TechSoup Community

Does Microsoft Office SmartArt Make You Smarter?

elliotharmon — Tue, 08 May 2012 21:19:00 GMT

I'll be speaking in a webinar, Creating Better Presentations with Microsoft PowerPoint, on May 24 at 11 a.m. Pacific time. It's free, but be sure to sign up ahead of time. It should be a great discussion.

One of the things we'll be covering is the SmartArt feature, which Microsoft introduced with Office 2007 and improved in Office 2010. SmartArt lets you quickly transform your bulleted lists into attractive visual designs.

I'd never really used SmartArt before, so I've been trying it out in preparation for the webinar. And it's brought me to a startling realization: over the course of my career, I've wasted a lot of time building visual aids for my PowerPoint presentations.

When you build a chart or diagram in Photoshop to insert into a PowerPoint deck, you can't change the text or color scheme without going back into Photoshop. You can't even resize it too much without making the text look blurry. And since the text is inside an image, you can't search it or include it in your session outline. In short, your visual aids are stuck. That's what makes SmartArt so cool. You can quickly edit the text or change the color scheme to match your PowerPoint template.

All of this comes with a big caveat, though. SmartArt won't make you smarter. As PowerPoint Ninja bluntly put it, SmartArt is dumb.

By "dumb" I don't mean "stupid." When I refer to SmartArt as dumb, I mean […] "Not having the capacity to process data." In other words, SmartArt is not going to intelligently guide you to a diagram style that is appropriate for your content.

Have you ever seen a diagram that doesn't make any sense? We all have. The danger in a tool like SmartArt is that you might get excited by the attractive designs and forget what you're actually trying to communicate. Oh look, arrows! Are those arrows denoting a causal relationship between points, or are they just decoration?

I hope you can join us for the webinar on May 24. In the meantime, here are some worthwhile resources on PowerPoint and SmartArt.

Learn More About SmartArt Graphics: This page is a great introduction to SmartArt. It shows how to format your lists to convert them to SmartArt and offers some common sense on choosing graphics.

PowerPoint Blog: There's a lot of good information and ideas on the official blog of Microsoft's PowerPoint team. Browse the SmartArt tag for SmartArt ideas and downloadable templates.

PowerPoint 2010: Choosing SmartArt Graphics: Easy video introduction to SmartArt.

Creating Your Own Custom SmartArt: If you're an advanced user and you'd like to see how SmartArt works under the hood, then this is an interesting read. Otherwise, steer clear.

Office 2010 (TechSoup): Browse TechSoup's Office 2010 resources and, if you haven't already, find out how to request a donated copy for your nonprofit or public library.

Learn to Use Adobe Software

PatrickDuggan — Thu, 26 Apr 2012 22:55:00 GMT

New to TechSoup — the Adobe Foundation's Nonprofit Training Program provides a series of donated online training courses for Dreamweaver, InDesign, or Photoshop to nonprofit staff. Donations from this program allow one user to access Adobe software training videos on lynda.com for three months.

Online Training Products

These training products are considered separate from main Adobe Donation Program, so eligible organizations may request training products without affecting their request limits for the main program. Check out the restrictions for the Adobe Training donations to see if your organization qualifies.

Many nonprofits or libraries need to bring in an outside graphic designer, or ask a tech-savvy volunteer or staff member to do the work on top of other duties. With these donated training courses, novice Adobe users can get the basics they need to help your organization, while more experienced users can learn to design stronger newsletters, websites, and pamphlets.

Online Training for Dreamweaver

Learn how to more efficiently create, maintain, and improve the quality of websites. Lynda.com offers 45 Dreamweaver courses. Adobe recommends starting with the Dreamweaver CS5 Essential Training course, which covers all the basics from the Dreamweaver interface to managing websites.

Online Training for InDesign

Learn how to more efficiently create and improve the quality of InDesign layouts. Lynda.com offers 56 InDesign courses. Adobe recommends starting with the InDesign CS5 Essential Training course, which covers all the basics from workspaces to packaging, printing, and exporting.

Online Training for Photoshop

Learn how to more efficiently edit and improve the quality of digital images. Lynda.com offers 126 Photoshop courses. Adobe recommends starting with the Photoshop CS5 Essential Training course, which covers all the basics from the use of Adobe Bridge to sharing images.

About the Donated Adobe Trainings

Donations consist of a three-month premium subscription to lessons on the lynda.com training website. Most courses run between 10 and 30 hours, depending on the product. Specialized lessons often run under one hour.

You or your staff can view video tutorials from any web-connected computer and also from iPhones or iPads with the lynda.com app. The premium subscription allows you to download the same files the instructor uses in the videos to then practice your new skills on your own computers.

Because this is a pilot program, you or your staff will be surveyed within six months of receiving your donation. Your responses will help TechSoup and Adobe understand if this program was useful, and how it could be improved.

Need Some Inspiration?

