanced and objective
presentation.

<> Create session tracks that specifically address our three main
constituencies: A) Nonprofit Technology Assistance Providers (NTAPs), B)
Nonprofit management and program staff, and C) Nonprofit technology staff.

<> Recruit session designers and speakers that reflect the diversity of our
attendees.

<> Do all of this in an open and transparent way.

<><><>

3) AGENDA PLANNING PROCESS

This year, we've modified the agenda planning process to ensure that the
sessions on the agenda are more closely tied to the conference theme.  We are
attempting to strike a balance between closer scrutiny of the final agenda, and
preserving the community-driven process that leads to so many great things at
the NTC.  Here's a brief overview of the process we'll use this year:

<> PHASE ONE, Gather Input: Week of 11/7
We'll post a survey where you can comment on a set of sessions developed by
N-TEN and the 2006 Steering Committee, volunteer to speak at or lead a session,
or suggest a session you think we've missed.

The survey will remain open until Wednesday, November 16.

<> PHASE TWO, Review Survey Results, Finalize Agenda: 11/16 – 11/30
At this stage, N-TEN will review the community input and construct a proposed
agenda from our original session ideas and your submissions.  This proposed
agenda will be reviewed by several sets of N-TEN stakeholders --the N-TEN Board
of Directors, our Conference co-hosts, the NTC Steering Committee --before
finalizing the agenda.  The final agenda will be announced via a number of
email groups and posted to the NTC Agenda page, http://www.nten.org/ntc-agenda.
  Session designers will not be confirmed at this time.

<> PHASE THREE, Invite Session Designers: 12/1 to 12/31
N-TEN will consult with several sets of N-TEN stakeholders --the N-TEN Board of
Directors, our Conference co-hosts, the NTC Steering Committee --before
inviting session designers.  Session designers will be contacted via email or
phone.  Session designers will choose their own speakers for their sessions.

If you're interested in serving as a session designer or speaker AFTER the
agenda has been announced, please contact Holly Ross at holly@... or
415.397.9000.

<><><>

Any questions? Please feel free to email or call.

Holly

Holly Ross, Director of Programs, N-TEN
Nonprofit Technology Enterprise Network
http://www.nten.org
holly@..., 415.397.9000
____________________________________________

Dear Colleagues,

This looks like a very interesting idea!

"Inequities in Web 2.0: Let's Tag About It"
<http://marshallk.com/inequities-in-web-20-lets-tag-about-it>"

It seems that Web 2.0 is the latest important buzz phrase, and it's
worth examining who is framing the discussion about it.

Best regards from Deborah

Deborah Elizabeth Finn
Boston, Massachusetts, USA
deborah_elizabeth_finn@...
http://blog.deborah.elizabeth.finn.com/blog
http://public.xdi.org/=deborah.elizabeth.finn

Alesia,

We use ebase, which is a free database product based on FileMaker Pro. You don't
need FileMaker though unless you want to do customization of the software or
network it. We use it for tracking donors and volunteers, but it can do a lot
more than that. It's fairly powerful and relatively user-friendly.
http://www.ebase.org/

Jack Drost

Board President
AIDS Action Coalition
Huntsville, AL
drostj@...

Jack Drost

Systems Librarian
UAH Salmon Library
drostj@...
256-824-7407

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

I'm surprised that this thread has gone on so long with no mention of Paint.net
<http://Paint.net>, a freeware Graphics application developed by people at the
University of Washington as a more functional alternative to Windows Paint.
Paint.net <http://Paint.net> does everything Paint does, but adds some Photoshop
features, like layers. It is world's better than Paint, far more intuitive than
Irfanview. Irfanview does a few things that Paint.net <http://Paint.net>
doesn't,. but none of them are things that people actually do. The Gimp is much
more powerful, but is more of a Photoshop competitor that a Paint competitor.

This is highly recommended:

http://www.eecs.wsu.edu/paint.net/

--
Peter Campbell * http://blog.krazy.com

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

-----original message-----
>>On my  laptop, I have a version of Microsoft Paint that is so feeble that it
does  not give me the option of creating JPG files or converting other formats
to  JPG. So now I'm shopping for an open source product that is compatible  with
Windows 2000/XP.  If it's free of charge, so much the  better.>>



Deborah

Years ago I downloaded PSP 311  (Paint Shop  Pro for Windows 311) free from
AOL's old programs area.  I have PSP 7 or  8  but still use the 311  for
converting to and from .bmp, jpg, gif,  tiff, wmf, and others.  An other beauty
of the 311 is it's  ability to expand to the point of editing down the
individual pixels.  I  don't know where you could get or download a copy, but
even at 10 years old it  is still a great tool.

