VolResource Blog

From NCVO ICT Foresight blog:

The Hansard Society is working together with the NCVO on the first strand of the [ICT Foresight?] project - on Democracy, campaigning and activism. The research is designed to illustrate ways in which information and communication technology (ICT) might empower charitable, community and voluntary sector organisations and their supporters and identify comparisons with citizen engagement in politics.

The research will begin with a survey of current uses and expectation of ICT in the voluntary and community sector which is going to be launched in January 2006. We are also looking for case-studies that will provide us with personal testimonies and examples of successes and possible pit-falls.

If you are aware of an organisation using technology to engage with stakeholders or promote campaigns in innovative ways please email us via edemocracy@hansard.lse.ac.uk

- Visit the blog, linked above, for updates.

Posted by John Howes at 05:09 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Brand republic Data Bulletin has an article on the data processing behind the launch (publicly this week) of GuideStar UK the online charity database:

Experian is helping charity GuideStar UK launch a free web-based encyclopaedia of the 167,000 registered charities in England and Wales.
More: Experian helps GuideStar provide insight into charities - Data Bulletin - Data news by Email - Brand Republic

Posted by John Howes at 07:44 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

A new report finds that older people are actively using the net to ‘make their voice heard’.

Short quote from netimperative:

The survey of 1,000 Web users aged between 50 and 65, commissioned by digital communications connsultancy Panlogic, found that the older generation are driving the Internet’s ‘digital conscience’.

More than a third (35%) of respondents stated that they have signed a petition online, while 28% have made charitable donations online.

Netimperative - Silver surfers becoming digital activists

Or go direct to the pdf report, 3.7MB (large), 'Our digital conscience', although there seems to be some typographical quirks making it a bit difficult to read'

Posted by John Howes at 05:05 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

We're experimenting with turning some VolResource pages into 'wiki' format, where people can make their own contributions. (We'll be keeping the old stuff too for the moment at least!)

We've transferred a couple of pages to start with, which might particularly benefit from outside input (there has been some already fed into the existing pages). Namely Taxonomy, Planning and Monitoring.

Take a look at www.voluntarynews.org/wiki. Comments and suggestions welcome, on the wiki, here or by email.

Posted by John Howes at 08:43 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

From MacWorld, but its also available for Windows, our preferred desktop database software becomes more affordable. Can I stop using Access now, please?

Article in whole:
FileMaker UK offers steep charity discount

By Jonny Evans

Apple subsidiary FileMaker has announced a significant discount on its software to registered UK charities.

The company has lopped around 50 per cent off the product price to bring its cross-platform database software within the reach of such organizations.

FileMaker Pro 8 has a recommended retail price of £219 plus VAT. Under the new pricing scheme, charities can buy it for £109 plus VAT. Similar discounts apply across the entire FileMaker product range.

Tony Speakman, FileMaker International's general manager, Northern Europe, said: "We are well aware of the financial constraints that organizations within the charity sector work within. As a result, we are now making FileMaker available to registered charities at education level pricing. This means that these organizations can now purchase FileMaker for significantly less than normal list price."

Macworld UK - FileMaker UK offers steep charity discount

Posted by John Howes at 07:41 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

From Computing magazine this week:

Conservation charity the Wildfowl and Wetlands Trust (WWT) has centralised its IT management and cut maintenance costs by a quarter using network acceleration technology.

The charity, the largest of its kind in the UK, has nine remote offices, and found that staff productivity was suffering from the slow performance of its wide area network (Wan).

Read the solution and more at Charity speeds up network for remote offices - vnunet.com

Posted by John Howes at 08:51 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

From TechSoup:

Join CompuMentor's community engagement program director John Lorance and a host of leading Web technology advocates as they demystify Web 2.0 technologies and illustrate how using new socially oriented technological innovations can help the nonprofit community. Web 2.0 technologies such as tagging, social bookmarking and online social networks, blogging, content sharing through Wikis and RSS, and new Web widgets need not only be in the hands of well-funded developers; but also can be used by organizations to further their missions.

Save the dates: October 24-October 28
Join us the week of October 24, for a free, five-day online event, in the TechSoup Emerging Technology forum www.techsoup.org/web2event

TechSoup - Forums: Online Event: week of October 24th - Impact of Web 2.0 on nonprofits

Posted by John Howes at 12:50 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

His weekly posting is always worth a quick scan, and this time any blog writer should spend a bit more time than that with Jakob Nielsen's Alertbox:

Weblog Usability: The Top Ten Design Mistakes

Posted by John Howes at 09:24 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

The newly launched Open Source Academy website, set up with government funding, says that:

"The audiences for this site are:

* Local authority executives, staff and advisors
* NGO's and Charities working with local authorities
* System suppliers to local authorities

Who:

* don't use Open Source but want to know more about it
* use Open source and are willing to share their experience
* wish to be an active participant in the Open Source commons projects"

About this site — Open Source Academy

Introduction

Posted by John Howes at 07:49 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

This is an American financial story, but how well technology companies dealing exclusively with non-profits are doing in the markets may be of more than passing interest in terms of what eventually happens this side of the pond.

