There are any number of ways that nonprofits keep track of projects: manilla folders, email, databases, and, if you’re like me, often notebooks and sticky notes. You might have a copy of a document you need to review sitting on your desk; relevant notes from a board member or constituents on your note pad; and the project’s history tucked away in a reply-all email chain.

Now, thanks to Huddle, nonprofits and libraries can effectively manage their projects, content, and collaboration, both internally and externally. The new Huddle Donation Program at TechSoup offers a donated, cloud-based collaboration tool (admin fee: $99 for up to 25 users for one year) that takes this scattershot system and integrates it through:

• Project management (organize calendars and assign tasks)
• Communication (tie relevant conversations to their projects)
• File sharing (upload and share a variety of files with team members and others)
• People (the most important part — create profiles for folks inside and out of your organization)

Streamline Communication and Project Management

With Huddle, you can create a project, share documents, and hold discussions all on one platform. Each person in your organization — and even outside vendors and contractors — can be assigned a profile, complete with contact information and a photo. And since Huddle is web-based, you can create project workspaces from your web browser, and anyone can securely access their tasks from any computer.

If I’m writing a brochure about TechSoup to circulate to our users, I’d create a project for it, and include anyone who may need to be involved. For example, myself as the writer, our designer, board members or managers who might need to approve it, and even the printer at the end of the process.

Huddle also lets you assign tasks to individuals or groups, schedule meetings, and post documents for review with version control. Team members can share text, images, and other content via whiteboards and store conversations on discussion boards. Huddle also offers a pay-as-you-go phone conferencing service (five cents per minute in the United States). Plus: You can integrate your email directly into Huddle, or hold discussions within the program itself (no more searching for that missing email from ten months ago!).

The above image shows a calendar within Huddle. From here, you can populate it with assignment deadlines, meetings, and project due dates. You can even sync calendars in Huddle with your Outlook or iCal calendar!

Integrate File Sharing with Team Communication

Almost any file type — Word documents, PDFs, images, and even video — can be uploaded to Huddle’s virtual whiteboard. Once there, anyone on your team can share, edit, or comment.

See if Huddle Is Right for You

Huddle’s look and feel can be customized to your organization. You can add your logo, change color schemes, enable or remove certain features, and turn it into a discussion forum as well as a content management tool.

Each account includes 10 GB of file storage space. Huddle also works with your mobile devices, like smartphones and tablets, so you can check in on a project and approve materials from the road.

Check out Huddle’s website for a comprehensive overview of how the system works. From there, you can also watch free webinars and take an interactive tour of the product. Important: Huddle asks potential donation recipients not to sign up for the free trials on its site. Trial accounts cannot be converted to accounts requested from TechSoup.