Are you interested in discussing how nonprofits can use social networking sites?
If so, you might want to join the N-TEN Affinity group I created called
SocialNetworking. It's located at
http://groups.nten.org/group.htm?mode=home&igid=5747 and you must be a member of
the site to join the group.


Emily
http://nonprofitblogexchange.blogspot.com
http://eweinb04.blogspot.com

Dear ISF Collegues,

I posted a query a while back, but I still haven't found a really good road
map for turning a wiki into a straightforward text document that you can
just print out with one click.

It seems to me that wikis have fantastic potential for helping nonprofit
workers (especially if they are collaborating across organizations or across
different geographic locations) share their knowledge and complex documents
such as grant proposals.  But I still don't see how to take all the
non-linear information on a wiki and print it out as a single document.  For
example, what if I wanted to turn the Wikipedia.org articles into a paper
copy of an encyclopedia?  (Or at least a  snapshot of the Wikipedia articles
as they stand at this moment.)  What is the command for, "put this into
(alphabetical) order, and print me a copy"?  If such a command exists, does
it work for any wiki platform?

Many thanks and best regards from Deborah

Deborah Elizabeth Finn
Boston, Massachusetts, USA
deborah_elizabeth_finn@...
www.cyber-yenta.org


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

Dear ISF Colleagues,

Many thanks to everyone who wrote with a suggestion about a LAMP host for my
small nonprofit client.  We are looking into them all, but haven't found the
right one yet.  It's really hard to find one that is cheap enough, is
(technically and financially) stable enough, and high-touch enough in its
customer service.

It's tough because the previous host is an NTAP (nonprofit technology
assistance provider) that hosted the old web site partly because of a
longstanding relationship and partly because they are so incredibly kind
that they were willing to do that at a net loss.  But now my client needs a
lot more, and can't afford to pay $50.00/month.

Any more thoughts?

Many thanks and best regards from Deborah

Deborah Elizabeth Finn
Boston, Massachusetts, USA
deborah_elizabeth_finn@...
www.cyber-yenta.org


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

I think social networking software has great potential, especially for
connecting networks of nonprofits. Personally I have used linkedin extensively,
but friendster much less so. I find that for business connections, it is much
easier to say "I am a colleague" of someone, versus saying "I am your friend".

Danah Boyd wrote a very interesting piece on this a few years back called
"Autistic Social Software" - you can read it here:
http://www.danah.org/papers/Supernova2004.html

a relevant quote:

"What does this mean for sociable media? We do not understand how social life  
really works. Thus, we make crude approximations for it and we make crude
approximations   for human psychology too. In the tech world, we often make
these assumptions   based on material like science fiction and pop psychology
because we pride ourselves   from being removed from an understanding of social
life. Simplistic or mechanical   understandings of social life are exactly what
emerges from autism.    From an autistic perspective, social life can and must
be programmatically   and algorithmically processed and understood on simplistic
categorizable levels.   The nuanced relationships that people regularly manage
in everyday life are   boiled   down to segmented possibilities. When we teach
autistic children to engage   in social life, we teach them things like facial
expressions. We tell them   that   a smile means goodness; that a frown should
be concerning. Step by step, we   dissect social affect and try to formalize it
so that these kids can understand   the world.   This is also what we do with
computers. How different is this from asking "Are   you my friend, yes or no?""

--

LinkedIn is also great for finding contacts at companies you are interested in
working with, and really shows off the "Strength of Weak Ties"

(http://www.si.umich.edu/~rfrost/courses/SI110/readings/In_Out_and_Beyond/Granov\
etter.pdf#search=%22the%20strength%20of%20weak%20ties%22) Sometimes, the people
you know the least end up having the most useful connections. What is great
about linkedin is it lets you mine this information, without bothering your
friends and colleagues with emails and address book searches every time you'd
like to find someone working at X.

