New Programs Offer Discounts to Charities
Two new programs provide discounted technology products to nonprofit organizations. CompuMentor, a San Francisco charity that provides technology assistance to other nonprofit groups, has opened an online store on its TechSoup.org Web site. DiscounTech (http://www.techsoup.org/discountech) builds…
By NICOLE WALLACE
Features Editor
Outlook for Online Donations Is Cloudy, Experts Say
McLean, Va. The extraordinary amount of money relief charities raised online after September’s terrorist attacks -- more than $215-million of the more than $2-billion collected altogether -- raises as many questions about the future of online fund raising as it answers, experts said at the third…
By NICOLE WALLACE
Features Editor
Charity’s First Project Puts Digital Books in Hands of Disabled
Bookshare.org was inspired by Napster, but with one big difference. Unlike the embattled ALSO SEE:High-Tech Tooling Around music-sharing service, Bookshare expects no legal fights over its use of copyrighted materials. The new service, which allows people who have impaired vision or other…
By NICOLE WALLACE
Features Editor
Entrepreneur wants to help those ignored by for-profit world Palo Alto, Calif. The smart bomb was what gave Jim Fruchterman his start in the nonprofit world. In an applied physics class at the California Institute of Technology, he ALSO SEE:Charity’s First Project Puts Digital Books in Hands of…
By NICOLE WALLACE
Features Editor
Bits: Help With Technology Volunteers, and Computer Power Against Anthrax
During the week of February 25, TechSoup, a Web site that provides technology information for charities, will hold an online discussion about managing volunteers who work on technology projects and volunteers who do their assignments online. To get there: Go to http://www.techsoup.org. The Anthrax…
By NICOLE WALLACE
Features Editor
Patients’ Questions Fielded on Internet
A nonprofit medical practice in Maine allows patients to use the Internet to ask their doctors questions, schedule appointments, request prescription renewals, and search for sound medical data. When Martin’s Point Health Care, in Portland, introduced the Patient’s Personal Points service at its…
By NICOLE WALLACE
Features Editor
New Survey Measures Computer Security
Slightly more than half of the charities that responded to an online survey on computer-security practices report that they back up their data every day, but 49 percent of the groups say they don’t have a data-recovery plan in place in the event of a serious loss of data. A new report, “Computer…
By NICOLE WALLACE
Features Editor
Effort to Link Charities Adds Offline Network
A nonprofit organization that has spent the past six years helping charities and individuals connect online is now trying to build a worldwide network to connect them offline as well. The Idealist Web site currently offers a searchable database of more than 25,000 nonprofit organizations around the…
By NICOLE WALLACE
Features Editor
Charity’s Campaign Seeks Used Computers
A San Francisco charity hopes its new press campaign and research project on computer recycling will put more usable donated computers in the hands of nonprofit organizations and schools while keeping older machines out of landfills. For more than five years CompuMentor has maintained a list of…
By NICOLE WALLACE
Features Editor
Seattle Charity Announces 6 Affiliates Nationwide
NPower is going national. The Seattle nonprofit organization, which provides technology assistance to other charities, has announced six new affiliates in cities across the country. The Microsoft Corporation, in Redmond, Wash., made a commitment of $10-million in cash and $15-million in software…
By NICOLE WALLACE
Features Editor