IBM Collaborates With Nature Conservancy
The Nature Conservancy and IBM hope to harness the power of technology to conserve the world’s great rivers. By working together, the charity and the information-technology giant plan to develop a computer-modeling system that will bring together multiple sets of data about water quantity, climate,…
By NICOLE WALLACE
Features Editor
Bits: Fenton Communications Purchases Donordigital
Fenton Communications, a consulting company in New York that advises nonprofit organizations, foundations, and other advocacy groups, has purchased Donordigital, a consulting company in San Francisco that helps nonprofit organizations with their online fund raising and advocacy. The merger goes…
By NICOLE WALLACE
Features Editor
Nominations Sought for Technology Awards
The ePhilanthropy Foundation is accepting nominations for the 2007 International ePhilanthropy Awards, which honor innovative uses of the Internet for fund raising, membership, and activism. A new award will honor the best Web site or online campaign designed for older adults. Winners will receive…
By NICOLE WALLACE
Features Editor
Verizon Gives $31-Million for Education Web Site
Over the next three years, the Verizon Foundation, in Washington, will put $31-million toward its Thinkfinity.org educational and literacy program. The site provides more than 50,000 free lesson plans for elementary- and secondary-school students developed by leading educational institutions,…
By NICOLE WALLACE
Features Editor
Google Shares Map Software With Holocaust Museum
Believing that information and understanding are the first steps toward action, the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum and Google are using the Internet company’s mapping technology to educate the public about the crisis in Darfur. The museum has assembled photographs, data, and eyewitness…
By NICOLE WALLACE
Features Editor
Environmental Site Offers Donors ‘Stock’ Option
Reduce, reuse, recycle — and, now, retire. The Clean Air Conservancy plans to add a fourth R to the familiar three by allowing people to purchase “carbon credits” — stocks that regulate how much carbon dioxide companies emit — and donate them to a charitable fund that holds the stocks, essentially…
By Sam Kean
Contributor
Financing Technology Projects Is a Struggle, Charities Say
A year and a half after Katrina showed how vital technology is to nonprofit organizations’ survival, money to pay for those much-needed systems is still hard to come by, Melissa S. Flournoy, president of the Louisiana Association of Nonprofit Organizations, in Baton Rouge, told participants at the…
By NICOLE WALLACE
Features Editor
Bits: Accenture Foundations Awards $1.5-million to the Aidmatrix Foundation
By Nicole Wallace The second annual NetSquared Conference, scheduled for May 29-30 in San Jose, Calif., will focus on improving and promoting 20 projects that use social-networking sites and other technologies to promote social change. Organizers are accepting project nominations through April 6.…
AT&T Gives $1-Million for Computer Training
By Sam KeanTo help older people become more savvy with Amazon and eBay (or simply learn how to turn on a computer monitor), the AT&T Foundation has donated $1-million to the Oasis Institute. Oasis — which offers arts, health, and technology classes to elderly people — will use the money to update…
Survey Tracks Sources of Charity Technology Help
By Nicole WallaceMost organizations that provide technology assistance to charities are small, for-profit enterprises, according to a new survey. Of the 149 technology-assistance groups surveyed, 65 were for-profit businesses and 54 were self-employed consultants. The remaining 20 respondents were…
Researchers to Develop Medical Tools for Patients
By Nicole WallaceProject HealthDesign, a partnership between two foundations, has awarded $300,000 in research grants to encourage the development of new tools to help patients. The grants, which have been distributed to nine teams of researchers, will build on technology that has been devised by…
By NICOLE WALLACE
Features Editor
Bits: ‘Bridging the Innovation Divide’ Chronicles Charities’ Technological Efforts
PolicyLink and BCT Partners have released a report on charities that have been quick to adopt new technology. “Bridging the Innovation Divide” examines problems the 12 groups that are described in the report have faced and offers advice for integrating technology into a charity’s operations. For…
By Sam Kean
Contributor
Internet Delivers Advice to Victims of Date Violence
Break the Cycle, a nonprofit organization in Los Angeles, is trying to create a safe, welcoming place on the Internet where young people can find out about a difficult subject: date violence. The new Web site, TheSafeSpace.org, discusses the signs of an abusive relationship and steps to take to…
By NICOLE WALLACE
Features Editor
Kintera Removes Founder From CEO Position
Until just over a month ago, Harry E. Gruber was both president and chief executive officer of the fund-raising software company he founded, Kintera. But the man who replaced him as president of the struggling company in February, Richard N. LaBarbera, will take over as CEO as well, Kintera has…
By Sam Kean
Contributor
Charity Feature Added to Microsoft Chat Software
Money talks, and for nine major nonprofit organizations, talk is now money. Microsoft has unveiled a feature on its instant-messaging service that allows people to support a charity with minimal effort. Users of the software can type the name of one of nine nonprofit groups into a text box, causing…
By Sam Kean
Contributor
Bits: ‘Grassroots Use of Technology’ Conference To Be Held in June
The U.S. Chamber of Commerce is holding a workshop entitled, “Planning Your Online Legislative Affairs and Advocacy Campaign,” in Washington on April 3. Another workshop, “Engaging Online in a Presidential Election,” is scheduled for June 19. For more information: Go to http://webworkshops.info.…
By NICOLE WALLACE
Features Editor