Check out these three great archived webinars for some ideas on how to get the most from your Adobe software:

Winning Campaigns with Powerful Collateral where Rebecca Kalin from Asthma Free School Zone and Chris Kitchener from Adobe talk about using Adobe products to create powerful collateral in this winning entry from the 2009 Show Your Impact contest
Roadmap for Creating a Successful Marketing Campaign where Lea Anne Armstrong of Everygreen, a Canadian nonprofit, talks about her organization’s successful use of Adobe products
Roadmap for Creating Successful Flash Video where Colin Carpenter and Lori Pottinger of International Rivers talk about using Adobe digital video tools to tell stories and get messages across

Evergreen and International Rivers were runners-up in the 2008 Show Your Impact contest.

Blackbaud, Constant Contact, and TechSoup Team Up to Help You Raise More Money in 2012!

BeckyW — Mon, 14 May 2012 18:57:00 GMT

Have you ever wondered if you were saying the right things to your supporters at the right times? Are you targeting your constituents and donors by demographics, giving level and seasons, or simply treating them like they are all the same?

If you answered yes to any of the above or are simply interested in learning from folks with over 20 years of experience in the email communication and nonprofit industry then look no further.

Constant Contact and Blackbaud have teamed up with TechSoup to offer you an exciting free series focused on helping you be a better communicator and fundraiser, Putting the Puzzle Pieces Together.

Join us this Wednesday, May 16 at 2:00 p.m. Eastern time for our next free online event: Effective Marketing Tips and Tricks for Clicks

Click here to register or learn more about the series.

Cause-driven "Life Events" for Facebook Timeline

MichaelDeLong — Mon, 07 May 2012 22:09:01 GMT

I've seen more than a few posts today about a new-ish feature for nonprofits and other mission-based organizations that are using Facebook.

For example, to promote organ donation, Facebook added a “life event” feature in the Timeline publisher allowing users to indicate when they became an organ donor. Moreover, if users have not registered as an organ donor, they can click a link from that window taking them to an appropriate site to do so.

Donate Life California reported a 5,105 percent increase in online organ donor registrations a day after Facebook built in links for users to register and publicize their organ donor status on Timeline.

Facebook also added a "Started Volunteering" life event, and the Red Cross is encouraging its volunteers to use it. (Hat tip to Zan McCulloch-Lussier for sharing this via Mixtape Communications.)

We asked over Twitter what life event your org would add if it could, and YouthLink responded to say it would add "Became an Advocate for Homeless Youth" as a life event.

What sort of life events would you like to see added that pertain to your org? Will you use any of the existing life events? Perhaps encourage your Facebook fans to create one of their own related to your org's mission using "other life event"?

Not sure how to use life events on Facebook? Check out this tutorial.

Writing for the Web

andrew_ethicalstudios — Tue, 24 Apr 2012 09:26:40 GMT

Hi all!

We've just posted an article on our blog: Five ways to effective web writing. It's a guide - specifically for non-profits - on how to write for the web.

We posted the article because we believe that good writing can really improve engagement with online visitors. However, it can be a time consuming process, especially if transferring content over from print.

I'd be interested to hear if people think it's worth taking the time to write specifically for the web. I certainly think it is! Any comments on the article in general are very welcome too.

Best,

Andrew

Websites for NGOs, charities and ethical companies

www.ethicalstudios.com

Software for Substance Abuse and Mental Health Treatment

bobalston — Sat, 05 May 2012 14:23:47 GMT

LOoking for free and/or inexpensive software for substance abuse treatment and mental health treatment. I am familiar with Penelope but it is about $1000 per user per year in the hosted version.

Surely someone has built something in Access for such.

bob

New to TechSoup: 4G Broadband Access from Mobile Beacon

PatrickDuggan — Thu, 12 Apr 2012 18:33:00 GMT

Get mobile broadband access for your organization with a donated fourth-generation (4G) modem or wireless hotspot from the Mobile Beacon Donation Program.

Mobile Beacon — a nonprofit just like TechSoup — helps nonprofit organizations, schools, and public libraries that lack traditional Internet access, or have slow access or bandwidth constraints get connected both in the office and remotely.

Choose from One of Four Devices

Organizations eligible for the Mobile Beacon Donation Program can request one of the four devices (admin fee: $15) per TechSoup fiscal year. Mobile Beacon Internet service is not included as part of this donation. It must be purchased separately for $120 ($10 per month, paid annually in advance).

CLEAR Stick Atlas

A portable USB modem for connecting one computer, either at your office or remotely. This USB modem is handy for someone who often travels with their laptop, and needs broadband access as they go.

CLEAR Spot 4G Apollo

A portable wireless hotspot for connecting up to eight WiFi-enabled devices. This hotspot is great for setting up a mobile office, or for connecting several staff members to broadband while out in the field or working an event.

CLEAR Modem - Series G

A stationary modem for connecting one computer in your office, or a router. When the modem is connected to a wired or wireless router, all devices connected to that router can access Mobile Beacon's Internet service.

CLEAR Modem with WiFi

A stationary modem with an integrated WiFi router for local networking and internet access. This modem can wirelessly connect up to 10 computers or WiFi-enabled devices without the need of an additional router.

If one donation per fiscal year doesn’t meet your organization’s needs, you can also purchase additional 4G devices directly from Mobile Beacon. And: Mobile Beacon will provide free consultation to help you determine the best devices for your needs.

Is Your Area Covered?

