SixDegrees.org and Online Fundraising - Recap of DC Net Tuesday

Last week I attended my first DC Net2 meetup. There were about 40 people who came to the meetup.

Katya Andersen of Network for Good gave a presentation about SixDegrees.org and online fundraising.

SixDegrees.org

Kevin Bacon purchased SixDegrees.org. He wanted to do something charitable with the website and he contacted Network for Good.

In January 2007, SixDegrees.org was launched. People can setup charity badges through SixDegrees.org to fundraise for causes/organizations they care about. There can be up to 5 charities listed on a badge and the organizations chosen must be listed in Guidestar.

Right now there is a contest on SixDegrees.org, which is being held through March 31st. The six badges with the most number of donations will receive a matching grant of up to $10,000.

Facts

• 15% gave to charities because of celebrities, 76% gave to charities because they were influenced by friends and family
• People stop giving to organizations because of how they were treated by the nonprofit
• 3,000 people have sixdegrees badges, 12% of badges have at least 1 donation
• 20% donate through Network for Good because they can be anonymous
  

Lessons Learned

• what attracts is celebrities, what motivates is personal
• contests are good
• give people tools to fundraise where they are online
• social networks are complex, one widget does not serve all

Other Information

• Chipin is a good fundraising widget because the destination is a thermometer and you don't have to be a nonprofit to use this
• Network for Good recently held a pilot version of the badges. Beth Kanter won that competition. Her campaign was a success and it showed that you needed to do something offline to help with online fundraising.
• It was suggested at the meetup that there should be mentors to help others with charity badges and serve as a resource.

Want more Information?

Check out Katya's blog at Katya's Nonprofit Marketing Blog.

Two others who attended the meetup wrote blog entries. Usha of Beaconfire Consulting wrote a great entry at sixdegrees.org at Net Tuesday meetup. Matt of EchoDitto wrote an entry at Useful Widgets.

Tagging in the Nonprofit Sector

After reading the recent entries on tagging on Beth's Blog , I started thinking more about nptech and tags being used in the nonprofit sector.

The nptech tag is by far the most popular tag being used in the nonprofit sector. It has grown so much over the 2 years. Another popular nonprofit related tag is net2, which is for NetSquared.

In addition to nptech and net2, there are other nonprofit related tags used.

The following tags I started using and others have began using as well:

• npblog
• npflickr
• npsl (nonprofit second life)
• npblogexchange
• nptag (nonprofit tagging)
• npyoutube
• npmashup
  

The tags below are used by a few people and suggested in the NPTagvocates Affinity Group:

• NPEnviro
• NPWorkDev
• NPSocialJustice
• NPol
• NPArts
• NPHealth
• NPYouth
• NPEdu
• NPDisasterRelief
• NPlegal
  

About a year ago, Jillaine began using tags. Her tags include the following:

• nonprofit_communications
• nonprofit_publication
• nonprofit_management
• npo_consultants
• nptech_advocacy

Heather of Aspiration has recently started using tags. She wrote an entry about the tags she uses at Tagging for Nonprofit Operations at her tags are found here. Listed below are tags she uses:

• npoaccounting
• npoboards
• npocommunications
• npoeducation
• npofinance
• npofundraising
• npohr
• npoleadership
• npolegal
• npooperations
• nporesearch
• nporiskmanagement
• npostartup
• npotraining

Pam of Nonprofit Eye recently wrote about the tags she is using at TAG YOU'RE IT: NON-PROFIT TAG SYSTEMS . Listed below are some of the tags she uses:

• NonProfit2.0
• NonprofitCompensation
• NonProfitCompliance
• NonProfitEthics
• NonProfitManagement
• NonProfitResearch
• NonProfitResources
• NonprofitSalary
• NonprofitStartup
• NPAccounting
• NPBlog
• NPBranding
• NPFinancialManagement
• NPLegislation
• NPMarketing
• NPResearch
• NPResource
  

Trends I am seeing:

• Tags are starting with either np, nonprofit, npo, or nonprofit_
• nptech is the most popular tag being used
• Common topics for tags include education, communications, legal, research, accounting

Since there are no rules for tagging, I suggest using whatever tags you want to organize your information. If you want your tags (or items being tagged) to be seen in the nonprofit sector, use nptech.

What other tags are being used across the nonprofit sector? Have I missed anything?

Thoughts about nptech tag - January 2007

I've written a few entries before about my thoughts about the nptech tag and how I use it. However, it has been awhile since I have posted this information.

The nptech tag started as an experiment around January 2005, which is when I began using the tag and began writing this blog.

Here is a list of the blog entries I wrote about the nptech tag in the first 6 months:

• nptech tag (Jan 2005)
• nptech tag experiment (Feb 2005)
• What I realized this week about the nptech tag experiment (Feb 2005)
• Participating in the nptech tag experiment (July 2005)

Looking back at my earlier postings, I see the nptech tag as a way I became involved in nonprofit technology and learning more about the field. Through my participation in the nptech tag, my involvement in nonprofit technology grew and led to new things.

What are my thoughts about the nptech tag in early 2007?