--

Karl Brown

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

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Classification:  UNCLASSIFIED
Caveats: NONE


-----original message-----
>>I still haven't found a really good road map for turning a wiki into a
straightforward text document that you can just print out with one click.It
seems to me that wikis have fantastic potential for helping nonprofit workers
(especially if they are collaborating across organizations or across different
geographic locations) share their knowledge and complex documents such as grant
proposals. But I still don't see how to take all the non-linear information on a
wiki and print it out as a single document. For example, what if I wanted to
turn the Wikipedia.org articles into a paper copy of an encyclopedia? (Or at
least a snapshot of the Wikipedia articles as they stand at this moment.) What
is the command for, "put this into (alphabetical) order, and print me a copy"?
If such a command exists, does it work for any wiki platform?>>


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

I like the idea of useing the term buddy.  Friend is something
important. A friend is someone you can call at 2:00AM.  Also, as big
a fan I am of social networking, I do worry that people will forget
that face to face meetings really are what build up many
relationships.

Victoria



-----original message-----
>> For the last few years, I've been thinking a lot about how nonprofits are
(and should be) using online social networking tools.  The Boston Globe just ran
an article on the more general topic of the emerging etiquette of online social
networking, and ended up quoting me a little bit:
<http://www.boston.com/ae/media/articles/2006/09/30/nice_to_delete_yo u/>. I'd
be interested in the thoughts of other members of the group, > because I think
that social networking can be very powerful for the > nonprofit sector, if we
make appropriate use of it.>>

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Classification:  UNCLASSIFIED
Caveats: NONE

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

Here is one way, that will work with MediaWiki
http://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/PDF_Export
(I haven't tried this)

but it seems like you have to enumerate the pages you want to print yourself.

Another way is to write a script that will generate all of the page names,
and print them out using the include operator, like this:

= title =
{{:title}}

For example, if your site had:
Aardvarks
Baboons
Yaks

You would generate a wiki page as follows:
= Aardvarks =
{{:Aardvarks}}

= Baboons =
{{:Baboons}}

= Yaks =
{{:Yaks}}

Then, just click "printable version" on that page, and
print it out. You could even add this as a 'special' page,
so users could click on the "generate full list" link at
any time, and it would build a huge wiki page with the whole
site included, then they could print it. Beware for very
large sites - this might take a very long time.

>For example, what if I wanted to turn the Wikipedia.org
> articles into a paper copy of an encyclopedia?
If you really wanted to do this, I think your main problem
would not be getting them in alphabetical order. It would
be finding a printer which could complete this task before
running out of ink and finishing before the heat death
of the universe :)
English wikipedia currently has 5,887,035 pages, which would take
over 2 years to print on a 6ppm printer (assuming each
article takes one page) Just hope you don't get stuck behind
that printer job!
===

Anyway, to generate the list of pages alphabetically, you can look at the source
code to this page:

Special:Allpages

or just screen scrape it.

I haven't used other wikis, but I assume they have some sort of "include"
operator and an 'enumerate all pages' operator that can be used in a similar
fashion.

-- Karl "But how do I print out a hard copy of the internet??" Brown
karl@...

--
Karl "But how do I print out a hard copy of the internet??" Brown
karl@...


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


-----original message-----
>>I still haven't found a really good road map for turning a wiki into a
straightforward text document that you can just print out with one click.It
seems to me that wikis have fantastic potential for helping nonprofit workers
(especially if they are collaborating across organizations or across different
geographic locations) share their knowledge and complex documents such as grant
proposals. But I still don't see how to take all the non-linear information on a
wiki and print it out as a single document.>>

To Information Systems Forum:

John Kenyon, a highly recommended professional trainer, will conduct a
workshop Thursday, November 2, 2006, at the Fitzpatrick Center for
Interdisciplinary Engineering, Medicine and Applied Sciences (FCIEMAS)
on the Duke University campus, Durham, NC. The morning session is on
Open Source Content Management Systems, focusing on Drupal, and the
afternoon session is on Open Source Customer Relationship Management
Systems, focusing on CiviCRM. See http://civicrm.org/aboutcivicrm for
more information about CiviCRM and a list of key features.

Registration is open to the public. You may register for only the
morning or only the afternoon, but preference will be given to those who
register for a full day. Space is limited.

