Conmergence

2008 Fiber To The Home Conference & Expo September 21 - 25, 2008 Gaylord Opryland® Resort & Convention Center, Nashville, TN

<ed.note>The conference's theme is "Linking Communities at the Speed of Light" but more intriguing to me is the the scheduled appearance of Don Tapscott (The Naked Corporation: How the Age of Transparency Will Revolutionize Business, Digital Capital: Harnessing the Power of Business Webs, Creating Value in the Networked Economy, Blueprint to the Digital Economy: Creating Wealth in the Era of E-Business, Growing Up Digital: The Rise of the Net Generation, The Digital Economy: Promise and Peril in the Age of Networked Intelligence, Who Knows: Safeguarding Your Privacy in a Networked World, Paradigm Shift: The New Promise of Information Technology)  adreessing his latest work, Wikinomics How Mass Collaboration Changes Everything. Implicit in Tapscott's writings is management's buy-in of the distrubuted digital enterprise-enabled results-only collaborative work environment. If you happen to be one of those creatures (especially if you are from Nashville), I invite you to join the Linkedin.com Project Net-Work group and Technology Nashville.</ed.note>

Sunday, September 21, 2008
1:00 p.m. - 5:00 p.m.	Registration Opens
Monday, September 22, 2008
7:00 a.m. - 5:00 p.m.	Registration Opens
8:00 a.m. - 1:00 p.m.	Developer Panel Workshop  *Additional fee*
8:00 a.m. - 1:00 p.m.	Home Networking Workshop  *Additional fee*
1:00 p.m. - 1:45 p.m.	Track Session - Series 100  *Conference Pass and Day Pass attendees only*
1:00 p.m. - 1:45 p.m.	FTTH Executive Summit *By invitation only* Moderated by: Don Tapscott, Author
2:00 p.m. - 2:45 p.m.	Track Session Series 200  *Conference Pass and Day Pass attendees only*
3:00 p.m. - 7:00 p.m.	EXPO Grand Opening & Opening Reception *Open to all registered attendees*
Tuesday, September 23, 2008
7:00 a.m. - 5:00 p.m.	Registration Opens
7:00 a.m. - 8:00 a.m.	Continental Breakfast *Conference Pass and Day Pass attendees only*
8:00 a.m. - 10:00 a.m.	Opening General Session    *Conference Pass and Day Pass attendees only* Keynote Speaker - Don Tapscott, Author Wikinomics: How Mass Collaboration Changes Everything Sponsored by: FTTH Council Awards Sponsored by: FTTxcellence Awards Sponsored by:
10:00 a.m. - 10:15 a.m.	Refreshment Break    *Conference Pass and Day Pass attendees only*
10:15 a.m. - 11:30 a.m.	Global Carrier Keynote Panel   *Conference Pass and Day Pass attendees only*
11:30 a.m. - 3:30 p.m.	EXPO Hall Opens   *Open to all registered attendees*
12:00 noon - 2:00 p.m.	Luncheon in EXPO Hall  *Open to all registered attendees*
3:15 p.m. - 4:45 p.m.	ITCo Panel  *Conference Pass attendees only*
3:15 p.m. - 4:00 p.m.	Track Session Series 300  *Conference Pass and Day Pass attendees only*
4:15 p.m. - 4:45 p.m.	Track Session Series 400   *Conference Pass and Day Pass attendees only*
5:00 p.m. - 5:45 p.m.	Track Session Series 500   *Conference Pass and Day Pass attendees only*
6:00 p.m. - 8:00 p.m.	International attendee Reception   *By invitation only*
Wednesday, September 24, 2008
7:00 a.m. - 4:00 p.m.	Registration Open
7:00 a.m. - 8:00 a.m.	Continental Breakfast  *Conference Pass and Day Pass attendees only*
8:00 a.m. - 9:00 a.m.	Government and Regulatory Panel
8:00 a.m. - 8:45 a.m.	Track Session Series 600  *Conference Pass and Day Pass attendees only*
9:00 a.m. - 9:45 a.m.	Track Session Series 700  *Conference Pass and Day Pass attendees only*
9:45 a.m. - 10:00 a.m.	Refreshment Break  *Conference Pass and Day Pass attendees only*
10:00 a.m. - 10:45 a.m.	Track Session Series 800  *Conference Pass and Day Pass attendees only*
11:00 a.m. - 12:15 a.m.	Panel Session Series 900  *Conference Pass and Day Pass attendees only*
12:15 p.m. - 1:00 p.m.	On Own for Lunch
1:00 p.m. - 4:00 p.m.	EXPO Hall Opens
4:15 p.m. - 5:45 p.m.	Closing General Session with Keynote Speaker  *Conference Pass and Day Pass attendees only*
7:00 p.m. - 10:00 p.m.	EXTRAVAGANZA - Closing Reception with Entertainment *Additional fee* "Don't forget your dancing boots!"
Thursday, September 25, 2008
8:00 a.m. - 4:00 p.m.	Post Conference Workshops

