Following up on last week’s Windows 7 release, below are some online resources for evaluating and planning an upgrade for your organization.

As always, our friends at TechSoup have a wealth of information available, including upgrade guidance, migration checklist, and product donation.  Their Windows 7 homepage is a great starting point, but here are a couple of things to call to your attention:

• Special Extra Donation: Microsoft is allowing qualified nonprofits to place an extra donation request for Windows 7 or Vista.  (Much better than double secret probation.)
• Software Compatibility: A consolidated summary of Windows 7 compatibility statements from the companies that provide desktop software donations through TechSoup.

As referenced in my earlier Windows 7 post, Microsoft has helpful tools for upgrade evaluation and preparation:

• Windows 7 Upgrade Advisor: A downloadable program that will scan your PC for potential issues with your hardware and software and provide recommendations on how to proceed.
• Windows 7 Compatibility Center: A collection of compatibility information for popular devices and software titles to help you easily identify what will or won’t work with Windows 7.
• Windows 7 Features: Explore Windows 7’s new features and functionality through online videos.

In addition, TechFlash and Lifehacker have both assembled very comprehensive Windows 7 guides:

• TechFlash Windows 7 Resource Guide: Includes a plethora of links to reviews and other resources.
• Lifehacker’s Complete Guide to Windows 7: Includes an extensive review of new features and mouse/keyboard shortcuts.

Hope you find this information useful.  If you have come across other helpful Windows 7 resources, please share them with the rest of community.

Happy weekend!

Have you heard about the “7 Ways to Change the World” video contest that Microsoft is sponsoring as part of the Windows 7 release?  Share your idea for how Windows could help your community by submitting a two-minute video by November 11.  Seven winners will each get a new Windows 7 PC and $7,000 to donate to a local community organization.  Details on how to post your video and more on the contest can be found at http://www.7waystochangetheworld.com.

Yesterday Microsoft released Windows 7, the latest version of their flagship operating system.  While this has taken place without all of the fanfare associated with its predecessor, Window Vista, you have probably been hearing and reading about this for some time now.  Now that is has arrived, you may be wondering whether or when you should take the plunge.

The early reviews and word of mouth have been positive, which is encouraging.  However, most are not advocating an “update immediately” philosophy.  In fact, a common theme is that there is not a critical reason to upgrade or replace a Windows Vista or XP computer if you are happy with its performance and capabilities.  Given the limited budgets and resources of most nonprofits, we concur with that assessment.

Our recommendation to customers is to “walk (slowly), don’t run” to upgrade.  Let the early adopters find the glitches and work out the kinks.  A guideline we like to use is the availability of the first Service Pack, as this will include the initial round of fixes and improvements designed to make the product more stable and reliable.  This walk slowly approach seems to be echoed by the business sector.  According to a report from Information Technology Intelligence Corp., 19% of the companies surveyed plan to upgrade within the first three months, while 41% plan to hold for a while, including 11% waiting for the initial Service Pack.  The remaining 40% do not currently have a definitive migration timeline.

As you examine the circumstance within your agency, make sure to take into account your existing environment – computers, software, and staff.  If you are looking to upgrade your existing computers, keep in mind that the performance and user experience will be affected by the age and specifications of the equipment.  Also, check to make sure that the software applications and peripheral devices used by your agency are compatible with Windows 7.  If you find that a critical program is not certified or tested for Windows 7, contact the manufacturer to see what the issues are and their timeline for addressing.

As with any new operating system or application, there will be a learning curve involved.  For Windows 7, the changes will be more dramatic if you are coming from Windows XP (or earlier), instead of Windows Vista.  Depending on your staff’s appetite for change and self-discovery, you might consider investing in training upfront to acquaint everybody with the new operating system and effectively use its features and functionality.  To help manage your internal support demands, it is always helpful to standardize on a common version.  So if possible, upgrade everybody in your office when you are ready to make that investment.

Let us know what your organization is planning for Windows 7.  And if you are one those early adopters, share that experience with us.

The discussion at last Friday’s session on Doing More with Less at the Puget Sound Grantmaker’s Assocation conference offered some great suggestions for grantseekers about partnerships, Program-Related Investments (PRI’s), and about making effective use of technology. Thanks to Jorji Knickerehm from Washington CASH for moderating, and to fellow panelists Susan Fairchild from Social Venture Partners and Peter Berliner from PRI Makers for an enjoyable session.

