nptech.info

Nonprofits are finding alliance-building to be a major benefit of Second Life. Learn more from the virtual panelists who are trailblazing the way for virtual partnerships with real life benefits.

Created on Widgetbox  — an online tool that lets helps you create your very own widget — you can build, distribute, and track the widgets you create to see where they're being used around the Web. Your site visitors, blog readers, and fans can have their very own chunk of YOUR Web site that they can promote on theirs. Or you can use TechSoup's widget .

If you have an idea for mobile technologies for good and you haven't submitted to the USAID Development 2.0 Challenge project gallery yet, it's your lucky day! The 2008 USAID Development 2.0 Challenge deadline has been extended to December 5! Register to submit a Project. Visit the USAID Project Gallery to view, comment on, or star a Project. 

Don't spend your limited dollars on printing your annual reports and marketing materials, half of which will end up in a storage closet and eventually be dumped. It's not difficult to create electronic versions of annual reports and marketing materials that can be emailed, posted on Web sites, downloaded as PDF documents, or printed on demand when necessary.

The right donor management software can make a big difference in your ability to raise funds. We asked six different nonprofit technology experts about donor management software that have worked well for their nonprofit colleagues.

We know all too well — from being on the poor end of the nonprofit spectrum in the past — that "basics" like having a brochure Web site and a tool to help send out email blasts to lists can be hard to come by when you've got no money, no training, and no technical staff in your sometimes-all-volunteer organization. With that in mind, here are a few highlights from a presentation on building Web sites without money.

NonprofitCommons.org has a new look! Check out our updated blog for the latest events and news on nonprofits making a difference one pixel at a time.

The event is over, but the conversation continues. Join in the discussion on how your organization can save paper and money.

Do you have a mobile innovation idea for good? Participate in the 2008 USAID Development 2.0 Challenge , brought to you by NetSquared and the Global Development Commons. The deadline for Project submission is Friday, November 28, 2008. Don’t miss out on this opportunity. Register to submit a Project. Visit the USAID Project Gallery to view, comment on or star a Project. 

The MaintainIT Project is pleased to announce the latest Cookbook, Planning for Success, a guide for the overworked librarian . This free online resource brings together current ideas and best practices for planning, building, and managing your library's computer technology. Librarians around the country contributed on topics ranging from security solutions and strategic maintenance practices, to community building experiences involving Web 2.0 tools and vital partnerships. And best of all, like all MaintainIT materials, it's FREE.

Although Vista is Microsoft's latest operating system and comes standard with most new PC's, Windows XP is still the most widely used operating system in the world. TechRepublic recently published a list of 10 basic security tips that administrators should employ to harden their computers.

Join in the all-day, asynchronous free online event: Reduce Paper Use: Greening the Planet and Helping Your Nonprofit's Budget .

Print management software is something you can download and install on your computers to print just what you need to print rather than an entire document, email thread, or Web site. For those who think that going green is expensive, these products are either free or relatively inexpensive and they will pay for themselves quickly since you won't have to buy as much paper.

Check out the event for the virtual Women's Community in Second Life on November 15 and learn more about the efforts of female educators, researchers, and activists in Second Life.

Total Cost of Ownership (TCO) is a concept that frames technology as having costs and benefits that you don’t always see reflected in the price tag. In this article we’ll help you determine the ins and outs of measuring hidden costs and values of adopting new technologies at your organization.

Enter to win a free five-year MyFax account! This November, GreenTech is hosting a campaign to reduce paper use . Nonprofits, schools, and public libraries, we challenge you to reduce your paper usage by making five concrete changes within your organization. If you take our challenge and send us your brief story, you will be eligible to win a free MyFax account to help you further reduce your paper consumption. (The winner will be chosen at random from those who enter.)

Sure, ReadyTalk is great for webinars like our TechSoup Talks series , but you can also use it to learn daily tasks. Say you have a complicated procedure everyone has to learn. You can set up and record a Web and audio conference in which the subject matter expert shares her desktop and talks the host through the process. Then you can store the recording on a local computer for anyone to replay.

End-of-the-year fundraising is a big topic for nonprofits on the blogosphere with the financial woes around the globe. Here are some articles on how your organization can survive the economic downturn.

Boost your fundraising and prospect research efforts with a special discount on NOZA search credits. This exclusive offer is only available for a limited time, so make sure to place your request today , November 5, before 4 p.m. Pacific time (7 p.m. Eastern time).

What’s the real-world benefit of using virtual worlds for social change? Check out this report on the impact of Second Life work for nonprofits.