What is GiveCamp?

GiveCamp is an opportunity to provide nonprofits with the technical skill they need (pro bono) over the course of a single weekend. Organizations needing design collateral, websites and simple applications will be paired with a team of developers and designers to build that project.

New England GiveCamp brings together non-profit organizations and developers, designers, and other technical professionals for a weekend of developing web sites and other custom software to benefit the participating charities.  Last year, 100+ volunteers donated an estimated $170,000 of services to 24 New England non-profit organizations, with solutions developed in WordPress, Drupal, Joomla, Quickbooks, Salesforce.com, Silverlight, ASP.NET and more.

The second New England GiveCamp is happening April 29-May 1, 2011 and they are looking for more organizations from across New England to work with. In the end GiveCamp will aim to help 20 or so nonprofits from around New England reach a project goal.

Perhaps you haven’t had a chance to get a website started and don’t have the funds to contract with someone to do so. Maybe you are in desperate need of an updated logo. Or maybe you need a bit of office automation, such as keeping track of your own volunteer or donor registration lists? Well,that’s where New England GiveCamp comes in.

What is required of the nonprofit?

Before the event there will be a little time commitment in order to help organizers and facilitators scope out the work needed in order to help determine if it can feasibly be accomplished within a weekend, as well as the type of team needed to accomplish it. You can expect 2-5 phone conference calls before the event to determine this. You will also be asked to gather materials before the event to make it easier for your team to work.

In addition, a representative will be asked to attend the event, this will make it easier for the team to get answers quickly and efficiently complete the project. There will also be informative sessions throughout the weekend which maybe of interest to you or your organization.

So do you have a project for GiveCamp 2011? Fill out the form here.

Questions about GiveCamp?  Contact: Jim O’Neil and Kelley Muir New England GiveCamp Co-organizers negc2011@hotmail.com

Follow @NEGiveCamp on Twitter, Like them on Facebook.

Photos from event photos on Flickr

The Three Stages of the Web. Click the picture to see the Web 3.0 presentation

Reiko and I spent last Saturday at Podcamp Western Mass and as usual the amount of information was pretty overwhelming.  As we look at the current development of the web and strategies to help Nonprofits communicate with their donors, volunteers and the media, we are always paying attention to trends and where things seem to be going.  Chronologically we are now in Web 2.0 and fast approaching Web 3.0.  This is a dramatic change and it’s important to be prepared to compete in it.  Part of the concern is the proliferation of smart phones and tablet computers and are you prepare deliver your web message on these new platforms.

One of the presentations I attended was by Dave Wieneke on Web 3.0: The App Experience Revolution.  The message I bring from this presentation is that mobile web, smart phones and tablet computers are transforming how people use the web.  The growth is sales of these products is staggering and there are several predictions that the sales of desktop computers will decline.  In fact, Goldman Sachs predicts that tablet computers will cannibalize one in three traditional computers.  That’s quite a staggering prediction.

So when we look at this trans-formative change, we need to ask are we prepared for it.  Are you ready to be able to deliver your message on these new platforms?

Become a Fan of The Non-Profit Toolbox on Facebook

Share Your Stories Freely

Yesterday I read a post from Hall Web Development and Marketing blog called “Don’t be a Scrooge with Your Content” and it reminded me of the importance for Nonprofit Organizations to share their stories.  Most Nonprofit Organizations appeal to donors and volunteers on an emotional level, and nothing appeals more than a compelling story, picture or video about their mission.  Posting these stories on your website is a great place to share, draw more donors and be found on the web.

Search engines read text, so posting your stories will help your organization get found.  In this giving season there is little more powerful than sharing your compelling stories about how you helped feed poverty stricken families, how a pair of shoes helped someone or what ever it is that your organization does.  Here are some considerations for sharing your stories:

Don’t let fear keep you from sharing your best successes – People love warm heartwarming stories.

Make your stories freely available – Don’t bury them behind forms or sign-up pages.

Share your stories on social media sites – Weather it’s on your wall or someone else’s people love to read heart warming stories.

Join us for our next Networking for Non-Profit Event at Derby Street Shoppes December 14th!

Next Mini-Camp set for Tuesday, March 22, 2011

Save the Date!

Tuesday, March 22, 2011

Rockand Holiday Inn

929 Hingham Street

Rockland, MA 02370

8:00 am to 12:30

Hear what others had to say about our Last Mini-Conference:

“It was very informative. I have benefited greatly from the sessions I attended. I am excited to be able to put to use what I have learned.” Fred Svenson, Teen Challenge

“This was a fantastic event! The ability to interact w/others in the Non-Profit world is great. It allows for the sharing of ideas and challenges.” Mark Rogers, The Rogers Law Firm

“Can’t wait for the next one!” Kathy King Tedeschi

“I found the workshop to be very educational. The Q & A period was very important and speakers were well-prepared. Overall, a wonderful event.” Anonymous

We will have more information on topics and sign-ups soon.

