Friday, March 16, 2007

More trends to consider

Thanks to all the people for their great comments on my inquiry on the big challenges facing nonprofits. If you haven't weighed in on that, please do. Great discussion!

I'm working on the April edition of the Mission-Based Management Newsletter, which will be about the new uses of technology.

At this point, I'm focusing on these six things as changes in the tech world and their implications for nonprofits:

1. Peer Review/participation. Peer review and participation is one of the huge strengths of the web. Nonprofits in the main have not grasped this yet--but need to, and quickly. Wikis are a great way to allow for participation as well.

2. Podcasts: Incredibly cheap to develop, podcasts have revolutionized marketing and education. I think we're on the edge of thousands of nonprofits doing podcasts to educate, to train staff and volunteers, and to market better.

3. Instant Net feedback. If you want to be aware of what's going on online (about your organization, your issue, your mission, your funding) there are a number of free tools to do that. Whether it's Google Alerts or RSS feeds, search has never been easier, and more timely.

4. Blogs. A terrific way to get engaged with the community, to find out what the community is saying about your issue

5. Software. There is a ton of good stuff out there now--and this includes open source applications.

6. Fundraising. Sites like DonorsChoose and Kiva have changed the game: they are P2P fundraisers. Here's the future right in your face.

What am I missing? Which of these is not important? Or most important?
Let us hear from you!

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