Mike  Sumner
Webmaster District 33S
Lions Clubs  International
LionsMike@...
http://www.lions-33s.org

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

-----original message-----
>>We are a small (70 employees), multi-region non-profit that is starting to see
the need for video conferencing due to high travel costs.  No one knows anything
about the current standards and options in this technology and I would
appreciate some pointers.  We could pick up a web cam and a microphone from
Radio Shack and download some free chatting software for $30 dollars a month,
but am wondering if there is anything more substantial.  Although we don't know
our specific needs, the technology would ideally have capabilities for multi
person meetings (more than 2 people in the same room as well as more than two
geographical locations represented).  Ease of use is also key, and having
cameras that can just be set up at a office workstation would also be very
helpful.  Any and all suggestions of what other non-profits are using would be
extremely helpful.>>



Probably the simplest, although not necessarily cheapest up-front
solution would be dedicated video conferencing gear such as D-Link's
i2Eye and similar products (http://www.dlink.com/products/?pid=411).
3Com may have something similar at
http://www.3com.com/voip/ip-telephony-products.html, specifically
http://www.3com.com/voip/ip-conferencing-module.html.

Their advantage over a videocam+microphone+PC setup is that you only
need to connect one to the Internet -- no fuss of setting up software on
a PC. Furthermore, if a cam-equipped PC requires a full
wipe-and-reinstall of the OS, you'll have to reinstall the videocon
software as well.

Speaking of standards, both 3Com and D-Link should have some documents
on those.

Hope this helps.
--
Daniel O. Escasa
descasa@...
contributor, Free Software Magazine (http://www.freesoftwaremagazine.com)
personal blog at http://descasa.i.ph

--
http://www.fastmail.fm - Accessible with your email software
                           or over the web

-----original message-----
From: reifman@... <reifman@...>
Date: Nov 3, 2005 4:00 PM
Subject: [RIDERS-NEWS] Online Advocacy Guide Now Available
To: riders-news@...


I finally had time to repost the earlier Guide to Online Advocacy that
we used to have with AdvocacyNow. It's basically an open-ended
introduction for nonprofit managers to learn more about online
advocacy and how it can be used.

It's available as a PDF download at:
  http://www.actionstudio.org.

-Jeff
jeff@...
206-784-0309
___________________________________________________________

Do you have a blog about nonprofits or nonprofit technology?

If so, you might be interested in listing your blog at the Nonprofit Blog
Exchange Blog and participating in the Blog Exchange virtual event.

When is the next Nonprofit Blog Exchange virtual event?

December 2005 (all month)

How do you participate in the virtual event?

There will be two ways to participate in the 2nd round.

1) Exchange blogs with another blog/blogger and blog about the blog

2) List your blog in the exchange, but you do not have to blog about another
blog. Another blogger will be given your blog to blog about.

Blogs submitted must have at least 5 blog entries and it must be in English. It
must have content about nonprofits or nonprofit technology. Blogs that only have
one entry will not be accepted.

If you would like to participate in the Nonprofit Blog Exchange virtual event,
e-mail the following information to eweinb04@... by November 30th with the
subject Nonprofit Blog Exchange.

If you would like to list your blog in the Nonprofit Exchange Blog, but not
participate in the virtual event, you can submit the following information at
anytime.

Your name:

Your e-mail address:

Geographic Location:

Name of blog:

Description of blog:

Web address of blog:

Do you want to participate in the virtual event?

For more information about the Nonprofit Blog Exchange check out
http://nonprofitblogexchange.blogspot.com.

Emily
Volunteer-Coordinator-in-Chief of The Nonprofit Blog Exchange

Hi,

You can use Irfanview (free) to convert your files.
www.irfanview.com<http://www.irfanview.com>. There is an Open Source software
called GImp that is very powerful gimp-win.sourceforge.net
<http://gimp-win.sourceforge.net>.

