News from the NTEN Connect Blog

Aggregating Grants Information

Submitted by Bonnie on Mon, 08/28/2006 - 9:05am

Wireframegrantsfire2_3 Today we want to give you a sneak peak into a new concept that we're mulling over here at NTEN and hope to build in the future - an aggregator of real-time grant information published by grantmakers, code-named GrantsFire.

For the most part, foundations already publish grant information on their website, but hardly any publish their grants as RSS feeds. We hope to

Great Resource for Mobile Technology Information

Submitted by Bonnie on Mon, 08/28/2006 - 3:01am

Carnival42aHave you ever wondered how cell phones could fit into your organization's communications strategy? A good way for you to learn more about this is by reading the Carnival of the Mobilists, a weekly roundup of the best stories on the web about all things mobile. In this week's edition, there are a couple of great examples of ways that nonprofits are using cell phones to advance their

Hosting Effective Online Events

Submitted by Bonnie on Fri, 08/25/2006 - 2:16am

It's no secret that more and more nonprofits are going online to host events and trainings (N-TEN included). But just putting an event or training online doesn't make it effective. At the ASAE and the Center's conference earlier this week, CommParters explained a few simple things you can do to make sure your online event goes off without a hitch.

  • Target your audience. Many nonprofits have several different audiences they reach out to and because attendance at online events can be low and still profitable, it's worth it to target each audience with its own event.
  • Make it accessible. You might think that most of your attendees can stream video, but make

If the Dalai Lama Likes It

Submitted by Holly on Thu, 08/24/2006 - 6:00am

...then it must be good, right? Apparently, the Dalai Lama likes Muni Wireless! He's written a letter in support of a municipal wireless project in his hometown in exile, Dharamshala, India. Although I wouldn't have expected this, His Holiness really "gets" why muni wireless is so important. An excerpt from his letter:

"By itself the internet cannot feed the poor, defend the oppressed, or protect those subject to natural disasters, but by keeping us informed it can allow those of us who have the opportunity to give whatever help we can."

Classes for Webmasters

Submitted by Holly on Thu, 08/24/2006 - 5:37am

If you're a webmaster, you should definitely check out these classes from our friends at Antharia. There are a lot of online offerings. If you're in the DC area, you can also attend classroom trainings.

Borrowing Innovation From Unlikely Places

Submitted by Bonnie on Thu, 08/24/2006 - 2:37am

Rohit Talwar from Fast Future gave a great speech at the ASAE and the Center's conference on Tuesday explaining why organizations (and companies) should look to global innovations to guide their work. His message was that others have already made phenomenal and successful innovations, so why should your organization re-do the legwork? That idea isn't groundbreaking, but his examples were - a micro bank in India and a wireless project in Nepal. These aren't you're typical business role models, at least for Western organizations looking to earn money, but they both have tried out new business plans,

Quick Tech Tips

Submitted by Bonnie on Wed, 08/23/2006 - 5:38am

Who doesn't want a few fast tips on how they can better use technology? I've been at the ASAE and the Center's conference for the past few days, and one particularly fun session consisted simply of an expert panel giving tech tips. Here are the ones I found most useful.

  1. Use Skype for free VOIP phone calls anywhere, and if you want to record your conversations, to make a podcast for example, try HotRecorder.
  2. If you or your organization wants to sell video content, consider Payloadz. It allows you to upload content and sell it through PayPal.
  3. Want to know everything that goes on the

Online Crisis Giving Trends

Submitted by Holly on Thu, 08/17/2006 - 6:38am

Nwfg Network for Good is releasing a new report titled "Impulse on the Internet: How Crisis Compels Donors to Give Online." You can read the Full Report. For me, the most interesting points are:

  • #5: Donors value choice
  • #6: The Internet has created a new type of donor: the citizen philanthropist
  • #9: A key to avoiding post-disaster dips

Do you need an identity angel?

Submitted by Holly on Thu, 08/10/2006 - 5:37am

The recent AOL security lapse has me thinking about data protection and privacy more and more lately. Case in point, the entrenched Executive Director who still takes a backup tape home with him. Of course, on a daily basis, we all do things that put us risk of identity theft. According to NPR, there may be a guardian angel out there for all of us.

Fun with Mashups

Submitted by Holly on Wed, 08/09/2006 - 7:50am

I adore this mashup, called Clockr. Flickr and Flash mixed up in an artful and amusing way!

Clockr_1