Before you place a donation request, make sure Mobile Beacon’s 4G coverage extends to your area. One note: if you’re viewing their coverage map, make sure to zoom in to your area all the way for a more exact picture.

Internet Any Time, Anywhere

By expanding broadband or WiFi coverage to the areas your nonprofit or library serves, you can reach more people, and help your staff be more productive.

Staff or volunteers can reach their databases remotely while conducting outreach in the community.
Make it easier for a staff member to telecommute or work from a home office.
Healthcare workers can access mobile electronic health records, and social service workers can submit caseworker reports securely.
Schools can extend access beyond classroom walls to students without technology resources at home.
Event organizers can register participants on the spot.
Staff members who travel for business can stay connected to your office or work on the go.
Canvassers can report their results directly into your constituent management system.

Volunteer groups can take advantage of video and other web-based training tools for more cost-effective training and recruitment.

TechSoup's Refurbished Computer Initiative: You've Come A Long Way Baby

jimlynch — Fri, 20 Apr 2012 00:57:00 GMT

TechSoup’s Refurbished Computer Initiative (RCI) has provided warrantied refurbished computers and other IT devices to nonprofits and libraries for seven years now.

In taking stock of things this Earth week we thought we’d take a look at how far we’ve come. Just the environmental benefits alone are surprising, not to mention how well computer refurbishment has caught on in other parts of the world.

How It All Started

In 2004 we published our Islands In The Wastestream study, which measured the demand for low-cost computers among U.S. nonprofits, schools, low-income families, and small microenterprise businesses.

The study also estimated the supply of PCs coming from the noncommercial refurbishment sector and also the potential for corporate donations of PCs. Our survey of large companies found a robust interest for donating PCs. It made us think about ways we could bring good dependable low-cost computers to nonprofits and libraries.

Thinking about things alone is one thing, but being a pretty typical collaborative type of nonprofit we pulled in the New Sector Alliance and some UC Berkeley Haas Graduate School of Business volunteers to really help us think through this.

When all was said and done, we received a 2005 seed-funding grant from Full Circle Fund and launched the Refurbished Computer Initiative program. At the time, we had a very limited selection of offers, comprised only of desktops and laptops, most of which had Pentium III processors (you get the idea).

In the first couple of years we distributed around 100 PCs per month. And then the program really got going with a major grant in 2007 from California Emerging Technology Fund to scale up RCI in California.

Fast Forward to 2012

With a catalog spanning desktops, notebooks, LCD monitors, desktop/monitor bundles, servers, and printers with a variety of performance characteristics, we’ve now distributed a bit over 30,000 refurbished IT devices through RCI.

We have served more than 10,300 nonprofits and libraries across all 50 U.S. states, and we estimate that we have have saved organizations somewhere in the neighborhood of $3.8 million, based on what they would have paid for retail equivalent products (including the software). Our average monthly distribution of PCs (and other IT devices) is now up to around 700 units per month.

All of our RCI-refurbished PCs come with either a Windows XP or Windows 7 operating system, and all come with Office 2007. Several models also come with Symantec Norton Antivirus 2012 with system restore capabilities. You can check out our entire catalog of refurbished IT equipment.

How Green Is Refurbished IT Equipment?

Using the U.S. EPA's Electronics Environmental Benefits Calculator, here are some interesting stats that help to quantify how the TechSoup RCI program – and our participating recipient organizations – have done the Earth some good by extending the life of and reusing RCI equipment:

Energy – we’ve saved enough electricity to power 6,250 households in a year
Greenhouse gas reduction – equal to removing 2,731 passenger cars from the road per year
Solid waste – equal to removing the solid waste generated by 121 U.S. households in a year
Hazardous waste reduction – equal to the weight of 18,239 bricks
Toxic material reduction – equal to the weight of 485 bricks

The RCI program also has a free end-of-life takeback program, in which anyone with an RCI computer can call and get free shipping when the PC is ready for recycling. The RCI equipment is then processed according to e-Stewards or R2 (Responsible Recycling Practices) standards by one of our two refurbishers, Redemtech or InterConnection.

Our RCI Refurbishment Partners: Redemtech and InterConnection

Redemtech has been with us since the beginning of the RCI program. One of their most current philanthropic projects is Connect 2 Compete, which in a big new digital inclusion program that aims to provide a PC and broadband Internet in every U.S. low-income household.

Redemtech will be a major supplier of low-cost refurbished PCs for low-income families. The Connect 2 Compete program will also supply free training on how to use computers via Best Buy’s Geek Squad, Microsoft, and other providers. Computers For Youth will supply educational resources for low-income students. The program is scheduled to launch in late 2012 or early 2013.

InterConnection is our Seattle based nonprofit refurbisher. One of their newest projects is to be part of the 20 years | 20 ways campaign, a year-long effort by Microsoft to build better careers and better lives for aspiring IT professionals and students around the world. They’re urging everyone to donate their discarded laptops to InterConnection as part of this work.

InterConnection is one of Microsoft’s primary charity refurbishers. One of the more recent donations of Microsoft surplus equipment went to TechSoup’s Czech Republic partner, Charta 77, that supports people with disabilities.

InterConnection received the computers from Microsoft, installed Windows 7 Pro and Office 2007 (Czech language version of course), and shipped 157 computers by sea. There were no costs incurred by Microsoft for the donation.

