Adventures in Executive Dashboards By Kaitlin LaCasse, February 2010 It's easy for your organization to get overwhelmed with data. Executive dashboards can provide an overview of your organizational health at a glance. But how do you actually create one? We provide three examples of nonprofit dashboards in action. Read more>
	Is Email Old News? Social Networks as the New Communications Channel By Stella Hernandez, January 2010 When it comes to online communications, social networking has huge communities of people sharing information with each other. And its rise comes as people question email’s effectiveness—are social networks replacing email as a communications channel? Read more>

Getting Started With Email Fundraising
By Andrea Berry, December 2009
Email fundraising is a technique that’s within the reach of the smallest organization.  This article walks you through the basics: how to design a campaign, write emails, build an email list, select software to send email and take online donations, and measure the results. Read more>

Enlisting Your Supporters to Fundraise For You: A Case Study
By Andrea Berry, October 2009
How can online friend-to-friend fundraising help you to raise money and engage your staff and volunteers? This detailed case study looks at how one small school raised $3000 from mostly new donors with a minimal investment. Read more>

A Consumers Guide to Low-Cost Data Visualization Tools
By Laura S. Quinn, September 2009
You've got data. How do you transform it into charts, graphs, and maps that will help your audience understand the data and move them to take action? This 30-page independent Idealware report provides an overview of the types of graphic formats that might work for you, and then compares eight low-cost tools that can help you create them. Read more>

Back Away From That Spreadsheet: Why Excel Isn't a Donor Database
By Robert L. Weiner, August 2009
It’s quick, easy, and you already have it.  Excel seems like it might be a great fit to manage your donor data.  But just back away from that spreadsheet – there’s a lot of reasons why it’s not a good idea.  Read more>

In Search of HIPAA-Compliant Software
By Laura S. Quinn, August 2009
Through HIPAA, the US government provides a set of instructions and guidelines for working with patient health data. What you should look for to ensure that a software package will comply with the HIPAA standards? We asked a number of experts and rounded up their answers. Read more>

The Role of Email in Your Communications Mix
By Heather Gardner-Madras, July 2009
Nonprofits have a lot of choices when it comes to communications - from direct mail, to websites, to social networking sites and more.
With Spam on the rise and open rates down, what role should email play in a successful communications strategy—and when should nonprofits choose to use it? Read more>

Comparing Online vs. Traditional Office Software
By Laura S. Quinn, July 2009
Is online office software likely to fit your needs better than more traditional desktop software? Or are installed applications like Microsoft Office the reigning champs for a reason? We take a look at the differences between online and installed options in the areas that are often important to nonprofits. Read more>

Comparing Options for Collaboration Software
By Laura S. Quinn, June 2009
If you’re looking for software tools that can help your group collaborate, you’ll find a lot of options. There are many different types of solutions that support many different types of needs. This article compares your options. Read more>

Implementing Your Donor Management Software
by Keith Heller, May 2009
Your implementation plan can mean the difference between success and disaster. Keith Heller talks about the people, processes, and schedule you’ll need to smoothly implement your donor management software. Read more>

A Consumers Guide to Low Cost Donor Management Systems
April 2009
Written in partnership with NTEN, this detailed, impartial report
walks through the features that might be useful to you, summarizes and compares 33 different donor management systems that cost less than $4250 in the first year, and then provides detailed reviews of twelve of them. Read more (free registration required)>

Comparing Open Source Content Management Systems: WordPress, Joomla, Drupal and Plone
March 2009
This 60-page report provides compares four free and open source systems that can help you to build and manage a website. We provide a feature summary and detailed reviews of WordPress, Joomla, Drupal and Plone, as well as a directory of the consultants who can help you implement them.  Read more (free registration required)>

Four Principles of Choosing Donor Management Software
by Keith Heller, March 2009
Choosing a new donor management package can inspire both excitement and dread. What principles can help you pick a system that your staff will be happy with now and for years to come? Read more>

Using RSS Tools to Feed Your Information Needs
By Peter Campbell, March 2009
The internet gives you access to a virtual smorgasbord of information. But how do you separate the useful data from all the rest? RSS, or Really Simple Syndication, can bring the information you want to you. Peter Campbell investigates the RSS tools that can help you efficiently manage your information. Read more >

Do You Need New Donor Management Software?
by Keith Heller, February 2009
Will a new software package really support your fundraising strategy better? Or will it just be an expensive path to get you back to the same place? Keith Heller explores. Read more>