I have a few more resources from the discussion to add to my initial post on Doing More with Less:

• Intro to Outcomes-based Evaluation and program design, how to start with a Theory of Change and Logic model: Outcomes Evaluation workshop and resources courtesy of NPower Seattle’s partnership with Communities Connect Network.
• Effective Partnerships: Susan mentioned an article titled “The Networked Nonprofit” which I made a note to hunt down. If you follow up on that tip as well and have comments to share about the article, please chime in with a comment here.
• Program-Related Investments: Peter’s organization PRI Makers specializes in connecting nonprofits with capital through revolving loans. More info is available at www.primakers.net

Reminder: Be sure to check out my initial “More with Less” post from 10/1 for a list of suggested technology-related best practices and free or low cost resources.

What makes for a good end-of-year ask to boost your contributed revenue?

• Well, from what I’ve read most obvious is remembering to ask in the first place.  (See the below for tried and true reminders from a couple of fundraising superstars about relationship building with donors, including a reminder to ask.)
• And secondly is doing it well — having an accurate mailing list and sending an attractive product (html email, mail merge letter, postcard…) with a solid message. Technology can help with the list and product. I’m a fan of Salesforce integrated with Vertical Response, which our Database Services team could help you sort out for your organization.
• A more “advanced” step is integrating your ask with the rest of your communications efforts — enewsletter, website, social media… to extend your reach.

Here are links to some resources for improving the message and strategy of your end-of-year appeal:

• Communicate with your donors, ideally via stories. Donors want to hear about the good work you’re doing.  It affirms their decision to give, and inspires them to give again.
• Thank donors for their past support. Simple but highly effective. Donors appreciate and remember organizations that show their appreciation. It’s not as many as you think.
• Ask. Make it clear that your organization is asking for a donation. Don’t assume that people will give if they can.

– Fundraising superstar Susan Howlett advises keeping in touch in big and little ways to “touch” donors 7 times. If you’ve been following this advice, then your end-of-year ask is not coming out of the blue. Hear from Susan directly in the webinar recording available here.

2) Nonprofit Marketing Guide trainings and blog. Kivi Leroux Miller has great advice to offer nonprofits about communications and fundraising.

3) Barbara Talisman’s blog post on using social media to tap into the unprecedented access to supporters.

If you’re a past donor to NPower Seattle, look for our end-of-year ask, which will hopefully follow at least some of my own advice!

Have I missed anything that you think is important for end-of-year fundraising? Your comments and suggestions are welcome.

This is one of my favorite freebies, and is available via TechSoup here.

MWSnap is a simple Windows application for capturing images of selected parts of the screen. Users can choose to capture the entire screen, a selected window, menu, or a custom rectangle. What’s more, MWSnap doesn’t install any drivers, system files, or other extraneous components on your computer.

I use MWSnap to grab images to insert into PowerPoint presentations and Word documents. It’s great for training curriculum or any step-by-step instructions where you want a picture to accompany your description. If you tend to be wordy and a picture would do the trick, try this. It keeps me from rambling on and on!

MWSnap graphic

I’ll be joining a panel discussion at the Puget Sound Grantwriter’s Association conference in Seattle on 10/16 to share suggestions for some smart investments that may help your nonprofit raise capital or provide you with resources that go beyond a large check. In other words, how to engage corporations in assisting nonprofits in ways that are useful and that reflect the new reality of tightened corporate giving budgets.

Here are some suggestions I have heading in, thanks to some help from my friends here at NPower Seattle. I’ll be sharing these thoughts at the PSGA conference, and I’ll write again with new ideas gained from that discussion.

Doing More with Less Suggestions

Account for all the costs in grant requests to limit the budget-breaking “hidden costs” to your organization. (This may seem counterintuitive in a “Doing More with Less” list because it drives the overall project budget UP, but it’s better in the long run to ask for what you need to cover your costs.)

For example:

• the “soft” costs of technology like software, training, set up and maintenance
• Temp help to cover for staff who attend training

For technology projects, get cost estimates from a recognized IT provider to add credibility to your request.

• Contact an IT service provider, like NPower Seattle, to get a proposed scope of work or estimate for your workstation, server, database, Web site or other technology upgrade. Include the estimate in your proposal.