The computers are now serving more than 9,200 individuals from 13 different nonprofits across the Czech Republic. InterConnection is also doing a big Microsoft Earth Day collection event. They’re a busy place.

Refurbished Computers in the TechSoup Global Network

NGOs and libraries all over the world need good dependable low-cost computers and several of our global partners run successful refurbished computer initiatives. To be specific, they are our partners in Australia, New Zealand, Germany, France, Italy, India, Poland, and Romania. Our French and Italian partners run their own in-house refurbishment programs.

We believe that a well-developed computer reuse field could help solve two pressing social issues: toxic waste and the digital divide.

TechSoup Global continues to work in this field to foster a high functioning electronics refurbishing/reuse field that decreases the aggregate of toxic waste from electronics in to the environment and also supplies tested working electronic equipment to NGOs and libraries, as well as schools and low-income families in the U..S and everywhere else.

TechSoup and ISIS Co-Host Hackathon for Youth Health

Susan_Chavez — Tue, 10 Apr 2012 18:30:00 GMT

ISIS, an online sexuality information service for youth, kicked off its recent Sex Tech Conference by hosting its first ever Hackathon for Youth Health. The hackathon, co-hosted by TechSoup, brought together youth sexual health experts and developers to design a technology tool to improve youth health and wellness.

Technology Solutions for Health Problems?

The health experts and developers had one day to explore the scope of the problem and develop a technological solution. The problem the group faced was to provide youth and young adults with access to sexual and mental health and social service information.

Common problems experienced by youth include sexually transmitted disease, depression, substance abuse, or dating violence. More than 90 percent of youth will have experienced one or more of these problems before the age of 25. Access to the right information can help avoid these problems altogether or lifelong consequences such as infertility, homelessness, and so on.

With 93 percent of teens online, 80 percent using social media, and 87 percent sleeping with their phones nearby – technology was a key option to helping find a solution. However, any technological solution would not only need to be accessible but had to be trustworthy to be effective.

Hacking the Winning Tools

The hackathon sought to develop a tool to provide adequate help when youth shared information about their health and behaviors. The challenge was to create a tool that youth would use in the moment or soon after they experienced a situation (for example, a sexual encounter or depressive state).

Proposed tech solutions were presented to a panel of judges who picked a winning solution. The judges included a member of ISIS’ board, TechSoup staff, and representatives from Health Alliance Networks and Health 2.0. The winning solution, later announced at the conference, would receive $1,000 in seed funding to bring the project to life.

Hacking Successful Solutions

After several hours of brainstorming and following some very entertaining and informative presentations a winner was chosen. The winning app, LifeSense, lets users record their activities and moods so they can see how they compare to other users in their peer group.

Most important, the app allows users to use data to analyze their own behavior and break bad patterns. The collected data also has the potential to help public health experts get a better understanding of youth behaviors and how they can communicate and treat issues.

The excitement over all the proposed solutions made the hackathon a success for youth health and sets the bar high for next year’s conference and, longer term, some tech tools to help solve real-world problems for young people.

Check out the video below for more on the hackathon and share how your organization uses technology to solve real-world social problems in the comments. Have you held a hackathon or been part of one for a cause?

Watch the video by TechSoup's Online Community Coordinator Ale Bezdikian.

(Please visit the site to view this video)

TechSoup Roundup of 2012 Nonprofit Technology Conference

BeckyW — Tue, 10 Apr 2012 19:40:00 GMT

If you weren't able to join us in San Francisco last week for the Nonprofit Technology Conference, we've got a recap of some of the happenings here on our blog. Several of us from TechSoup Global were there to present, participate, and network, and we don't want you to have missed out on a thing!

12NTC is the go-to event every year for nonprofit professionals who work on technology, communications, or guide their organizations in tech decisions. From panels, plenaries, and presentations (oh my!) to networking opportunities galore, the multi-day event captures the heart of using technology for social change.

Recaps of Some of Our Favorite Sessions

With a number of TechSoupers attending the conference, we covered nearly every area at the San Francisco Hilton, from booths at the Science Fair to a whole host of interesting sessions and plenaries. Here are some of our recaps with nuggets of wisdom highlighted for your use.

12NTC: Engaging Youth Using Social Media from TechSoup's Ariel Gilbert-Knight.
12 Nonprofit Technology Conference - An Outsider's Perspective from Alicja Peszkowska out of TechSoup Global's Warsaw office, writing on the NetSquared Blog.
12NTC: Open-Source Mobile Apps for Social Change from Ariel Gilbert-Knight.
12NTC: Nonprofits and the Future of Internet Rights from TechSoup's Carlos Bergfeld.
Telling Better Stories: Fundraising Tips from 12NTC from Ariel Gilbert-Knight.
More than Apps: Mobile Tips from 12NTC from Ariel Gilbert-Knight.

You can also see the collection of interactive notes from each session, put together by NTEN. If you attended NTC, what were the highlights? Discuss them in the comments below or in this thread in our community forums.

Purchase Recordings from Online NTC

If you weren't there in person, you may have participated in the Online NTC, with live-streaming sessions, keynotes, and more.