For details, see
http://www.rtpnet.org/rtpnet/workshop06nov.shtml

For cost information, see the registration form at
http://www.rtpnet.org/rtpnet/register06nov.html

Register now! This workshop will be cancelled if there are not enough
people registered by October 19, 2006.

Judy Hallman (hallman@..., http://www.rtpnet.org/hallman)
Executive Director, RTPnet, NC (http://www.RTPnet.org)

Dear ISF Colleagues,

We have narrowed it down to Kattare.Com as a the best choice for a web and
email host for my esteemed client's web site, which is being developed on a
LAMP platform.

As I said to my esteemed client and the esteemed web developer this morning,
I feel like the clergyperson at a wedding saying, "if anyone knows of any
impediment to this marriage,speak now..."  I won't go so far as to say "or
forever hold your peace."  But I would be very grateful to hear from anyone
in the nonprofit sector who has first hand experience with Kattare as a
host.

Many thanks and best regards from Deborah

Deborah Elizabeth Finn
Boston, Massachusetts, USA
deborah_elizabeth_finn@...
www.cyber-yenta.org


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

Dear ISF Colleagues,

My esteemed client, Third Sector New England, is currently looking
very seriously at four accounting software solutions. The team is
looking for recent or current users in the nonprofit world who would
be willing to answer some detailed questions about what day-to-day use
of these  applications is like for both techies and accountants.

Ideally, I'd like to speak with you by phone. However, email responses
  (whether off-list or posted to the entire group) are also welcome.

My  questions are mainly about security, stability, ease of use,
generating reports,  remote access, tech support, and ease of
integration with other  applications.

The four candidates are:

1) MIP by Sage (value-added reseller: Soft Trac)

2) Micrsoft Business Solutions (value-added reseller: Queue  Associates)

3) Serenic Navigator (value-added reseller: JMT Consultants)

4) Financial Edge by BlackBaud

Many thanks and best regards from Deborah

Deborah Elizabeth Finn
Boston, Massachusetts, USA
deborah_elizabeth_finn@...
www.cyber-yenta.org

I would just suggest pointint a webcrawler at it and downloading all the pages
-- for wikipedia, at least, alphabetical order will fall out as your files drop
into your directory.  Couple that with a standard html-to-txt converter, and
you're done. :)

With a bit of work I'm sure this could be push-this-button functionality.





-----original message-----
>>I posted a query a while back, but I still haven't found a really good road
map for turning a wiki into a straightforward text document that you can just
print out with one click. It seems to me that wikis have fantastic potential for
helping nonprofit workers (especially if they are collaborating across
organizations or across different geographic locations) share their knowledge
and complex documents such as grant proposals.  But I still don't see how to
take all the non-linear information on a wiki and print it out as a single
document.rmation on a wiki and print it out as a single document. >>

The Conference date is fast approaching; make your reservations now! For more
information you can visit us at http://www.e-nc.org/WirelessICT2006/index.asp
<http://www.e-nc.org/WirelessICT2006/index.asp> . Please pass this information
on to other potential conference attendees. Thank you!

Southeast ICT Symposium 2006

November 13th & 14th, 2006

UNC - William & Ida Friday Center
UNC-Chapel Hill
Campus Box 1020
100 Friday Center Drive
Chapel Hill NC 27599-1020

Theme: ICT Delivering the Economic Promise: e-Communities, a Critical Strategy
for Creating Community Wealth

For the past three years, the Southeast Wireless Symposium has brought together
national experts and community leaders to discuss the deployment of wireless
networks. In 2006, the e-NC Authority is expanding the scope of the conference
to cover Information Communication Technology, a broader concept that
encompasses information technology infrastructure generally, with specific
emphasis on broadband Internet technologies and the powerful applications they
deliver. This year's Southeast ICT Symposium will focus on the new and evolving
technical, political, legal, and financial issues surrounding municipal
broadband deployment. Industry experts and community leaders will present
research results and practical hands-on experience derived from case studies on
applying ICT to create digital communities and enhance rural life.

Get the early bird rate; make your reservations now! For more information you
can visit us at http://www.e-nc.org/WirelessICT2006/index.asp
<http://www.e-nc.org/WirelessICT2006/index.asp> . Please pass this information
on to other potential conference attendees. Thank you!