Getting Your Videos Onto the Web
By Michael Hoffman, February 2009
Online videos can be a great way to showcase your organization's mission and work - but you'll need to make sure they reach your intended audience. Michael Hoffman looks at some of the ways you can distribute videos online. Read more >

A Few Good Association Management Systems
by Eric Leland, December 2008
An association management system can be a huge help in tracking your members, newsletter subscriptions, special gifts, invitations to events and workshops, discounts on products and services and more. We asked five different nonprofit experts about the systems that have worked for them. Read more >

A Few Good Donor Management Tools
by Eric Leland, November 2008
The right donor management software can make a big difference in your ability to raise funds. We asked six different nonprofit technology experts about the donor management software that has worked well for their nonprofit colleagues. Read more >

Open Source vs. Vendor-Provided Software: Comparing Them Side by Side
by Jeff Walpole, November 2008
The use of open source software applications as a viable alternative to vendor provided commercial software has seen tremendous growth in recent years, especially among non-profits. In this article, Jeff Walpole explores the pros and cons of each alternative, and explains the differences between vendor provided and open source software. Read more >

A Few Good Broadcast Email Tools
November 2008
One of our most popular articles, now fully updated! Email newsletters, action alerts, or fundraising emails can be a very cost effective way to communicate with your supporters, but it can be complex to send and track thousands of emails. We talked to eleven nonprofit technology experts to find out what eNewsletter tools have worked well for them. Read more >

A Few Good Online Survey Tools
October 2008
Online surveys can be a huge help in understanding what your constituents think and how successful your programs are - without breaking your budget. We spoke to a number of nonprofit staff members to understand how the existing online survey tools compare. Read more >

The Basics of Email Metrics: Are Your Campaigns Working?
October 2008
Email metrics can help you determine the effectiveness of email communications - like your eNewsletter or email appeals - and fine tune them to improve their efficiency. In this article, we talk through the data points and the calculations that can be useful, and how to use them to improve results. Read more >

A Consumers Guide to Grants Management Systems

June 2008

This detailed 89-page report summarizes the common features and eighteen different systems used by grantmakers to track outgoing funds. We also provide detailed reviews of nine of the most widely used packages, with prices and a comparison chart. Register and download the free report on our partner Solpath's site>

A Few Good Accounting Packages

February 2008

No matter its size or its budget, any nonprofit can benefit from the right accounting software. Find out what our experts have to say about QuickBooks, Peachtree, Fundware, The Financial Edge, Mas90, GreatPlains, and others.  Read more>

Should Your Organization Use Social Networking Sites?

By Brett Bonfield, January 2008

Are social networking sites like MySpace or FaceBook likely to be a good fit for your nonprofit's goals? Brett Bonfield outlines some guidelines to help you decide if social neworking is right for you. Read more >

Comparing Lower-Cost Online Integrated Applications

By Eric Leland, December 2007

Online integrated applications allow nonprofits to manage a number of different aspects of their constituent information and Web presence all together in one package. Eric Leland took a close look at eight of the more affordable packages to compare their functionality in a variety of areas. Read more >

A Few Good Event Registration Tools

September 2007

These days, most event participants expect to be able to register online for events. Luckily, there are lots of tools that can help with that, from simple to sophisticated to multi-functional. We asked 11 nonprofit technology professionals what online registration tools have worked for them. Read more >

A Few Good Low-Cost Constituent Databases

March 2007

Looking for an inexpensive way to track your volunteers, donors, partners, and other constituents? We’ve fully updated this popular article, which recommends a set of free and low cost databases that have worked for those in the field. We’ve added new tools, tips, and thoughts to help you find something that works for your organization.   Read more >

A Few Good RSVP Tools: Online Registration Options for Free Events

December 2006

When you’re planning a free event, it’s hard to justify paying a lot of money for online registration software – but email or Evite can be frustrating. Happily, other choices exist. We talked to seven nonprofit technology experts about useful and affordable (or free!) options for collecting RSVPs for free events.  Read more >

Choosing Bulk Email Software to Match Your Communication Goals

by Heather Gardner-Madras, October 2006

Are you hoping to send a monthly eNewsletter to your constituents? Or would action alerts or donation requests align better with your goals? We’ll help you think through the features you’ll need in a bulk emailing tool to support the type of emails you plan to send.  Read more >

Creating the Relationship-Centric Organization: Nonprofit CRM

By Paul Hagen, May 2006

Are you storing data about your constituents in three, five, even ten different databases? If so, you’re not alone – but it’s costing you in time, lost revenue and decreased impact. Paul Hagen describes how to get all your data into one place with an integrated CRM strategy.  Read more>

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