Now that the event is over, you can go there to purchase recordings of sessions whether you attended the online events live or not. It's a great resource for watching the sessions you want, when you want to see them.

TechSoup-Presented Sessions

We'll plan to make resources from our sessions available as much as possible over the coming weeks. Here's a rundown of which sessions were presented by TechSoup Global staff:

from Ariel Gilbert-Knight.

What Are Best Practices for Managing Teleworkers?

BeckyW — Mon, 09 Apr 2012 18:10:00 GMT

As part of celebrating Earth Day throughout the month of April, we'll be featuring posts about how to make your nonprofit or library more environmentally friendly. This post, from John at our donor partner ReadyTalk, originally appeared on their blog.

As government agencies begin to implement telework policies, managers are new to managing remote employees and challenged to avoid disruptions in day-to-day work as employees begin telecommuting. While it may be challenging at first, it is possible to maintain workflow and organizational processes.

In a recent white paper, Best Practices for Managing Teleworkers: Changing Attitudes, Changing Ways (registration required), analysts from Frost and Sullivan discuss practical steps managers can take to limit disruption and increase efficiency when rolling out telework programs.

One-size-does-not-fit-all
Teleworking may not be a good fit for all employees and should not be implemented agency-wide. Managers and employees should discuss if it is good fit based on job role, personality, work style, and so on.
Location, location, location
Teleworking is great for location-neutral job roles but not all positions have this flexibility. Rather than eliminating teleworking across the organization, identify positions that can be successful despite location.
Start slow
Rather than roll out the program for the entire work group, start small with a few employees. This will allow you to implement the telecommuting guidelines for your work groups and best practices and adjust management styles and expectations.
Measuring success
Some managers may have to adjust their style to focus on results, not time spent on a project. As long as the job is getting done, employees shouldn’t be judged on where or when they’re doing it.
On the right track
Develop career tracks that includes teleworking and remote employees.
Group projects
Create collaborative group projects so that remote employees have the opportunity to engage and work with closely with colleagues.
Leverage social media
Implement social media and communication tools to help remote employees connect and get to know each other outside of work environments.
Technology tools
Give remote and telecommuting employees the technology tools for telework success.

Making telework work will require looking at your team differently – managing expectations while someone is remote and ensuring that collaboration continues are key to success. For additional insight, download the free white paper.

What has worked for your organization? What would steps would you recommend to other organizations? Are there missteps to avoid? Share below.

As the director of government sales, John is leading efforts to grow ReadyTalk’s government and public sector business. Away from work, John enjoys skiing and hiking in the mountains.

Telling Better Stories: Fundraising Tips from 12NTC

agilbertknight — Tue, 10 Apr 2012 02:47:00 GMT

Your organization is doing great work, but you may not always be telling that story in a way that resonates with potential donors and other supporters.

In It's Not You, It's Your Stories at the 2012 Nonprofit Technology Conference, Steve Daigneault (VP of eCampaigns at M&R Strategic Services) and Sue Citro (Director of Digital Strategy, Global Programs at The Nature Conservancy) shared their tips for telling better and more effective stories.

Storytelling Isn't Enough – You Have to Tell Good Stories

The most surprising thing Steve Daigneault shared was M+R Strategic Service's tests on the effectiveness of storytelling.

In M+R's tests, telling a personal story didn't actually perform very well versus the more traditional approach of "outlining the institutional approach, accomplishments, and need."

This seems to fly in the face of what we keep hearing about stories: that stories are effective fundraising strategies because they're universal, they create emotional connections, and they promote information retention.

If all of that is true, how come M+R Strategic Services found that personal stories didn't work for fundraising? The key, Daigneault argues, is telling a certain kind of story.

Stories That Compel

Daigneault says there are two kinds of stories: stories that explain and stories that compel action.

In order to compel donors to act (donate), your story needs to do more than just explain – it must make the donor to feel like they are an active participant in the story. Just like reading a Choose-Your-Own Adventure novel, the donor must feel they have an opportunity to change the story's ending.

So how do you figure out what makes a compelling story?

The Nature Conservancy Experience

Sue Citro shared tips from her experience evaluating and updating the Nature Conservancy's fundraising and outreach program. Her suggestions for telling more effective stories included:

Simplifying the message. Take out big, complicated words. Use images and humor in storytelling.
Understanding donors' motivations. Read behavioral economics books like Nudge (by Richard H. Thaler and Cass R. Sunstein) and Predictably Irrational (by Dan Ariely). Familiarize yourself with Robert Cialdini's 6 key principles of persuasion.
Personalizing the donor experience. Think about what Amazon does to personalize your experience and apply those lessons to your fundraising efforts.
Making everyone at your organization a better storyteller. Get to the heart of what your organization does and why you're proud to be a part of it. At the Nature Conservancy, they locked all the senior leaders in a room and made them find their stories.
You must let go of your story. Be brave and see what others have to say about your issues and about your organization. In that same vein, an attendee from the Malignant Hyperthermia Association of the United States shared that his organization bundled Flip video cameras (from TechSoup donations) with how-to instructions to allow patients to record and share their stories.
Make them trip over it. Make it easy for supporters to share their stories with you. The Nature Conservancy built an automatic "tell us your story" question into their online donation process.