Join us for our next Networking for Non-Profit Event at Derby Street Shoppes December 14th!

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Google loves WordPress

A couple of months ago we converted a web site for someone that was using a static template site into wordpress.  Yesterday we got an email from the client saying that an SEO expert told them that sites built with PHP (wordpress is built with PHP) are not search engine friendly and they haven’t moved up in their rankings.  I think this expert is confusing PHP with Flash.  What ever they are thinking, this is garbage, google loves wordpress.

The platform your website is built on is not a magic bullet.  It’s important to recognize how the web has changed today – content is king and content management platforms like wordpress, drupal and joomla make it easy to add valuable content to your site.  This is the most important thing you can do for search results.  Even with this you still need to pay attention to the basics – keywords, tagging, links etc.  SEO has changed over the last few years to make all the social media you do extremely important and develops a strong overall presence on the web and builds community around your organization.

Today the web is alive and interactive, not static.  If you want better results be prepared to work your site – blog, tweet, link your youtube video, build a facebook page for your organization.  Email is still big – build an email list using an email provider.  This is the world of the web today.

Join us for our next Networking for Non-Profit Event in Plymouth November 3!

The Web is Dead

Communities are starting to take over the internet

I was at Podcamp Boston last weekend and like a typical camp some sessions were great.  The first session I attended was Future Focus: Social media on a Web 3.0 Pageless/Site less Web by Dave Wieneke & Scott Brinker.  Sounds ominous, and it was.  I still don’t have a clear understanding of what web 3.0 is. What I did take away is the changing nature of the internet and how we need to adjust our understanding of what we need to create around our organizations to help make them successful.

We post a lot about building presence on the web.  You need to be blogging, twittering, on facebook and youtube.  All these different activities create a big presence on the web for your organization, are critical for SEO and bring people to your site.  But what do they find when they get there?

The large purple area on the graph above is peer to peer networks.  This is where (a long with video) the major growth of the internet is.  This is what your organization needs to create, a network or better yet an interactive community around your organization.  Internet users are much more likely to sign onto facebook or read their readers for information than just search the web.  This information is being pushed to them through applications on their phones or computers.  This is the future and it is happening now.

For a great article on this visit The Web Is Dead. Long Live the Internet by Chris Anderson and Michael Wolff.

Join us at our next Networking for Nonprofit event October 13th at the Phillips House in South Boston.

We have written a lot about web site optimization using keyword, social media and landing pages.  Reading a post from Marketing Experiments on Homepage Optimization: Lessons you can reuse from ReUseIt.com, I realized we haven’t said anything about the homepage.  Although most of your efforts for search involve driving people to specific landing pages, the homepage is still extremely important.

The Homepage is the most challenging to optimize.   Normally the page is speaking to different marketing persona’s.  Because of this the page needs to prioritize the available real estate, it needs to be clean and navigation to the more detailed information needs to be easy and obvious.  Most sites can’t fit everything on the homepage so you need to identify what your mission is and prioritize appropriately – are you looking for more donors, volunteers, or building a community around your organization?  How much can you fit on the top part of the site that is visible when the page open?  How fast does it open?

This post from Marketing experiments uses an e-commerce site Reuseit.com.  Although the page is clean and has many great qualities I believe that it’s lack of engaging visitor and creating a community is almost non-existant.  You can subscribe to their email, but you have to scroll down to the bottom of the page.  There is no use of social media – no facebook, no twitter, no blog all extremely important elements for today’s web world.  Take a look your self and see what you think.

Join us for our next Networking for Non-Profit Event September 30th!

Has Social Media Swung to Far?

It seems to me that there are a ton of Social Media experts in the world today.  When I’m out at events it appears than 6 out of 10 people are social media experts and 8 out of 10 can build a website, or have a relative or friend that can do that for them.  This is all well and good, but we are talking about your web presence – the most important marketing tool you have besides you and your staff.

It’s important to have a clear plan and strategy for your marketing on the web.  It needs to be efficient and directed to bring you leads and clients.  Here is a quick view on how to use these tools.

1. Your Website: This is the core of your presence on the web.  It needs to be clean, have great information about your service, and keyword search optimized.  This is the only thing on the web that you really have control over.
2. Your blog, YouTube, Flickr and Slideshare:  This is how you create content and establish yourself as an expert in your given field.  Each one of these tools is it’s own social network and you can begin to develop community within each of these networks.
3. Linkedin, Facebook and Twitter:  While with Linkedin you are establishing a professional network, it can be used to promote the content you are creating on the web.  Facebook and twitter are your main quick social networking tools.  These two tools are your main promotional tools for all the great content you are producing and the main conversation and interaction within the community around your services.

I hope this helps.  Social Media is a powerful tool, using all the tools in a focused efficient way can help grow your business and establish you as an expert in your field.

Join us for our next Networking for Non-Profit Event September 30th!