Be creative about identifying matching and in-kind contributions. Include things like:

• The value of your own staff and volunteers’ time that’s not covered by grant funds
• The value of your IT provider’s time for providing a free estimate or any pro-bono services
• The difference between the retail value and a discounted rate you receive (through TechSoup, Microsoft, Google, NPower…) for software, hardware and training. For example, NPower has negotiated with some nonmember groups to charge our discounted member rate for our services, and allow them to apply the difference as an in-kind contribution from NPower in a grant proposal.

Be convincing about the need for infrastructure upgrades and support.

• Pitch the idea of a progression from a Stable and Secure Foundation to Effective Use to Innovation. You can’t get to the fancy stuff without reliable work stations, internet access, email, etc.

• See NPower’s Tech Impact profiles for an example of how one local organization, Treehouse, benefits from scheduled support services to keep their technology infrastructure stabel and secure – visit http://www.npowerseattle.org/about-us/tech-impact/

TechSoup – self-serve information and discounted technology products

• online information and resources at the Learning Center– visit http://home.techsoup.org
• the weekly “By the Cup” e-newsletter
• Discussion Forums where nonprofit staff connect with each other and with technology experts who chime in. Visit the Discussion Forums main page at http://forums.techsoup.org/cs/forums/
• a product philanthropy service called TechSoup Stock – visit http://www.techsoup.org/stock . Nonprofits can access donated and discounted technology products, generously provided by corporate and nonprofit technology partners. Partners include Microsoft, Adobe, Cisco, Grant Station…
  • For example, Microsoft Office software purchased through TechSoup comes with a 2-year software assurance agreement for free upgrades. This is a significant savings.

Microsoft - free software and training resources

• Software donations

Through a partnership with TechSoup, Microsoft and NPower, agencies who are NPower customers may be able to get their Microsoft software at zero cost as part of the Microsoft Direct Donation Program. Please check with NPower for more details.

• NGO Web site

The Microsoft NGO Connection site at www.microsoft.com/ngo offers free curriculum and training materials for nonprofits to use for internal staff training or for public training with clients.

Salesforce – free licenses and a growing nonprofit community

• Free licenses

Licenses for the first 10 users are provided free to nonprofits, thanks to the Salesforce.com Foundation. Some organizations have been granted additional licenses at no charge, and additional licenses are available from the Foundation at a deep discount.

• Implementation of your Salesforce CRM is made faster and less expensive by the nonprofit template developed by NPower Seattle. Contact NPower for details.
• See NPower’s Tech Impact profiles for stories of how two organizations (Arts Corps and Friends of the Orphans) have benefited from free Salesforce licenses and assistance from NPower – visit http://www.npowerseattle.org/about-us/tech-impact/
• One other draw is that the nonprofit community of users is large (hundreds of nonprofits use Salesforce) and a source of free advice and peer support.
  • There’s an active discussion group on the web (search Google Groups for “npsf”).
  • Seattle Nonprofit User Group: Whether you’re just exploring Salesforce, a beginning user, or an expert with tips to share, you’re welcome to attend the monthly Salesforce Nonprofit User Group hosted by NPower Seattle. Join us at the NPower Seattle offices on the 3rd Wednesday of every month at 8:00 a.m. Visit http://usergroups.salesforce.com/nonprofits_seattle/ to register for the Nonprofit User Group and to check out the Salesforce Nonprofit User’s blog.

Google – free applications, ad words and video hosting

• Google apps like Google docs and Google calendar
• Google ad words – free to nonprofits for key words up to $1 per click
• YouTube’s charity initiative allowing nonprofits or any YouTube user to post their cause driven video with an added overlay link. Learn more at http://www.marketingpilgrim.com/2009/06/youtube-videos-getting-off-site-overlay-links.html

Misc. cost-saving or no-cash ideas

• Social media for reaching out to and inspiring donors and volunteers (Facebook, Twitter, FlickR, YouTube…)
• Tips for online fundraising from the NTEN blog, like Raise Money on Facebook: Four Strategies You Need to Know About, at http://nten.org/blog/2009/09/24/raise-money-facebook-four-strategies-you-need-know-about
• Communications expertise and tips via webinar and blog from Nonprofit Marketing Guide.com
• Tech tool comparisons and guides from Idealware
• Private training at NPower Seattle – if you have at least 7-8 people to train at the same time, it’s less expensive to schedule a private group session than to register individually. See details here.
• Protect yourself from cyber theft – set up a dedicated work station for online banking. See the recent post by John Joynt on NPower’s blog for details: http://community.npowerseattle.org/npowering/cyber-theft-p1/

Your thoughts? What have I missed?

~Peg Giffels