The Challenge Ends February 28 - Please help us reach our goal!

Despite the tough economic times, it seems the community is really excited about the 2009 NTC. You're registering at a break-neck pace, and our sponsors have provided more support than ever before.  I'm proud of the team here at NTEN for putting together an event that is so valued by the community.

But not everyone is able to convince their organizations to make the investment in this time of tough choices.  I think that's a shame, and I know that you do too.  So, inspired by a little tweet from Beth Kanter, we're excited to announce a special fundraising drive to bring more folks to the NTC: we're going to raise $10,000 for an NTC Scholarship fund by February 28.

As an incentive, NTEN's Executive Director, Holly Ross, is going to let donors vote on which one of 3 potentially embarrassing (or health-hazardous) things she'll do after we reach our goal. For details, watch the video, above.

We're going to need your help to do it:

1. Give to the Scholarship Fund.  Thanks to Convio, we're going to be able to waive the registration fees for up to 57 attendees.  Every dollar of your gift will be matched by Convio, up to $10,000.
2. Donate Airline Miles. Airfare can be one of the pricer parts of getting to the NTC.  If you have airline miles you're willing to share, we'll help you find a scholarship recipient who needs them.  
3. Spread the Word. See the nifty little widget at the top of this post?  Just click the "Share" button to add it to your site, blog, Facebook or MySpace profile (among other sharing options).  

Big props, of course, to Convio for making this possible, and to Sprout for giving our account a nice upgrade so our widget would look better!