Best regards,

Donna Sullivan
Senior Program Director for
Integration of Communities/Innovation
e-NC Authority
(w) 919.250.4314
(c) 919.915.0217
(f) 919.250.4325
www.e-nc.org <http://www.e-nc.org/>

Dear Colleagues,

Many thanks to everyone who wrote in, offering to tell Third Sector
New England about your experiences with Serenic Navigator, Financial
Edge/BlackBaud, MIP, and Microsoft Business Solutions.  Things are a
little backed up, but I hope to speak to some of you soon.

Heartfelt thanks are also due to those who suggested alternatives to
the four candidates I mentioned.  We appreciate your input, but we had
already eliminated all of them from the list of possibilities.  I
should explain that Third Sector New England has highly specialized
needs, as one of only five or six nonprofit organizations in the
U.S.A. that offers fiscal sponsorship services on a very large scale.
We simply have very unusual requirements, when it comes to fund
accounting.

It's wonderful to receive so many offers of help and advice! Thank you again.

Best regards from Deborah

Deborah Elizabeth Finn
Boston, Massachusetts, USA
deborah_elizabeth_finn@...
www.cyber-yenta.org

I am trying to find information about nonprofits and nonprofit technology in the
Dallas area. I have been researching on the Internet, but have found very little
information.

Is anyone familiar with nonprofits or nonprofit technology in this area? Is
anyone in the area? Any help will be appreciated.

Thanks,

Emily
http://nonprofitblogexchange.blogspot.com
http://eweinb04.blogspot.com

Hi.

This  appeared in the Federal Register this week.

The International Trade Administration (ITA) is soliciting applications from
organizations to design and implement  a consumer Web site (or enhancement to an
existing site), which is based on  primary and secondary consumer research, that
provides content and information  on the United States as a premier destination
to international inbound  travelers. The overall objective of the Web site is to
represent the  United  States as a travel and tourism destination by  increasing
awareness and positive perception from five identified markets. The  five
markets represent the largest originating countries for inbound international
travelers to the United  States and include the United  Kingdom, Japan, Canada,
Mexico, and Germany.

Eligibility: Eligible applicants for the  program include all for-profit or
non-profit, U.S.  corporations, associations, organizations, and Native American
Tribal  Governments (Federally recognized) and state and local Governments.

ITA will make one award, in the form of a cooperative  agreement, in the amount
of approximately $3,600,000.

DATES: Applications must be received by 4 p.m.  eastern Daylight Saving Time on
November 14, 2006.

_http://a257.g.akamaitech.net/7/257/2422/01jan20061800/edocket.access.gpo.gov/
2006/E6-16491.htm_
(http://a257.g.akamaitech.net/7/257/2422/01jan20061800/edocket.access.gpo.gov/20\
06/E6-16491.htm)

Best,

Don
Donald  A. Griesmann, Esq. (NJ)
Fairport NY 14450
_http://charitychannel.com/enewsletters/dggo/_
(http://charitychannel.com/enewsletters/dggo/)

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

Rockwall County - Just East of Dallas
http://www.rockwallhelpinghands.com/rd2006.html

Guidestar
http://www.guidestar.org/

Search for Dallas, TX

Texas Nonprofits
http://www.texasnonprofits.com/AboutUs.asp

Volunteer Center of North Texas
http://www.volunteersolutions.org/general/volunteercenter.tcl? center_id=8323

Has or used to publish a Volunteer's Guide to North Texas.  Lists LOTS of
nonprofit agencies in the metro Dallas area.

Center for Nonprofit Management http://www.cnmdallas.org/

What is your specific interest?

I am currently providing technology consulting to some Dallas area nonprofits? 
Are you wanting to volunteer?

Bob





-----original message-----
>> I am trying to find information about nonprofits and nonprofit technology in
the Dallas area.>>

<http://www.onenw.org/toolkit/some-observations-on-nonprofit-software/>

<http://www.techsoup.org/learningcenter/internet/page5902.cfm>

<http://www.shiftcomm.com/downloads/pr2essentials.pdf>

<http://icollaborate.blogspot.com/>

<http://www.idealware.org/articles/fgt_case_mgt.php>

I have been asked to design a weh site for a non profit organization in Africa
that helps support orphanages and hospitals.  I am new at web site design, and
they want me to design the site to accept credit card donations. Does anyone
know of a software program that will allow me do this in minimal time?