Jason



-----original message-----
>>On my laptop, I have a version of Microsoft Paint that is so feeble that it
does not give me the option of creating JPG files or converting other formats to
JPG. So now I'm shopping for an open source product that is compatible with
Windows 2000/XP. If it's free of charge, so much the better.>>

I would like to suggest another thing that could really help the Nonprofit Blog
Exchange project.  I work with another group, the Progressive Blog Alliance,
http://pbahq.smartcampaigns.com  Part of the idea of the Progressive Blog
Alliance is that everyone agrees to link to everyone else's blogs.  This can
easily be done through tools like blogrolling and/or del.icio.us

As an example, I took Emily's del.icio.us feed,
http://del.icio.us/emtx09/nonprofitblogexchange and added it to my site so that
the 15 most recently added sites to the feed show up on every page with a link
to a page that contains the rest of them.

The advantage of this is that everyone gets lots of links from similar blogs. 
This makes it so other people are more likely to find your blog, either through
links of similar blogs or through the search engines.  (The number of links
coming into your site increases your ranking with search engines).

Is anyone up for a non-profit blog link exchange?

I am interested in participating in such an exchange, as well as in the blog
exchange described below.  My primary blog is http://www.orient-lodge.com It is
my personal blog and I write about whatever strikes my fancy.  I started it back
in September 2004, but it contains material I've brought over from other sites
dating back to 2001.  It contains material on all subjects I'm interested in,
including non-profits, technology, politics, etc.

To get to my non-profit specific material, you should check out
http://www.orient-lodge.com/taxonomy/page/or/11

Hope this helps.

Aldon



-----Original Message-----
Your name:   Aldon Hynes

Your e-mail address:   ahynes1@...

Geographic Location:   Stamford, CT

Name of blog:   Orient Lodge

Description of blog:  A personal blog covering non-profits, technology,
politics, and anything else of interest

Web address of blog:  http://www.orient-lodge.com  (or
http://www.orient-lodge.com/taxonomy/page/or/11 for the non-profit specific
entries)

Do you want to participate in the virtual event? Yes

For more information about the Nonprofit Blog Exchange check out
http://nonprofitblogexchange.blogspot.com.

Emily
Volunteer-Coordinator-in-Chief of The Nonprofit Blog Exchange

Hi All

There is a lot of frustration everywhere because NGOs and relief orgs seem to
have constraints and pressures, and not to communicate effectively. We are all
'go getters' around here, used to real time communication, and working with
relief that does not seem effective is driving us crazy, and is making us
depressed

In Pakistan things are particularly bad right now, but surely, so many other
places in the world face the same problems What to do?  Well, I d like to be
able to send a blanket, a box of tinned  soup and a tent, where they are needed,
now. Without having to wait for someone to sort out their bureocracy. And to
know exactly who that supply is going to benefit.

So  thinking along these lines, Angelo and I have started a project - gosh,
another one! I hope you dont think this online aid thing is getting boring,
because it looks like its a beginning . Someone out there needs very badly a
bowl of soup, would nt it be nice if you could let them have one? And make sure
that nobody is taking a cut?

The idea started with the help needed/help offered  portions of the tsunamihelp
blog, but it needed to be developed further. It looks like we should be able to
set up a 'direct aid exchange' without too much pain.

Some ideas below,  please feel free to join us and make  a contribution, there
are a lot of things that need to be set up/created.

Purpose

=========

To set up a p2p aid network using available online technologies, where possible
free and open source that would enable person to person transactions on the
following basis need for aid is collected on the ground by relief camps needs
are packetised to small chunks/units to facilitate fulfilment, and  published to
a website, based around mambo/oscommerce/sugarcrm

recipients creates 'need request'

donors brows needs requests and fulfil the need

receipient of relief supply issues receipt and follow up reports

We have already secured server space and a domain name, p2paid.org, Angelo is
setting up some tools for teams to use,including a wiki and a  project
management tool

In the meantime, some preliminary notes/schedule are posted on a temporary page

http://www.katrinahelp.info/wiki/index.php/P2paid.org

There is a lot ot be done in the following areas

Concept developement and propagation

Draw up a minimal policy statement emphasising the neutrality of the project
(person to person, no polics nor religion)

GUI/template design

Marketing/communication (logo, outreach)

Community developement

New Project admins/contributors please sign up here
http://groups.google.com/group/p2paid

We are hoping to have something going in the next day or so,

Look forward to your comments/ideas and support

Paola and Angelo

Having a nonprofit blog link exchange is a great idea. It will soon be a part of
the nonprofit blog exchange project. Keep checking the nonprofit blog exchange
blog for the latest updates on this project.

For those of you interested in participating in this project, please submit your
information only to me.

