Amazon Award Finalists Compete for Top Prize
Amazon.com has announced the 10 finalists for its Nonprofit Innovation Award, which honors creative approaches to solving social problems. Those organizations are now applying their creativity to finding ways to win the prize. Together, Amazon and Stanford Business School’s Center for Social…
Bits: Council on Foundations Launches ‘Emerging Issues’ Blog
The Council on Foundations, in Washington, has started a Web log, “Emerging Issues,” to highlight new trends in philanthropy. Among the topics discussed so far: a book about the repeal of the estate tax and recent foundation projects. To get there: Go http://blogs.cof.org/emergingissues.…
Nominations Sought for New Internet Awards
A new awards program plans to honor innovative uses of the Internet by charities. The International ePhilanthropy Awards will recognize nonprofit excellence in four categories: fund-raising campaigns; event registration or membership campaigns; community building, volunteerism, or advocacy…
E-Mail Advocacy Efforts Face Hurdles, Report Says
Electronic messages generated by online advocacy campaigns are overwhelming Congressional offices, and may, in some cases, be falling on deaf ears, according to a new report by a Washington nonprofit group. Staff members on Capitol Hill have mixed feelings about the increase of correspondence that…
Bits: ‘Nonprofit Internet Strategies’ Offers Advice on Using E-mail and the Internet to Raise Money
A new book, Nonprofit Internet Strategies, discusses how nonprofit organizations can use e-mail and the Internet to raise money, conduct advocacy campaigns, and build better relationships with their supporters. For more information: Go to http://www.wiley.com. The Community Technology Centers’…
New Project Studies Nanotechnology and Policy
Technological advances are making it increasingly possible for scientists and engineers to work with precision at a scale of one-billionth of a meter. But nanotechnology, as such advances are known, carries potential risks as well as benefits, and has public-policy implications. Such issues have…
Technology Updates Town-Hall Debates
A Washington organization that uses technology to bring the traditional town-hall meeting into the 21st century is about to tackle its biggest project yet. AmericaSpeaks is organizing two meetings of 1,000 people each -- one in November and the other next year -- as part of a broad philanthropic…
Bits: Groundspring.org Names Joseph Mouzon Executive Director
The SBC Foundation, the philanthropic arm of SBC Communications, is accepting applications for its 2005 technology grant program for projects in education, community development, health and human services, or arts and culture. Applications for the SBC Excelerator program are due June 15. For more…
Relief Groups Test Communications Suitcase
Aid organizations providing relief after the earthquake and tsunamis in Indonesia have tested a new tool -- a 50-pound suitcase that opens up to provide a ready-to-go computer network and access to the Internet -- that they hope they can use to quickly set up relief operations after future…
Events Seek to ‘Demystify’ Open-Source Software
A series of events this spring will bring together charity technology employees, consultants, and software developers to discuss the potential -- and the challenges -- of developing open-source software. “We want to demystify open-source software for nonprofit organizations,” says Katrin Verclas,…
Global Video Conferences Bring Students Together
Global Nomads Group, in New York, is harnessing the power of video and satellite technology to bring American students together with their peers in hot spots around the world. This month the organization is linking students in New York with students in Columbo, Sri Lanka, for a series of three…
New Web Site Offers Access to Federal Data
A new online database makes it easy for nonprofit organizations to get information about federal spending and local statistics that might influence their work. The National Priorities Project Database provides data from 1983 to the present in the categories of basic demographic information,…
EBay Will Donate Some Auction Fees
Ebay, the popular online auction site where people can buy or sell a John Deere tractor, a Prada handbag, and just about anything else, has announced that it will donate the fees it charges on auctions that benefit charity. For example, if a camera listed on eBay’s Giving Works section sold for…
Bits: MIT To Host “Grassroots Use of Technology” Conference
A conference called “Grassroots Use of Technology” will be held April 16 at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, in Cambridge. The meeting is sponsored by the Organizers’ Collaborative, a group that promotes the use of computers and the Internet as tools for activism. For more information: Go…
Domestic-Abuse Advocates Receive Technology Training
The same technology that can help a woman in a violent relationship seek help -- such as cell phones, e-mail, and the Internet -- can also be misused by abusers and aid their attempts to harass and terrorize their victims. To help decrease the harm women suffer from such harassment, the Wireless…
Online Retailer Offers Charity Innovation Award
Amazon.com has announced a new award to honor nonprofit organizations that are taking innovative approaches to solving problems. Charities will be evaluated on the urgency and relevancy of the problem they seek to solve, the creativity of the strategies they employ, and their record of results.…