Tips and Gut Checks

The session closed with tips and "gut checks" (questions to ask to decide if your story is worth sharing).

Tips for telling better stories:

Details matter. Rich details make your story feel immediate and credible.
Use the right "we." The "we" should be your organization and your supporter, not just your organization.
Create a donor identity. Who is your donor? What makes them special? What do they believe in?
Make the consequences clear. Explain the consequences for the donor's decision about whether or not to give.

Gut check questions to decide if your story is compelling:

Would I share this story even if I wasn't fundraising? Is this a story you would tell a friend or family member or someone at a cocktail party, because it's just a really good story you want to share?
Who's awesome in the story? Is only your organization awesome? Or is there room for the donor to be awesome, too?
Is there unresolved tension in the story? Leave room for the reader to have a role.

Photo: gfpeck

Microsoft Office 2010 Made Easy

BeckyW — Thu, 22 Mar 2012 18:10:00 GMT

Maybe you’ve heard of this program called Microsoft Office. Maybe you’ve even used it once or twice (or 10,000 times). We know you may use it every day, but you can use it even better. Get the most out of Office with the resources below to help improve your office.

Customize Your Office

Read step-by-step instructions for customizing the Ribbon in Office 2010.
Image editing in Microsoft Office can save your organization money and time. Learn how to get started.

See New Features and Donation Program Updates

Considering an upgrade to Office 2010? Here are some new features we found interesting.
Familiarize yourself with the updates to the Microsoft Software Donation Program to get even more donations.
Did you know that private foundations can receive Microsoft donations too? Learn more.
Understand the Microsoft Donation Program better with these short tutorials.

Learn Tips and Get Shortcuts

Are online office suites ready to replace traditional office software? Here’s what Idealware had to say.
Get tips, tricks, and shortcuts on Word, Excel, PowerPoint, OneNote, and tracked changes from this series of posts

Upgrade to Office 2010

Upgrade to Office 2010 today.

Photo: EJeffson

Do It Yourself: Quick Tech Tips and Fixes to Do in One Day

BeckyW — Tue, 20 Mar 2012 16:52:00 GMT

It’s nearly time for spring cleaning, so get your tech in order and improve your efficiency with some simple do-it-yourself activities that can be done in just a day.

Particularly important for smaller nonprofits and libraries, troubleshooting problems, maintaining your technology, learning new tech skills, and increasing the effectiveness of every day applications can help keep you ahead of the curve and help avoid problems down the road.

Read below for great do-it-yourself resources, tips, and training materials so you can do more with what you've got and grow your organization's capacity each and every day. Be sure to share your DIY tech tips in the comments!

DIY Online Events

Want to set up a quick blog for your nonprofit or library? Join us at 11:00 a.m. Pacific time tomorrow, March 21, for our latest Nonprofits Live event on DIY blogging. The event will include tips on creating a blog and getting it online on day one.
Learn to cultivate donor relationships using Microsoft Dynamics CRM in this free, hour-long webinar on Thursday, March 22 at 11 a.m. Pacific time.
Learn how to run your own webinars or tweet chats to train your staff, volunteers, and board members or spread the word about your cause to supporters.
Do-it-yourself digital storytelling is all the rage, so check out all the resources from our recent digital storytelling event for quick tips on creating short, easy digital stories for your organization.
Visit our on-demand archive of more than 70 free webinars on everything from using Facebook for your nonprofit to picking the right database.
Watch our archive of NPLive interactive online events, covering topics like giving online presentations, fundraising, and storytelling.

DIY Software Learning Resources

Increase your expertise on using every day applications from the Microsoft Office suite with these recent articles on customizing the Ribbon, editing images in Office 2010 apps, new time-saving features in Office 2010, and this series of how-to blog posts for Excel, PowerPoint, Word, and OneNote.
Get the most out of your accounting tools with this book and CD-ROM-based training, QuickBooks Made Easy for Nonprofits.
See the variety of online courses available from easyLearning to help you DIY on everything from web design to project management.

DIY Office Setup

Get rid of old hardware with these 10 steps for safely donating computers.
Clean that messy desk and make room for a productive spring by quickly opting out of junk mail and phone directories.
Read about innovative DIY infrastructure building from Fab Lab.
Get a whole host of quick tips on making your office more environmentally friendly with blog posts on reducing paper use, collaborating online, setting power management settings, and more from GreenTech.
Spend some time troubleshooting problems with your desktop computers to get them in tip-top shape.

What are some of your favorite do-it-yourself tech projects? Share them in the comments below.

Photo: Anders Illum

You're Invited! Digital Storytelling Awards and Screening Party March 28

kristygraves — Thu, 15 Mar 2012 17:16:00 GMT

In this year's Third Annual Digital Storytelling Challenge, powered by Lights. Camera. Help. more than 200 nonprofits, libraries, and NGOs from 25 countries submitted one-minute videos and five-photo slideshows to showcase the impact they are making on their respective communities.

We were overwhelmed with the talent and stories you all shared with us! Check out the full playlist of videos on YouTube and gallery of photo sets on Flickr.