If you are interested in participating in the virtual event, you will not be
signed up for the event until you fill out additional questions that I will send
you.  I have added these additional questions because of the feedback I got from
the pilot version.

If you participated in the pilot version or if you sent me your information
before this message was posted, you do not need to send me your information
again. You are already listed in the blog list and I have your information
saved. However, your blog will not be a part of the virtual event until you fill
out these additional questions (you should have already recieved an e-mail from
me about this).

Emily
Volunteer-Coordinator-in-Chief of The Nonprofit Blog Exchange
http://nonprofitblogexchange.blogspot.com



-----original message-----
>> I would like to suggest another thing that could really help the Nonprofit
Blog Exchange project.  I work with another group, the Progressive Blog
Alliance, http://pbahq.smartcampaigns.com  Part of the idea of the Progressive
Blog Alliance is that everyone agrees to link to everyone else's blogs.  This
can easily be done through tools like blogrolling and/or del.icio.us As an
example, I took Emily's del.icio.us feed,
http://del.icio.us/emtx09/nonprofitblogexchange and added it to my site so that
the 15 most recently added sites to the feed show up on every page with a link
to a page that contains the rest of them.>>

(A version of this item - with live links - is available at
<http://blog.deborah.elizabeth.finn.com/blog/_archives/2005/11/4/1347388.html>.)

Dear Colleagues,

I worry a lot about nonprofit organizations that rely on volunteers
for tech support.

Volunteer management is an art and a science. It's rare that a
nonprofit organization is completely successful at deploying
volunteers in supporting their technology infrastructure, which after
all is a complex and mission-critical part of their operations.

I've been reflecting on this for the past few days, ever since I sat
down for a long chat with fellow Technobabe Theresa Ellis, who is the
founder and executive director of Harbinger Partners, a nonprofit
technology assistance provider based in Harvard Square, Cambridge.

One of Theresa's brilliant insights has been that it's more effective
to organize a corporate community benefits program to help a nonprofit
with a technology implementation than it is to organize a squad of
unaffiliated volunteers.  I know from first hand experience that,
without a structured relationship, individual volunteers can start off
with high enthusiasm and wander away before the task is complete but
after a lot of resources have been invested in recruiting, orienting,
and training them.

Harbinger Partners cleverly makes the unit of volunteerism the
corporate benefactor program rather than the individual.  This ensures
a measure of continuity, even if individual members of a volunteer
team leave, are reassigned or need to cut back on volunteering for
personal reasons.  By asking the corporation to make the commitment to
complete the project, Harbinger Partners increases the likelihood that
it will happen in a timely and satisfactory manner.  After all, no
for-profit organization wants to have a reputation for starting what
it can't finish.

Another attribute that I admire in Theresa and in Harbinger Partners
is a commitment to outcomes measurement. As I have previously
mentioned in my blog, this can't be an afterthought in a technology
implementation; it's important to build in metrics from the beginning.

One exciting piece of news in the department of outcomes measurement
is that my buddy Richard O'Bryant will be working with Harbinger
Partners on its evaluation methodology.  He has a nuanced
understanding of not only the technology but also its implications for
building communities.

I'm looking forward to seeing what happens next, as Harbinger Partners
hold itself and its corporate good guys accountable in the pursuit of
effectiveness.

Best regards from Deborah

Deborah Elizabeth Finn
Boston, Massachusetts, USA
deborah_elizabeth_finn@...
http://blog.deborah.elizabeth.finn.com/blog
http://public.xdi.org/=deborah.elizabeth.finn

Would appreciate hearing from any one who has experience of installing Norton
Internet Security and / or other Symantec products.

A group I am working with is due to re-new its sub for Norton Internet Security
2004 but have now seen an offer on the 2006 version which seems to offer a
number of additional functions as well as Ghost and .... (?) at a cheaper price
than the renewal cost.

(Please note! the management structure within this group have decided to stick
with this known product so suggesting better alternatives is not something they
will consider.)

My concern is that I have had a really bad experience (with another group) who
installed a later version of a Norton product on their computer which already
had an earlier version installed.

Despite following to the letter the uninstall/install procedure as outlined in
the manual it lead to the most horrendous problems that eventually meant that
Dell recommended totally re-formatting the hard drive and then re-installing
Windows, etc., etc..  And quite honestly since then their computer has always
been unreliable and slow and ...

If anyone has heard of any problems with installing this product - or know of
the links to a Norton support group where I could post this question?

Thanks

JW