Since NetSquared started and the tag Net2 is used, I have been trying to figure out what the difference is between the two tags. Everything tagged net2 could easily be tagged nptech. However, not everything nptech could be tagged net2.

Alot has changed over the two years. The goal was to figure out what other tags people were using besides nptech. Eventually this was going to be a taxonomy. This is what I thought -

"I can see this experiment lead to a virtual library about nonprofit technology. Imagine a place where you can find news resources, pictures, and other media about nonprofit technology. That is what I hope to see. "

However, I don't think this is the direction the nptech tag is going in, which is fine since this was started as an experiment. I also don't think people are using other tags when tagging items with nptech. I know when I first started I went tag crazy and came up with maybe 10 tags for each bookmark. Now I just want to share the bookmark as fast as I can and just tag it with nptech.

I imagine others are doing this too. You find a resource to share with others in nonprofit technology/nonprofit sector and you tag it with nptech since many users use the tag.

I still think nptech needs to be promoted more, especially at nonprofits. I also wish there could be a way to find out who the users are.

Answers to Questions (from Beth's Blog)

1) How are you using the NpTech Tag?
I currently tag my bookmarks on del.icio.us using nptech.

2) Do you subscribe to the feed to find resources?
I used to, but unsubscribed because I decided I wasn't interested in the links. However, this might change in the near future and I might subscribe again.

3) Do you read the summaries?
I read them and sometimes click on the links.

4) Do you tag items with the NpTech as a form of promotion or outreach?
not really, I used nptech when I first started the nonprofit blog exchange to promote it

Predictions for 2007

Here are my predictions for 2007 related to technology and nonprofit technology:

• Nonprofits will spread the word about fundraising widgets to support their organization. This will result in more individuals adding fundraising widgets to their websites and blogs.
• More nonprofits and companies will be using Second Life.
• More nonprofits and other places will be posting videos either on YouTube or other websites.
• Nonprofits will begin to see results on social networking sites.

What are your predictions?

Nonprofit Technology Items of 2006

Blog Entries/Articles

• 10 Ways Nonprofits Can Use Blogs - If you are a nonprofit looking for ways to improve your blog or would like to start a blog, this list with examples of nonprofit blogs is one resource you should read. After I read this, I started looking at nonprofit blogs in a different way.
• Social Networking for Nonprofits - This entry I wrote brought up some discussion on NetSquared. It has information on how nonprofits can use groups, profiles, and blogs on MySpace. It also has links to nonprofits on MySpace.
• Thirteen Tips for Effective Tagging - This is a great resource about tagging and how to tag in del.icio.us.
• Ten Ways to Use Web 2.0 to Change the World -This list has information about blogging, Technorati, RSS, and tagging. This is very helpful for those new to using web 2.0 technologies.
• How to Pinpoint the Right Social Networking Tools for Your Nonprofit, and Get the Support and Budget to Put Them to Work - This post is from Getting Attention and was part of the Nonprofit Consultant Blog Carnival. It is a great resource because the bloggers listed each had something different to say about social networking for nonprofits.

Websites/Online Communities

• Affinity Groups at N-TEN - This new online community launched in May is a great place for people involved in nonprofit technology to connect with each other. As of now, there are over 1,000 members and 78 affinity groups you can join.
• TechSoup's Office on Second Life - TechSoup has a virtual office on SecondLife. They hold meetings there and have an e-mail list discussing nonprofits in SecondLife. This is something that began this year.
• NP Tagvocates - This is an affinity group on N-TEN that was formed after the NetSquared Conference. I think is a great resource because we are spreading the use of tags across the nonprofit sector.
• Tech Glossary Wiki - TechSoup created this wiki and it became public during their online event on wikis in November. It is a glossary of technology terms as it relates to nonprofits. I think this is one of the best items because anyone can sign up to be a part of this collaborative project and add and edit terms and definitions. This also seems to be one of the first technology glossaries for the nonprofit sector.

Images

• Logo Collage - I created this collage for the science fair at NTC last year, even though I did not attend. I had so much fun making this in PhotoShop and I was really impressed with how it turned out.
• A Snapshot from the TechSoup Office on Second Life - A picture of some of us in SL wearing our TechSoup shirts.

Miscellaneous

• NetSquared Conference - I think this was one of the best items of this year. I know I gained lots of new knowledge by participating remotely. This conference led to new things in the nonprofit technology world.
• Idealware: Getting Started with Blogging Software - Are you new to blogging and interested in learning about different blogging tools? This report from Idealware has lots of information about blogging tools. The link above lets you download the report from Idealware. Techsoup also posted an article about the tools that were reviewed in the report at Seven Blogging Tools Reviewed.
• The Young and the Generous - A report by Network for Good - This is a very informative study by Network for Good about the growing trend of online charitable giving. Not only was this interesting to read, but lots of bloggers wrote about this study. The link above is to the website to download the report. If you are interested in reading a summary, check out my post here.
• Network for Good Charity Badges - These badges were just introduced in December. People can search for charities on Network for Good to support and raise money for them by placing the badge on their website or blog. This is a great new way for nonprofits to recieve donations.

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