On Wednesday, March 28 in San Francisco and live-streamed online, we will screen and award the top photo and video entries. Winners, chosen by a panel of expert judges and the community, will receive products from our award donor partners Cisco, Adobe, Flickr Citrix, Sliderocket, Blazon, SurveyMonkey, and more.

This is a “red carpet” event! You’ll get to meet some of our local judges, see dozens of the best videos and photo stories, and connect with fellow digital storytellers. Whether you live in San Francisco, Australia, or Romania, we’d love for you to join us! Light refreshments will be provided (for those who join us in-person).

RSVP on Meetup or Facebook!

WHAT: Awards and Screening Party for the TechSoup Digital Storytelling Challenge
WHEN: Wednesday, March 28, 2012, 7:00 p.m. Pacific time
WHERE: San Francisco – TechSoup Headquarters; Online – Live-stream on Facebook and in Second Life
TAG: #TSDIGS

Again, we want to give a big thank you to all who submitted entries, participated in educational sessions, and to our sponsors and partners. We look forward to seeing you at the awards party!

NTEN State of the Nonprofit Cloud Survey Results

jimlynch — Tue, 13 Mar 2012 19:46:00 GMT

Over the last few months NTEN has been surveying U.S. nonprofits on their use of cloud services. Their results are now in and are quite interesting.

To quote Annaliese Hoeling, NTEN’s publications director:

A couple of the biggest take-aways for us were that 91 percent of nonprofits taking our survey reported using at least one cloud software solution . In follow-up interviews we discovered that many nonprofits were using cloud-based software without even realizing it, so the adoption rate could be even higher.

Primary Findings

NTEN surveyed 780 nonprofits across nine U.S. states In the fall of 2011. The results revealed that the most commonly used cloud-based systems were staff email solutions, at 69 percent, followed by broadcast email (57 percent) and office software (44 percent).

The survey also found that once nonprofits begin using one cloud software solution, they are likely to adopt other cloud tools.

Nearly 80 percent of survey respondents were using more than one cloud solution, and 42 percent reported using were using five or more cloud services in their organization. I did an internal survey of TechSoup Global’s use of cloud tools and we literally use dozens of cloud tools now.

Why U.S. Nonprofits Are Attracted to the Cloud

The NTEN State of the Nonprofit Cloud Survey found that the major attraction to cloud services for nonprofits is being able to provide remote access to data and communications to everyone in the organization regardless of their location. Another commonly cited advantage is ease of maintenance.

The finding that actually most interested me is survey finding that nonprofits don’t care that much whether software is cloud-based or not. They want software that works well, is easy to use, and cost effective over time. My nonprofit colleague, Lara Franklin, has been saying that for some time.

Negatives of the Cloud for Nonprofits

A majority of respondents also reported misgivings about security of their organizational data in the cloud.

NTEN and Idealware who helped conduct the study and prepare the report, actually did follow-up interviews to discover more about this and found that many nonprofit staff members didn’t have a clear understanding of cloud security and privacy. That’s not really surprising. Data privacy and security is a deep subject, certainly one of hardest ones for me to get my head around.

Learn More

Find out more on NTEN’s U.S. cloud survey project on their blog.  You can also download the full NTEN cloud report at no cost.

TechSoup Global is also in the process of adding to the body of cloud research with our Global NGO Cloud Survey. We cordially invite nonprofits, NGOs, and libraries everywhere to take our survey, which is available in 21 languages. We would particularly love to invite the participation of organizations outside the United States. The TechSoup Survey will be open through March 23, 2012.

If you’re coming to the upcoming NTEN NTC 2012 conference in San Francisco next month, I hope to see you there!

How are you using the cloud? Share your experiences in the comments below.

TSDigs: Who Do You Think Deserves an Award?

Susan_Chavez — Wed, 07 Mar 2012 17:08:00 GMT

TechSoup asked for digital stories and you delivered more than 200 stories! Digital stories came in from all over the globe from all types of social benefit organizations throughout the month of February.

Now that the submission deadline has passed, it’s time to choose the winners. Winners of the Digital Storytelling Challenge (TSDigs) stand to receive exciting prizes from TechSoup’s generous donor partners like Adobe, Cisco Systems, Seagate, Citrix, Flickr, and SlideRocket.

Prizes include Flip videos cameras, Pro Accounts for Flickr and Sliderocket, Adobe Creative Suite products, Seagate portable hard drives and GoToMeeting and GoToMyPC. TSDigs winners will also receive tickets to GetStoried's upcoming Reinvention Summit. The latest items to be included in the TSDigs prize line up include a Lytro camera and an iPad courtesy of SurveyMonkey and Blazon, respectively.

Our panel of digital storytelling expert judges include some of the folks behind the Story of Stuff and Sundance film winners and also hail from CauseVox, Netroots Nation, and more.

One prize, however, will be chosen by none other than you. The Audience Choice Award is your chance to pick the digital story you feel made the biggest impact.

Since there are so many wonderful videos and photo slideshows to choose from, consider the following as you decide which to cast your vote for:

Is it clear what the organization that created the digital story does? How is the organization making a difference?
Do you understand what the organization’s call to action is and how you can get involved in making a difference?
If the organization is one you are not familiar with, do you feel their digital story is speaking to you? Or is the organization only speaking to internal stakeholders?

