In May 2005, the independent Panel on the Nonprivate Sector recommended to the Senate Finance Committee that "charitable organizations establish procedures for measuring and evaluating their program accomplishments based on specific goals and objectives." Read more...

Part 1 of 4

Do you ever wonder why some websites seem to steal the top positions on search engines? No, it is not magic, and yes, your nonprofit can do it too. The “secret” to achieving this success for your website is by harnessing the power of search engine optimization. By following this step-by-step guide, you will be well on your way to drastically improving your websites standing in only 30 days. Read more...

The year 2007 is winding to a close, finishing up one of the most exciting chapters in nonprofit technological achievements. It was the year that brought about greater acceptance of the newer Web 2.0 applications, such as Kintera’s Sphere platform, that allows non-profits to reach thousands of constituents and contributors in a single forum and to create communities in unheard of numbers in real time.

It was the year that vendors brought about advanced offerings that simplified fundraising and contributor research making the Web a powerful ally to even the smallest nonprofits on the planet. NOZA’s free foundation grant database, released in October, immediately comes to mind. It was the year that non-profits  began to show up at the social computing events of the decade.

“The popularity of YouTube and social media sites has companies and non-profits alike wondering how they can use video and social media to get their messages out,” says Rick Whittington, president of Rick Whittington Consulting. “Some forward-thinking organizations are already using these media to promote their causes.” Read more...

With the increasing availability of Web-based fundraising software, also known as software as a service (SaaS), non-profit groups now have the option of paying a monthly fee to use fundraising software rather than having to purchase the software and install it, maintain it, and support it themselves.

"We don't have an IT department, and we can't afford to hire someone to take care of our software," says Donna Salacuse, donations manager for Voice of the Faithful, a Catholic lay organization based in Newton, Massachusetts. Previously, before installing DonorPerfect Online, the fundraising database had been written in Microsoft Access, "and we had constant problems backing up the server. We decided we really needed to move to the online hosted application." Read more...