The Confluence Gallery and Art Center has flourished since 1988 as a hub of the arts community in Twisp, Washington. The nonprofit gallery holds seven group and individual exhibits each year, showcasing the work of local and regional artists from North Central Washington. Special exhibitions draw from farther afield, highlighting noteworthy artists from the Pacific Northwest.

As participants in NPower’s statewide training and technology support program funded through the Greater Everett Community Foundation in 2008 and 2009, Confluence Gallery completed a Stable and Secure Assessment which pointed to a severe need to upgrade aging hardware. NPower consultants assisted Gallery staff in selecting a new desktop system, provided funds to cover the purchase (thank you GECF!), and procured software donations (Microsoft Windows and Office — thank you Microsoft!) to support key accounting and grant writing functions. In an “extreme makeover” story, Executive Director Sybil Macapia says Confluence Gallery is now in a much stronger position to support the administrative needs of the organization, and recently procured a much-needed grant that she links directly to the availability of that single new computer system.

Congratulations, Confluence staff! And thank you to the Greater Everett Community Foundation, Microsoft and our other supporters who make miracles like this one possible for nonprofits in Washington state.

Is your organization still trying to figure out how to use social media tools like blogs, Facebook and Twitter to communicate with clients, donors, funders and community members?

Are you wondering if it makes sense for you to blog or tweet about your services, news and events?

NPower has teamed up with Philanthropy Northwest to help you explore how Social Media can support your organization’s communication and advance your organization’s goals. Join us for the first offering of this exciting class on Wednesday, February 24th.  In Social Media for Building Community, you will:

• Articulate your organization’s goals, identify messages, and explore social media tools.
• Evaluate the time needed to employ new communications tools vs. their value for your organization.
• Learn practical strategies for effectively connecting with various constituents using Web 2.0 tools.

Join us for Social Media for Building Community on Wednesday, February 24th. Learn more and register to attend at npowerseattle.org/socialmedia

Adobe, through TechSoup, is offering Photoshop, Creative Suite Design, and some of its other titles for Macs in a special promotion. These products are available to organizations that are not typically eligible for their discounted software, including health care organizations and schools and educational institutions. In addition to the Mac software, there are a few books on their software available through the program which can be used by Windows users. Here is the TechSoup page, which outlines this special offer.

We also have some Adobe classes for nonprofits coming up (all taught on PCs), and thanks to Adobe’s generous funding, these are all offered at half of the regular tuition rate:

• Photoshop Intermediate - February 9th at 9am
• Dreamweaver Foundations - February 16th at 9am
• InDesign Intermediate - February 17th at 9am
• Photoshop Advanced - February 18th at 1pm

Planning a software or hardware upgrade sometime soon? Don’t forget to include a plan for staff training to ensure a smooth rollout. Timely and thorough training will give your staff the confidence and skills to fully benefit from their new tools and ease any anxiety about the transition.

Leah Ankeny, our Training Manager, suggests a couple of resources on staff training:

1) For a great example of a successful upgrade and training integration, see our profile on The Seattle Foundation’s roll out of Office 2007.

2) To develop a training plan to fit the needs (and budget) of your organization, follow the tips in this Tech Soup article on replacing and upgrading technology, which include:

• How much money and effort will you invest in your training program? “Training” might consist of a few handouts if your new software only implements minor changes. It could consist of a month-long class with multiple sessions if you’re upgrading mission-critical software.
• Who conducts the training? You can assign the training to internal staff or outside contractors. Developing an effective curriculum takes a big chunk of time, so nonprofits occasionally bring someone in from the outside or send their employees to classes held at other locations.
• When do you schedule it? If you train your staff too far in advance of the software installation, they’ll forget everything they’ve learned by the time they actually need it. If you wait until after the installation, staff will have to support software that they don’t understand.

As the article says, “Being thoughtful about how much time and energy you invest in training can help ensure that your staff is up to speed on refreshed software or hardware and that your organization can get on with the real mission-based work that matters.”

Interested in hearing about new trainings, recent nonprofit Web site launches, opportunities to work or volunteer at NPower and the latest on our 5th Annual Nonprofit Technology event? We’d love to share the news and hear from you on Facebook.

