Flickr Photo: _ES NTEN doesn't really have a water cooler, but we like to think the NTEN Discuss group serves a similar purpose for folks working with nonprofits and technology, except that instead of gossip about the boss, we share tips, resources, and anecdotes.

Yesterday there was a great discussion about how to get the Communications department to coordinate with the Fundraising department on online and email campaigns. The discussion was spurred on by a question from Michael Hoffman, from See3:

". . . how [do] other organizations create a balance between the Communications and the Fundraising departments when it comes to online initiatives. How should Communications and Fundraising interact without having turf battles?"

Even if your nonprofit's "departments" are just comprised of single staff persons -- like here at NTEN -- getting these folks on the same page is important and often tough. Here's what the NTEN Discuss group had to say:

lol ntenny

Here at NTEN, with Spring in the air and the sun blasting into our 13th floor office, we're feeling motivated to change the world. NTEN Discuss seems to be feeling energized by the start of Spring, as well.

Sheldon Mains asked what people recommend as a time tracking database (with the disclaimer that it was one of those questions that is asked every 6 months or so). As the responses came in, Allen Gunn, from Aspiration Tech, decided to compile all the suggested solutions in a Social Source Commons "Time Tracking" Toolbox so that "next time", the questioner can just be directed there. The RSS Feed on the Toolbox will keep you updated as additional tools are added.

We tracked and blogged about America's Giving Challenge and the Causes Challenge, sponsored by the Case Foundation and Parade Magazine, which challenged individuals to leverage their friends, families, and online networks to raise money online for their favorite causes. The idea was to encourage many people to give small donations, proving what Jean Case so eloquently stated in a Slate article: "Small amounts of money given by large numbers of individuals can be combined to do great things."

Today they announced the official winners, including the cause championed by "NTEN Member for Life" Beth Kanter, with the help of Michele Martin. Their cause, "Route Out of Poverty for Cambodian Children," raised $41,673 from 1650 donations, and earned another $50,000 from the Case Foundation for coming in first in the Global Causes category, sponsored through GlobalGiving.

Congratulations, Beth! You can read more about her successful campaign, including from her campaign wiki and her giving challenge diary, here.

We also want to congratulate and thank all the individuals who participated in and organizations who helped sponsor these challenges. Many in the NTEN community participated and discussed the challenges, and we all saw another example of the power of technology for good -- another reminder that the real power comes from you!

Kevin Lee from ClickZ wrote an article about how the experts in Search Engine Marketing (SEM) are doing so well these days, they're ready and willing to give back to the community.

There's even a network, SEMcares, which, according to its mission statement, helps "connect volunteer and discount search engine marketers with nonprofit and other deserving organizations that could benefit from search engine marketing to drive donations or further their cause and awareness." Kevin also pointed out SEMPO, which is the nonprofit professional association of search engine marketers; he's urged them to step up the service options to benefit nonprofits.

Kevin points out that, even with the help of the Google Grant program, nonprofits continue to hire professional marketers to manage their marketing efforts. Nonprofit organizations generally need help not only with implementing ads, but with effectively developing and tracking online marketing strategies that consider both the traditional business models as well as their unique missions.

[Ed. Note: As you probably know, the Case Foundation, together with Facebook Causes and Parade magazine, is going to award $750,000 to charity. To help illuminate the process and generate discussion and ideas, the NTEN Connect Blog will be posting occasional updates from actual participants in the Challenges.]

Mark Miller, Children's National Medical Center

Today is the last day of the Parade and Facebook giving challenges. Unless we receive about 1,500 donations through our charity badge today -- there's still time to give! -- we won't be among the top four nonprofits that will win $50,000.

But as I wrote earlier, the value of participating in the Parade and Facebook challenges is that it's helped us attract new donors, raise our national profile, and educate our staff and supporters about the potential of online giving. I applaud the Case Foundation, Parade magazine, and Facebook Causes for their creativity in designing these initiatives, and I can't wait to see what they do next.

