Foundation Offers Grants for Charity Software
The Open Society Institute, in New York, is accepting proposals for the development of software designed to help nonprofit organizations carry out their missions. The grant program is for software designed specifically for charities doing work in the following areas: human rights, legal services,…
By NICOLE WALLACE
Features Editor
Internet ‘Blogathon’ Raises Money for Charity
With bleary eyes and more than a little coffee, bloggers stayed up all night on July 26 to raise money for charity. A Web log -- often shortened to blog -- is an online journal that is frequently updated with news, opinion, photographs, or other content. Last month, more than 400 people who run…
By NICOLE WALLACE
Features Editor
Bits: A Technology Leader to Head AmeriCorps, Gates’s Grants, and Grants for Grass-Roots Advocacy
President Bush has nominated David Eisner to be the new head of the Corporation for National and Community Service, the agency that oversees AmeriCorps. A longtime proponent of nonprofit technology, Mr. Eisner was until recently senior vice president of the AOL Time Warner Foundation, then in…
By NICOLE WALLACE
Features Editor
Technology Use Rises at Pennsylvania Charities
Nonprofit organizations in western Pennsylvania made strides in their use of technology between 2000 and 2002, according to a new report. Last fall, the Bayer Center for Nonprofit Management at Robert Morris University asked 266 charities about their technology planning, hardware and software,…
By NICOLE WALLACE
Features Editor
Questions Remain Following PipeVine’s Closure
Nonprofit organizations and the California attorney general’s office continue to deal with the fallout from the shutdown of PipeVine, a San Francisco nonprofit group that processed donations totaling more than $100-million a year for companies that run on-the-job fund-raising drives, United Ways,…
By NICOLE WALLACE
Features Editor
NPower, a network of organizations that provide technology assistance to other charities, has received a $50,000 grant from the SBC Foundation to update an emergency-preparedness guide created by its New York affiliate to share lessons learned by area nonprofit groups after the September 11, 2001,…
By NICOLE WALLACE
Features Editor
New Database Lists Nonprofit Legal Sources
Lawyers and scholars have a new resource to which they can turn as they conduct research on nonprofit legal issues. The National Center on Philanthropy and Law at the New York University School of Law has created an online database that offers citations to more than 7,000 books, articles, and other…
By NICOLE WALLACE
Features Editor
Charities’ Internet Sites Win Webby Awards
Nonprofit organizations made a strong showing at the 2003 Webby Awards, taking top honors in several categories. Given by the International Academy of Digital Arts and Sciences, an association for online-communication professionals, the Webbys honor Internet sites in 31 categories, such as…
By NICOLE WALLACE
Features Editor
California Campaign Tries New Fund-Raising Tool
The Sharp HealthCare Foundation, in San Diego, has added a new weapon to its capital-campaign arsenal. The fund-raising arm of the city’s largest health care system has developed a multimedia CD-ROM as part of its $50-million campaign to raise money for new building projects, computer technology,…
By NICOLE WALLACE
Features Editor
Bits: Environmental, Social-Justice, and Independent-Media Activists To Gather
Environmental, social-justice, and independent-media activists will gather at the “Networking for a Sustainable Future” conference to discuss the role of the Internet in their work. Organized by Planetwork, the meeting will take place June 6-8 at the Golden Gate Club at the Presidio National Park…
By NICOLE WALLACE
Features Editor
Some Americans Remain Offline by Choice
While the cost of computer equipment and Internet access continues to prevent many people from going online, it is not the only reason why people remain offline, according to a new study by the Pew Internet & American Life Project. The study found that almost one-quarter of Americans have no direct…
By NICOLE WALLACE
Features Editor
Design-School Students Build Charity Web Sites
This spring, in a high-tech twist on the old-fashioned barn raising, students studying multimedia and Web design worked with charities across the country to help them build their first Web sites. More than 275 students at 12 schools that are part of the Art Institutes educational network donated…
By NICOLE WALLACE
Features Editor
Online Iraq Campaign Provides Running Tally
Mercy Corps is harnessing the immediacy of the Internet in its campaign to raise money for relief efforts in Iraq. The international-aid organization, located in Portland, Ore., is trying to raise $2-million in two months. In the first three weeks of the campaign, Mercy Corps raised more than…
By NICOLE WALLACE
Features Editor
Web Sites Offer Details on Charity Projects
Several new databases provide information for charities on nonprofit business ventures, support for capacity-building efforts, and the history of philanthropy. Community Wealth Ventures, in Washington, created a database of businesses run by nonprofit organizations and marketing partnerships…
By NICOLE WALLACE
Features Editor
National Technology Group Schedules Regional Meetings
The Nonprofit Technology Enterprise Network, in San Francisco, a national organization for individuals, charities, and businesses that provide technology assistance to nonprofit groups, will hold eight regional conferences this year. Registration is now open for the New York conference, “Using What…
By NICOLE WALLACE
Features Editor
New Owner Takes Over Database Program
Groundspring.org is taking over control of ebase, a free database program that allows charities to keep track of donors, activists, and volunteers. TechRocks, the San Francisco nonprofit group that developed the software, is scheduled to transfer the program by the end of the month. Formerly known…
By NICOLE WALLACE
Features Editor