Intro to news item on BusinessWeek online:

Charity Isn't Paying at Kintera
Calamities are prompting a deluge of generosity, but you wouldn't know it from the donation processor's languishing stock

Charity Isn't Paying at Kintera

Posted by John Howes at 05:55 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Good to see a new initiative which will "provide candid Consumer-Reports-style reviews and articles about software of interest to nonprofits". You can tell its American, so it won't be hugely relevant to the UK scene but it would be good if the limited information we provide on VolResource could be taken that step further. Anyone want to see if this can be translated across the Atlantic?

Idealware: Candid Reviews of Nonprofit Software

Posted by John Howes at 08:16 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

This year's Computing magazine Awards shortlist for Voluntary Sector Project of the Year includes People’s Dispensary for Sick Animals (PDSA), GAP Activity Projects, Comic Relief Pla, MapAction and Teach First.

See Computing Awards - Projects of the Year (2) - Computing

Posted by John Howes at 04:18 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Web usability guru Jakob Nielsen publishes his annual Top Ten Web Design Mistakes for this year. His Summary: The oldies continue to be goodies -- or rather, baddies -- in the list of design stupidities that irked users the most in 2005.

This time round he asked for Alertbox newsletter reader views. While I didn't submit mine, I certainly agree with 'bad fonts' or text legibility problems as the top by a mile. This appears to be actually getting worse with voluntary sector sites, with low contrast text increasingly appearing after revamps, such as the recent NCVO one. I have my browser (Firefox) set to override small text sizes (leading to some interesting layouts) but it is pretty impossible to anticipate stupid colour combinations.

Top Ten Web Design Mistakes of 2005 (Jakob Nielsen's Alertbox)

Posted by John Howes at 03:16 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

ebay, the electronic boot sale (oops I bet they don't like being called that) has this week launched an eBay for Charity service, allowing charities to list items donated by the public on the website. Others selling items can also donate part of the proceedings, and eBay will, I think I read, then donate part of its commission too.

Not being an eBay type person myself, I'll leave you to find out more details!

Posted by John Howes at 03:00 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

The VolResource newsletter flagged up the "Blog Exchange" which ran recently. Here 's a link to the latest posting on this:

Nonprofit Blog Exchange: Next Steps

The blogs that participated in the pilot version of the blog exchange were added to both Bloglines and del.icio.us listings which are linked via this piece. Mainly American, unsurprisingly, but the item above does indicate that even there, there is little actual viewing of blogs (and use?) by the sector.

Posted by John Howes at 06:24 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Posted on Wednedsay 21st by Global Voices Online: Handbook for Bloggers & Cyber-Dissidents

"Reporters Without Borders has given Global Voices a sneak peak at the Handbook For Bloggers and Cyber-Dissidents before its official Thursday release. .... It is a valuable gift to the world’s bloggers."

Or go direct to the download page:
Reporters sans frontières - Handbook for bloggers and cyber-dissidents

Interestingly Reporters without Borders, which is based in France, has had some funding for this from the French government.

Posted by John Howes at 07:57 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Quote from First aid on your iPod from Guardian Unlimited: Newsblog:

Often spotted at major events providing first-aid support to anyone who feels feint [sic] or cuts their hand, but St John Ambulance would not be most people’s pick for an organisation at the cutting edge of technology, writes David Callaghan.

In a radical departure from its cosy traditional image, St John has made downloadable first-aid tips in audio format available for owners of iPods and MP3 players.

Posted by John Howes at 07:52 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Some people involved in IT or information areas may be interested in the following event.

World Summit on Free Information Infrastructures
London 2005

* When: Saturday 1st & Sunday 2nd of October
* Programme: see the programme page
* Where: Limehouse Town Hall, 646 Commercial Road, London, E14 7HA (Map)
* Registration: http://www.wsfii.org/register.php
* Wiki: http://www.okfn.org/wsfii/wiki

WSFII home page

Posted by John Howes at 07:18 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

One of Britain's larger charities revamps public website, along with e-training and other facilities for their volunteers:

New RNLI web site to make a splash - IT Week

"The Royal National Lifeboat Institution (RNLI) is overhauling its web site so that it can increase donations and recruit further volunteers.

The organisation has signed a deal with ISP Pipex to host the new system, which is intended to go live in November."

Posted by John Howes at 07:52 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

From Computer Weekly: Technology charity boosts supply chain for New Orleans aid

"A technology charity is using supply chain management software to manage the delivery of desperately needed aid to people from New Orleans and other areas devastated by hurricane Katrina.

Aidmatrix, a US not-for-profit organisation, supplied a system to track and manage relief supplies stored in a chain of specially set up. disaster response warehouses, which are run by Adventist Community Services (ACS) on behalf of a coalition of major US charities."

It is good to see that developing charity technology by and for non-profit bodies in the States doesn't just mean fundraising facilities, as it seems to here in the UK. Where oh where in the ICT national hub (job adverts throughout the sector press this week) is anyone doing anything about improving the lack of decent, tailored and affordable IT facilties, for real life back office and frontline action?

Posted by John Howes at 08:23 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Article from this week's Computing newspaper:

Grid computing is increasingly moving out of the research and academic environments ... One of the highest-profile examples of grids being used in a commercial situation is the infrastructure for Comic Relief's Red Nose Day online fund-raising efforts, a system which this year was also called into action to support the Live 8 anti-poverty concerts.

Read more:
Grid computing does a lot of work for charity - Computing

Posted by John Howes at 04:31 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)