Coalition Opposes AOL’s Plan on Bulk Mailings
This article was updated from the version that appeared in the print issue of The Chronicle to incorporate news that occurred after the newspaper’s press deadline. A coalition of more than 50 nonprofit organizations, political groups, labor unions, and small businesses have banded together to fight…
By NICOLE WALLACE
Features Editor
Applications Sought for Hewlett-Packard Grants
Hewlett-Packard is accepting applications for its Technology for Community grant program. The Palo Alto, Calif., company will be awarding wireless-technology packages valued at $17,000 to up to 100 nonprofit organizations in the United States and Puerto Rico. Each package includes six laptop…
By NICOLE WALLACE
Features Editor
Online Communications Tracked in New Study
More than a quarter of the names on nonprofit e-mail lists drop off each year because supporters unsubscribe from the lists or change their e-mail addresses without alerting the organizations, according to a new report. The “eNonprofit Benchmarks Study” is based on detailed analysis of online…
By NICOLE WALLACE
Features Editor
Bits: Blackbaud Acquires Campagne Associates
Blackbaud, a company in Charleston, S.C., that makes fund-raising and accounting software for nonprofit organizations, has acquired Campagne Associates, a fund-raising software company in Manchester, N.H., in a $6-million cash deal. Blackbaud says it will continue to provide support for Campagne’s…
By NICOLE WALLACE
Features Editor
New Book Explores Role of Internet in Social Change
A new book by a former foundation official discusses how nonprofit organizations can use information technology to foster social change, and the obstacles that still stand in the way. In the book, The Dynamics of Technology for Social Change, Jonathan Peizer draws on his experience overseeing the…
By NICOLE WALLACE
Features Editor
Study Seeks to Measure Value of Technology Help
A new study is under way to look at what types of training and other assistance make a difference in helping nonprofit groups make good use of technology. The three-year project will be led by NPower, a national network of 12 nonprofit technology-support organizations, and the Nonprofit Technology…
By NICOLE WALLACE
Features Editor
Telephone Service Links Interpreters and Doctors
Interpreters who can help doctors communicate with patients who speak Haitian Creole, Somali, Twi, and 150 other languages are just a phone call away, thanks to a nonprofit organization in Portland, Ore. The Institute for Cultural Competency uses a sophisticated telephone routing service to join…
By NICOLE WALLACE
Features Editor
A small but growing number of charities and advocacy groups are using podcasts, or Internet radio programs, ALSO SEE:Casting Call to discuss issues of interest to nonprofit groups and to get the public interested in their causes. Podcasts are audio files that people can download automatically to…
By PETER PANEPENTO
Contributor
Unicef turns to Internet-based podcasting to communicate with millions of tech-savvy supportersWhen Unicef dispatched relief workers to Congo in December to help those who were uprooted during fighting in the ALSO SEE:Charity Podcasts: a Sampler African country, Unicef’s supporters didn’t have to…
By PETER PANEPENTO
Contributor
Bits: Reuters Digital Vision Program Accepting Applications
The Reuters Digital Vision Program is accepting applications for the 2006-7 academic year. The program at Stanford University supports social entrepreneurs from around the world who seek to use information technology to advance humanitarian, educational, or development goals in the developing…
By NICOLE WALLACE
Features Editor
Searching for Information Produces Benefits for Charity
A new search engine, GoodSearch.com, allows its users to select their favorite charity or school to receive a portion of the advertising revenue the company earns for their searches. The site uses Yahoo search technology. GoodSearch estimates that each search will produce a penny for the user’s…
By NICOLE WALLACE
Features Editor
Major Technology Meeting Scheduled for March
The Nonprofit Technology Conference, which drew nearly 800 charity technology officials, consultants, and companies last year, will take place March 22-24 in Seattle. The meeting is organized by the Nonprofit Technology Enterprise Network, in San Francisco, with financial help from Network for Good…
By NICOLE WALLACE
Features Editor
Foundations Delay Technology Updates
The rate at which foundations are adopting new technology has slowed in recent years, according to a survey of 336 grant makers conducted by the Technology Affinity Group and the Council on Foundations. The survey’s author attributes the change to the “sluggish” economy, which caused the endowments…
By NICOLE WALLACE
Features Editor
CompuMentor Offers Free Web Advice
CompuMentor, a technology organization in San Francisco, has started a project to help nonprofit organizations take advantage of a new generation of low-cost Web tools. The centerpiece of the project — TechSoup NetSquared — is a Web site that features profiles of charities using Web 2.0…
By NICOLE WALLACE
Features Editor
A growing number of nonprofit groups are recruiting people to perform charitable service onlineFive years ago, Ruth Volk, a stay-at-home mother in Eagan, Minn., was eager to find a way to use her free time to ALSO SEE:How Online Service Helps Young and Old help others. But with four young children,…
By Rebecca Gardyn
Contributor
New York organization aims to provide low-cost computer support and train new technical workersNew York As he sits at his desk in midtown Manhattan, William Mejia is providing much-needed help with computer hardware and software to a handful of charities miles away. Mr. Mejia is basically a geek on…
By Michael Anft
Contributor