An effective digital story doesn’t necessarily require the best production – the call to action and how inspired you are to take up that call should matter more. If an organization can accomplish these two goals with their story then do award them bonus points for features such as visual and/or sound quality.

Voting is open March 6 - 11 so we encourage you to start watching and cast your vote. TSDigs winners will be announced at a special awards ceremony in San Francisco (and live-streamed online) on March 28. If you can’t join the awards ceremony in person, you can always join via live web streaming or in Second Life.

We wish best of luck to all our digital storytellers and hope you will join us on March 28!

Stay Connected with Donated Smartphones from Dell

PatrickDuggan — Mon, 05 Mar 2012 17:14:00 GMT

New to TechSoup: 3G Windows Venue Pro smartphones (admin fee: $31) from the Dell donation program. Stay in constant communication with your team by adding smartphones to your nonprofit’s or library’s toolkit. With Venue Pro smartphones in hand, you and your staff can:

Check your email from almost anywhere
Access your calendars and daily schedule on the road
Find directions (probably the app used most on my own smartphone)
Create, edit, and review Microsoft Office documents
Take donations by using your phone as a mobile credit card terminal
Capture photos and video of your organization in action

Those are some of the obvious benefits. From personal experience, some other handy uses of a smartphone I’ve found often come from the convenience of having the internet right in your hand. You can search for contact information right on your phone (great if you think you’re at the wrong address), and show off your organization’s website to people you meet at conferences and events.

The Full Details

The Venue Pro includes the following software:

Office Mobile: a suite of basic Microsoft Office programs including Word Mobile, Excel Mobile, PowerPoint Mobile, OneNote Mobile, and Outlook Mobile; Office Mobile applications are compatible with their desktop counterparts
Internet Explorer Mobile: a mobile version of Microsoft's web browser
Bing Maps: a mobile app for finding locations, mapping directions, and predicting traffic conditions; it can also integrate with other online services to overlay data on top of maps
Bing Search: a web-based search engine app capable of filtering results to display only images, video, or local results

These donated phones include a Windows Phone operating system, 4.1-inch touch screen and slide-out QWERTY keyboard; 8 GB or storage; five-megapixel camera; and GPS.

Up to 20 donated Dell products may be requested within a fiscal year (July 1 to June 30). Check out our Mobile 101 article series to learn the basics of mobile devices, as well as how your nonprofit or library can benefit from them.

AT&T Service Is Required

These donated Venue Pro phones are only compatible with mobile services from AT&T. In order to use this smartphone, your organization must have AT&T service. You can enable service either via phone or in person at an AT&T store in one of two ways:

Request a pay-as-you-go SIM card. This gives you the flexibility of not being locked into a contract. Two months' of service and an activation fee must be paid for on your first billing, then each month afterward. Pay-as-you go plans can be terminated via phone or in person at an AT&T store with no termination penalties.
Apply the phone to an existing AT&T plan. This is as simple as replacing the phone(s) currently associated to your plan with the Venue Pro. AT&T will need to make this change.

If your organization is activating six or more phones under a group plan, you may be eligible for discounted rates. An AT&T representative can provide more information on rates and eligibility.

Let’s Talk About Apps

When it comes to smartphones, apps are what many people think of first. An "app" is a small piece of software with limited functionality. Apps can be used online (a web app), on mobile devices (a mobile app), or as an add-on to other tools (widgets, plug-ins, templates, and so on).

There are many, many apps that could help you work more effectively on the go. One way to start is to look at the programs you use frequently, like your database or fundraising tools, and see if they have a smartphone app. Organizations can download many free and low-cost mobile apps via the Windows Phone Marketplace.

Head over to TechSoup’s App it Up! Project for lots of great resources for nonprofit and library apps.

Check out these 3G Windows Venue Pro smartphones from the Dell donation program.

New to TechSoup: Collaborate with Huddle

PatrickDuggan — Fri, 17 Feb 2012 23:33:00 GMT

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.

Tell Us About Your Technology

lara_franklin — Thu, 23 Feb 2012 19:28:00 GMT

TechSoup wants to learn more about how your organization uses traditional and cloud-based technology and about your plans for the future.

Be heard! This is your chance to tell us what you need.

Take our survey – it’s short, only 15 minutes, and intended for anyone who has responsibility for recommending, purchasing or managing IT products or services at an NGO including nonprofits, charities, libraries, foundations or similar organizations. All ranges of IT influencers are invited – from accidental techies to IT directors.

By better understanding the tools you currently use and your future plans, we can work with our partners around the world to provide nonprofits like yours the technology resources they need to operate at their full potential.

The survey closes March 23 so please don’t miss out on your chance to tell us about your IT needs.

What Are We Doing with the Results?

In late spring, we’ll publish a white paper with the survey results detailing the responses of nonprofits based in the United States and in 37 countries around the world. The results will support organizations like yours in making informed IT decisions. They will provide insights into how your peers are using technology and into the currents needs and issues around adopting cloud technologies.

If you’re interested in receiving a report on the survey findings, be sure to provide your email address at the end of the survey. We’ll send you the white paper when it’s finished in late spring and it’ll be available for free on our site.