Ideal Ware:Best February 2013

Best of the Web: February 2013

The Idealware “Best of the Web” is a monthly roundup of the top nonprofit resources from the Idealware blog, our Facebook page, and our Twitter feed to help you make the right technology decisions.

Infographic: Social Media’s Impact on Giving in 2012 (Nonprofit Quarterly) 

A look at how social media has affected online giving.

How-to: Quickly Optimize Your Website for Mobile Devices (NTEN)

How do you get the most bang for your buck when investing in the mobile web?

On Demand Tactical Technology Planning (Idealware)

All your tactical technology planning needs in one on-demand package to solve your organization's current problems and avoid future issues.

Secrets to Finding Out What You Need - Good Questions to Ask During a Technology Assessment (The Data Bank)

When you start by asking the right questions, your organization will be in the best place to plan for the future.

Getting Started With Data-Driven Decision Making: A Workbook (Idealware/NTEN)

Could you use more help thinking through how to use data to help your organization make decisions? This workbook Idealware prepared for NTEN is the perfect place to start.

I Could Be Your Next Monthly Donor. So Call Me, Maybe? (NTEN)

Tips on how to recruit, retain, and upgrade monthly donors.

5 Smartphone Apps for Nonprofits (About.com)

Use these apps to keep up with the rapid growth of mobile.

The eMail Guide Email Marketing Glossary (The eMail Guide)

The 325 email marketing terms everyone needs to know.

Power through schedules with 21 Google Calendar tricks (PC World)

Save time and increase your organization's productivity by becoming a Google Calendar whiz.

A Guide to Synagogue Management: Research and Recommendations (Idealware)
We looked at a variety of donor and constituent management systems to create an overview for a complex and niche market

Pew Report: How internet and social media have transformed the arts

How internet and social media have transformed the arts
By: Peggy McGlone/The Star-Ledger

Social media has become a new way for arts organizations to promote their work, attract new audiences, as well as advertise themselves. Audiences have become more diverse, attracting younger people to the organizations.

For the full story click here

A.P. in Deal to Deliver Nonprofits’ Journalism

The NY Times reported that four nonprofit groups devoted to investigative journalism will have their work distributed by The Associated Press, greatly expanding their potential audience and helping newspapers fill the gap left by their own shrinking resources.

Starting on July 1, the A.P. will deliver work by the Center for Public Integrity, the Investigative Reporting Workshop at American University, the Center for Investigative Reporting, and ProPublica to the 1,500 American newspapers that are A.P. members, which will be free to publish the material.

The A.P. called the arrangement a six-month experiment that could later be broadened to include other investigative nonprofits, and to serve its nonmember clients, which include broadcast and Internet outlets.

“It’s something we’ve talked about for a long time, since part of our mission is to enable our members to share material with each other,” said Sue Cross, a senior vice president of The A.P. She said the development in 2006 of an Internet-based system for members to receive A.P. material made it easier to do that kind of sharing, and to offer new products like the investigative service.

As they sharply reduce their staffs, many newspapers have cut back on investigations or given them up entirely. When there are barely enough reporters to cover the daily news from the local courthouse and the school board, it is harder to justify assigning someone to an in-depth project that might take weeks or months. Read more here.