Most nonprofits would find it impossible to operate without cell phones these days. However, it is important to choose the right handsets and carriers to get the job done.

The criteria for selecting carriers and handsets are as varied as the nonprofits themselves. For some, like the American Red Cross, disaster relief requires collaboration and mobile compatibility with federal relief agencies, such as FEMA, which have adopted their own standards and regulations. For the American Red Cross and other nonprofits, cell phones are also the lifeline from remote places. Read more...

The burgeoning swine-flu threat didn't seem to keep any of the 1,400 registered attendees from the April 2009 NTEN (Nonprofit Technology Network) Conference that took place this week in San Francisco. They sat in on several dozen conferences on topics ranging from "Budgeting For and Funding Technology" and "Maximizing Google Grants," to "Better Storytelling" and "The Softer Side of Tech Consulting" (how to read a client's mood), keynoted by famed new-media thinker Clay Shirkey.
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Dozens of applications that enable nonprofits to track constituents and perform routine fundraising chores are available. Solutions can be as simple as a combination of an off-the-shelf email program and Microsoft Excel, or as complex as large-scale, customizable programs that can help you manage the details of thousands of relationships.

Over the past few years, the most visible, and probably the most significant, new trend in constituent management software is that there are now many Web-based applications. These provide many advantage over locally-hosted applications, but aren't the answer for everyone.

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Technology firms attending the Association of Fundraising Professionals International Conference in New Orleans in late March unveiled upgraded internet tools and ways to keep clients' costs down and also focused on integrating social-network practices in software solutions.
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