Become a fan on our Facebook page!

I attended a really good training this morning offered by Kivi Leroux Miller at Nonprofit Marketing Guide. I really like her stuff (and I now have a 3-month all-access pass to her webinars so be prepared to hear more from me from this source) because she offers suggestions for best practices in ways that are easy to remember.

For example, this morning’s topic was “Writing for Social Media” and one of her suggestions was to follow the 6 G’s of Social Media, which break down into 3 ways to be and 3 ways not to be:

Be:

1. genuine
2. generous
3. grateful

Don’t be:

1. grandstanding
2. greedy
3. grabby

My ears perked up when she said about the 3 Be’s, “Do these three things and you have a social media strategy.” Aha, I thought, I know we need a strategy and if I can get there by focusing on three things then I’m a happy camper.

What does it mean to be genuine?
This is the one that grabbed my attention because often when I try to be genuine I’m pretty sure I don’t sound genuine at all.

• Kivi suggests starting by asking who you want to “friend” you so you can consider your audience regarding content, tone, or frequency of tweets/status updates.
• Next, be upfront about who’s writing this thing. Add personal details to build rapport. Give a sense of who you are as an organization and/or person.
• She also suggests picking three words that represent ways you’d like to be perceived (examples offered by the group today included friendly, knowledgeable, approachable) and writing consistently with those in mind.

Ask yourself - what’s the goal?
One other main point from today’s training is to be intentional about your goals when using Facebook, Twitter or other social media tools. Be clear about what you want people to do with the information you’re providing: Do something, Think something or Feel something. And aim for a mix of these three types of posts to best engage people, which is, after all, the main benefit of social media.

Interested in learning more? Check out these resources:

• To hear more from Kivi at Nonprofit Marketing Guide.Com, follow her on Twitter @kivilm, check out the Facebook page, or see the Web site.
• NPower Seattle will be offering a new class on Social Networking for Building Community starting in February, 2010 (exact date to be announced soon). Keep an eye on our training calendar for details, or sign up for our newsletter for updates.

Wishing you Happy “Be”ing and much success with social media!

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.

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

Today I’m sending the final report summarizing the impact of NPower Seattle’s work on a 2-year project funded by a grant from the Greater Everett Community Foundation. The grant, which came from the Verizon/MCI merger Public Purpose Fund via GECF, enabled us to build partnerships with key influencer groups in the Bellingham and Wenatchee regions, and to provide quality technology training for nonprofit partners in these “underserved” areas.

Thanks go out to the whole team who made this work possible: Jaime Greene and Ann Jensen who proposed NPower’s participation three years ago, Jon Frank who managed the project and delivered training, Mike Anitas who stepped in to train the final workshops in Wenatchee this summer, Elaina Buzzell who administered Stable and Secure Scans with 11 participating organizations, Bridget O’Brien who managed registration, and our partners at the Whatcom Council of Nonprofits, the Opportunity Council, Chelan-Douglas Community Action Council, and the Community Foundation of North Central Washington who promoted the trainings.

We trust that our work on this grant will have a lasting impact. To quote the evaluation report prepared by MGS Consulting, “One of NPower’s goals is to increase the tech skills of nonprofits.  These trainings helped meet that goal and made an immediate positive difference to participating nonprofits.  In addition, all but one of the follow up survey respondents at both locations indicated that they believe the NPower training they participated in will continue to assist their organizations in the future.”

Finally, a big thank you to the Greater Everett Community Foundation for their support. We could not have accomplished this without the help of this grant!

We are happy to announce that we have hired a new Training Manager, Leah Ankeny, who will be joining the NPower Seattle staff on Monday, September 14. Leah has experience in both the for profit and nonprofit sectors, most recently at the Committee for Children in Seattle. She brings many talents to NPower including marketing, training and data analysis.

On another note, our trainer Jack DeLap has decided to return to school to finish his PhD.  Students and staff alike will miss Jack’s enthusiasm and knowledge. We are sorry to see Jack go, but excited for him as he begins a new chapter in his career.

Please join us in welcoming Leah and in saying goodbye to the soon to be Dr. DeLap.