Looking for software for a small nonprofit that offers free educational classes
to meet various community needs.  Need some software that will track basic
information on the consistutients, generally the people who attend the classes,
and to allow easy class enrollment.

Any suggestions for such software?

Bob

Hello,

Here are two free software applications, both Access-based, you can download to
keep track of your constituents, events, etc.  Good luck in your search!

http://www.bayplace.com/mars/default.asp

http://metrix.fcny.org/

Mary A. Gross, Director
InfoTAP, a program of Nonprofit Management Solutions
8265 Vickers Street, Suite B
San Diego, CA  92111
858-292-5702 (voice)
858-292-9943 (fax)
www.infotap.org





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

I think the simplest solution out there now is to open up a business account
with Paypal, then add a 'donate now' button to your website.

Paypal will charge between 2.9 - 1.9%, + $0.30 per transaction.

Here are some more options: http://www.altrue.com/site/altrue/content/1/51

Detailed article: http://www.idealist.org/npofaq/16/23.html

--
Karl Brown
karl@...


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

May I make a recommendation to those out there that are providing community
resources on their websites.

The web has advanced so much, that we really need to make it easy for people to
find help, for people needing help to find quickly those things they need.

Check out http://4People.org that has 36 county portals for Washington State.
Here people can find quickly the County Resources they need. They can print out
a referral list for the County, and they can even search further for more hidden
resources.   On top of this this same system provides a Multi Agency case
Management system that is HIPPA compliant.

4People would like to see this in every state.... develop your own, but lets use
technology to make it easy for people to find what they need.

Ronda Evans
4People
Executive Director
RondaEvans@...

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

-----original message-----
> I think the simplest solution out there now is to open up a business account
with Paypal, then add a 'donate now' button to your website.


Dear Karl, and other esteemed colleagues:

I try to steer nonprofits away from PayPal for online donations.

I have nothing against PayPal itself, but there are so many scammers
who atempt to perpetrate PayPal-related frauds via email.  On a
typical day, I receive 25 to 50 examples of these completely bogus
messages.  The only thing that keeps me from hitting the panic button
25 to 50 times a day is the knowledge that I don't use PayPal.

It's not like I have any perfect alternatives, but in my opinion it's
better for a nonprofit (and its donors) to avoid using a service that
is a target for so much fraud.

Best regards from Deborah

Deborah Elizabeth Finn
Boston, Massachusetts, USA
deborah_elizabeth_finn@...
www.cyber-yenta.org

Bob,

Depending on the size of your NPO, they may qualify for our donation program:
http://www.citysoft.com/donationprogram

Our software would cover the needs that you describe.

Best,

Nick


............................................................................
.....

Nick Gleason | CitySoft, Inc. | http://www.citysoft.com

Direct: (617) 899-5395 | Fax: (617) 507-0444


Spend Less >> Do More - Community Enterprise
combines great features with an affordable price.
............................................................................
.....





-----original message-----
>>Looking for software for a small nonprofit that offers free educational
classes to meet various community needs.  Need some software that will track
basic information on the consistutients, generally the people who attend the
classes, and to allow easy class enrollment. Any suggestions for such
software?>>

And of course the granddaddy of the freely available databases for nonprofits
constituent management is ebase. http://www.ebase.org

You might also take a look at my own NorthStarDb which while not free is quite
affordable even for the smallest nonprofit. http://www.northstardb.com

The next update to NorthstarDb is due within the next week or so and will
include class enrollment features.

Clif
--
Clif Graves Consulting
cgraves@... -http://www.clifgraves.com
Phone: 207-512-2522

Serving clients throughout the United States and Canada with:
* NorthStarDb  http://www.northstardb.com/
* ebase consulting
* Training, Data conversion
* Management / Work flow consulting
* Custom FileMaker software development
----------