Today's the final day of America’s Giving Challenge and the Causes Giving Challenge. We've given over blog space for updates from a few participants, and mentioned others in our newsletter, and as they round the corner into the home stretch, 3 of the causes we've touted are in position to finish in the final 4 of the Global Causes category:

• Michelle M's Route Out of Poverty for Cambodian Children (Beth Kanter's birthday cause) is currently in 1st.
• Scott Beale's Invest in International Development Leaders stands 4th, right at the cut-off for the $50,000 prizes.
• Suzanne P's Education for 900 Rural Girls in Burkina Faso is in 5th, but not far behind.

I've been following the leaderboard this week, and I believe the top 5 have all increased their number of donations by at least 50% just this week. Scott's cause, which has been as high as first, slipped to 5th before recovering today.

[Ed. Note: As you probably know, the Case Foundation, together with Facebook Causes and Parade magazine, is going to award $750,000 to charity. To help illuminate the process and generate discussion and ideas, the NTEN Connect Blog will be posting occasional updates from actual participants in the Challenges. You may want to read Mark's first post.]

Mark Miller, Children's National Medical Center

Watching the Facebook and Parade challenges unfold has been fascinating.  Because we are doing very well in the Parade challenge, winning that one has become our main focus.  In fact, we have had some success using Facebook to drive people to our charity badge for the Parade challenge.

Last I checked, our charity badge, featuring Mike Green of the Washington Capitals, was a donation or two out of the top 10 leaders.  Among nonprofits focused on children or children’s health, we are first. (I have a dog and generally like animals, but I have to wonder if the current trend will hold up -- three of the top four leaders are nonprofits looking out for our furry friends.)

We’re picking up steam, thanks in part to the Washington Capitals, who have really gotten behind this challenge. They created an ad for their homepage, featured the campaign in their online newsletter, and helped us reach out to bloggers – whose support I can’t say enough about. And owner Ted Leonsis promoted it in his blog.

A few lessons:

[Ed. Note: As you probably know, the Case Foundation, together with Facebook Causes and Parade magazine, is going to award $750,000 to charity. To help illuminate the process and generate discussion and ideas, the NTEN Connect Blog will be posting occasional updates from actual participants in the Challenges.]

Scott Beale, Atlas Service Corps (Atlas Corps)

With three weeks to go in America's Giving Challenge, the competition is heating up and we have a real race on our hands. We are in a tight race for first place with two other organizations. The prognosis: we are in a strong position to finish in the top four and win $50,000, but we have our work cut out for us to win the competition out-right. Nothing is certain in this kind of contest.

[Ed. Note: As you probably know, the Case Foundation, together with Facebook Causes and Parade magazine, is going to award $750,000 to charity. The NTEN Blog has been running profiles on some of the participants.]

To celebrate her 51st birthday on January 11th, Beth Kanter is "...trying to get 51 people to donate $10 in 51 hours to the Sharing Foundation's America's Giving Challenge over at Global Giving."

Now, while we here at NTEN in no way believe that Beth is actually 51, we certainly support her efforts on behalf of the Sharing Foundation's Roteang Orphanage. NTEN community, you know what to do:

• Read Beth's birthday blog post
• Contribute to her cause
• Wish Beth a Happy Birthday on Friday

Thanks for all your efforts on behalf of the NPTech community and the world in general, Beth.  You rock.

Happy Birthday from Brett, Holly, Annaliese, Karl, and Anna.

[Ed. Note: As you probably know, the Case Foundation, together with Facebook Causes and Parade magazine, is going to award $750,000 to charity. To help illuminate the process and generate discussion and ideas, the NTEN Connect Blog will be posting occasional updates from actual participants in the Challenges. This is the second from Scott Beale; you can also read his first post.]

Scott Beale, Atlas Service Corps (Atlas Corps)

A lot has happened since my last blog entry on NTEN so let me bring you up to speed. My name is Scott and I am the founder of Atlas Corps, a new international organization that brings nonprofit leaders from the global south to volunteer in the U.S. for one year (some call it a "Reverse Peace Corps"). We have decided to enter America's Giving Challenge in an effort to motivate a large number of people to give us $10 (or more) donations in order to win $50,000. We have entered in the GlobalGiving category, because we are a very international organization, despite our U.S. 501(c)3 status.

I am excited to share that we've gotten off to a great start: we are in first place with 171 people. This is what we've been able to do so far: