Technology Groups Agree to Merger
Two nonprofit organizations that provide online fund-raising tools for other charities -- Network for Good, in Bethesda, Md., and Groundspring.org, in San Francisco -- have merged. The combined organization will use the Network for Good name. Founded in 2001 by AOL, Cisco Systems, and Yahoo,…
By NICOLE WALLACE
Features Editor
Bits: Democracy Collaborative Launches Community-Wealth.org
Community-Wealth.org, a new Web site created by the Democracy Collaborative at the University of Maryland, provides news, articles, and other information about economic-development organizations, financial institutions that specialize in neighborhood development, local land trusts, cooperatives,…
By NICOLE WALLACE
Features Editor
Web Site for Donors Receives Big Grants
A Washington organization that uses the Internet to match American donors with grass-roots social and economic-development projects in the developing world has received two large grants to expand its operations. GlobalGiving has received $1.5-million from the Omidyar Network, the philanthropy in…
By NICOLE WALLACE
Features Editor
New York Charity Seeks to Spur Community Debate
The Community Service Society, a New York advocacy group, is starting a new Web site, Turnstile, which it hopes will bring together community activists, policy advocates, and members of the public to debate important social and economic issues facing the city. Each week Turnstile -- which is…
By NICOLE WALLACE
Features Editor
Technology Group Plans Meeting on Relief Aid
The Nonprofit Technology Enterprise Network in San Francisco, plans to hold five regional conferences this fall and co-sponsor a conference on the role of technology in humanitarian relief. The network is a national organization for individuals, charities, and businesses that provide technology…
By NICOLE WALLACE
Features Editor
Access to Computers Remains Uneven
The benefits that information technology offer to young people are undermined by continuing disparities in children’s access to computers and the Internet based on their race and ethnicity, as well as their family’s income, according to a new report by a children’s advocacy organization. Yet when…
By NICOLE WALLACE
Features Editor
Television Station Asks Donors to Support Film
At a time when a growing number of public-television viewers are making their membership gifts online, WGBH, a Boston station, is turning to the Internet to raise money for a specific production -- a documentary on the role of adoption in American society. The Boston station has already received…
By NICOLE WALLACE
Features Editor
Bits: Libraries Unable to Meet Internet Use Demand
GuideStar, a Williamsburg, Va., organization that posts charities’ informational tax returns on the Internet, has started a new service, eDocs, that allows nonprofit groups to post additional documents to the site, such as their audited financial statements, annual reports, and letters from the…
By NICOLE WALLACE
Features Editor
Tree-Planting Campaign Nets Many Donations
The Jewish National Fund has raised $300,000 since May 2004 by updating a century-old fund-raising tool for the Internet age. The New York charity has been planting trees overseas since its start in 1901. Today, donors purchase trees that are planted in Israel in the name of family and friends,…
By NICOLE WALLACE
Features Editor
New Technology Tools Aid Business Plans
Two new technology tools are available to help charities develop a business plan for a for-profit venture. The Social Enterprise Alliance, a nonprofit membership group in Los Angeles, has collaborated with Palo Alto Software, in Eugene, Ore., to develop the Social Enterprise Edition of the…
By NICOLE WALLACE
Features Editor
Amazon Award Finalists Compete for Top Prize
Amazon.com has announced the 10 finalists for its Nonprofit Innovation Award, which honors creative approaches to solving social problems. Those organizations are now applying their creativity to finding ways to win the prize. Together, Amazon and Stanford Business School’s Center for Social…
By NICOLE WALLACE
Features Editor
Bits: Council on Foundations Launches ‘Emerging Issues’ Blog
The Council on Foundations, in Washington, has started a Web log, “Emerging Issues,” to highlight new trends in philanthropy. Among the topics discussed so far: a book about the repeal of the estate tax and recent foundation projects. To get there: Go http://blogs.cof.org/emergingissues.…
By NICOLE WALLACE
Features Editor
Nominations Sought for New Internet Awards
A new awards program plans to honor innovative uses of the Internet by charities. The International ePhilanthropy Awards will recognize nonprofit excellence in four categories: fund-raising campaigns; event registration or membership campaigns; community building, volunteerism, or advocacy…
By NICOLE WALLACE
Features Editor
E-Mail Advocacy Efforts Face Hurdles, Report Says
Electronic messages generated by online advocacy campaigns are overwhelming Congressional offices, and may, in some cases, be falling on deaf ears, according to a new report by a Washington nonprofit group. Staff members on Capitol Hill have mixed feelings about the increase of correspondence that…
By NICOLE WALLACE
Features Editor
Bits: ‘Nonprofit Internet Strategies’ Offers Advice on Using E-mail and the Internet to Raise Money
A new book, Nonprofit Internet Strategies, discusses how nonprofit organizations can use e-mail and the Internet to raise money, conduct advocacy campaigns, and build better relationships with their supporters. For more information: Go to http://www.wiley.com. The Community Technology Centers’…
By NICOLE WALLACE
Features Editor
New Project Studies Nanotechnology and Policy
Technological advances are making it increasingly possible for scientists and engineers to work with precision at a scale of one-billionth of a meter. But nanotechnology, as such advances are known, carries potential risks as well as benefits, and has public-policy implications. Such issues have…
By NICOLE WALLACE
Features Editor