a compass with the words chance, success, risk and failure on the face
Robert L. Weiner: Nonprofit Fundraising Technology Consulting

Digital Wallet Helps Prevent Phishing

I've used a digital wallet for years to keep track of my passwords (I use Roboform but there are other choices).  Recently I found that it serves a purpose that hadn't occured to me: phishing prevention.  Here's the deal: I got a message from a friend with a link.  Without thinking … [Read more...]

The Idealware Research Fund

My friends at Idealware have created a new fund to support their research.  Many of Idealware's reports have been funded by foundations and some have had corporate sponsorship. As you probably know, neither foundation nor corporate support is a reliable funding source these days. In addition, … [Read more...]

Adding Google Voice to My Web Site

I just added a Google Voice widget to my web site (on the Contact page).  When a caller clicks the icon s/he is prompted to enter a name and phone number.  Google Voice calls that number, then connects the caller to me as a free VOIP call.  Very cool. The hardest part was figuring … [Read more...]

Online Alumni Communities in the Age of Social Media

I received the following email from a listerve.  The topic of closed alumni communities versus social media is on the minds of a lot of university staff, so I'm posting this along with my response. I'd like to hear from anyone who is using the social networking function of Blackbaud Net … [Read more...]

Schools using social media but not for fundraising

I spent the last 3 days at the CASE District VII conference, for schools in AZ, CA, Guam, HI, NV, and UT.  Social Media was a big topic this year, with workshop titles like "Maximizing Social Networks and Online Resources in Alumni Relations", "Now That Facebook and Twitter … [Read more...]

Social Media for Revenue or Volunteers? Maybe Not

The results of two new surveys paint a bleak picture of the effectiveness of social media for fundraising and volunteer recruitment. The first from Philanthropy Action, has the depressing title, "Social Networking and Mid-Size Nonprofits: What's the Use?" The survey is based on responses from about … [Read more...]

LinkedIn Discussions Are Spam Magnets

I'm a member of several LinkedIn discussion groups, but my participation is lukewarm at best.  One of the biggest problems is spam--the noise is drowning out the signal.  There doesn't seem to be a way for moderators to review messages before they're posted or for participants to flag spam … [Read more...]

Clueless Charity PR

I got a press release today from a PR firm promoting its client's plans to raise $1,000 for Thanksgiving meals and $5,000 for families in need at Christmas.  While these are certainly laudable goals, I had a strong negative reaction. First, the message is spam.  I have no connection to, … [Read more...]

What’s in Your Data Ecosystem?

Our friends at NTEN have launched a survey to examine nonprofits' data ecosystems. Your first question is probably "what is a data ecosystem?" NTEN describes it as follows: The nonprofit ecosystem is a way of thinking about how data is shared by and flows across the different … [Read more...]

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