The Bottom Line for Nonprofit News [Updated]

<ed.note>Miller-McCune has launched a print magazine which had an interesting article concerning shifts in journalism. Since CNN has begun soliciting viewer contributions as part of their news gathering model, it seems the distributed reporting paradigm (a la IndyMedia, OhMyNews, Wikipedia) is growing.</ed.note>

Ryan Blitstein is a freelance journalist based in Chicago and a Miller-McCune contributing editor. As a staff writer at the San Jose Mercury News, SF Weekly and Red Herring, he covered everything from spray-can artists…

Across America, nonprofit Web sites are trying to keep public interest journalism alive at the local level. But to provide what print newspapers increasingly do not, these digitized nonprofits must overcome the challenge facing every startup: Eventually, they have to break even.

<ed.note>BTW, if you're a follower of this meme you may be interested in the Open Journalism networking group I've just set up on Linkedin.com promoting distributed and open news.</ed.note>

NOSI's Survey of FOSS use in the nonprofit sector

Michelle Murrain posts:

We've finalized the report on the survey we did early last month. There are some interesting results, and it is worth a read. The summary:

Our sampling wasn't sufficient to allow us to draw firm conclusions about software choices in the nonprofit sector as a whole, but our responses did come from a broad range of organizations. These groups are diverse both in size, mission and their use of free and open source software, and it is clear from their responses that FOSS is actively used in the nonprofit sector. FOSS is common on web servers, and while FOSS desktop operating systems are still uncommon, many nonprofits use free and open source applications on proprietary desktop operating systems. Many people in the sector use FOSS everyday, or at least quite frequently. Nonprofits do have a clear understanding of the strengths of FOSS, and at least some organizations have made organizational commitments to open source and open standards.

Read it here.

Please take the NOSI survey on the use of FOSS inthe nonprofit sector

Greetings!

The Nonprofit Open Source Initiative (NOSI) is very interested in the use of free and open source software in the nonprofit sector. We want to understand better how FOSS is used, what people's attitudes are towards it, and what resources are necessary for organizations to choose and use FOSS.

This is the first of an annual survey, so we can understand and track trends of the use of FOSS in the sector, and so we can strategize how best to meet the needs of the sector. We'll be releasing a report next month with the results of the survey.

It will take about 5-10 minutes to fill out. We'd very much appreciate your time! Please take it no matter what the level of use of open source software is in your organization - data on as wide a range of organizations will be helpful to us.

Please encourage your colleagues and clients to take this survey as well.

The survey is here.

Thanks again!

Peace,
Michelle Murrain
Coordinator, Nonprofit Open Source Initiative

UCP Mid TN Resolution Run 5K Run Walk or Roll, New Year’s Day, Tuesday, January 1, 2008, Nashville, Tennessee

Proceeds benefit programs and services of United Cerebral Palsy of Middle Tennessee, including the Durable Medical and Adaptive Equipment Exchange, providing equipment such as wheelchairs, walkers and other essential items for individuals with disabilities.

Online Registration Closes - 12/29/08 10:00 AM

Starts at Hilton Park across from Gaylord Entertainment Center
8:30 a.m. On-Site Registration
10:00 a.m. Race Begins

Address:
222 5th Avenue South
Nashville, TN 37203

Brief Description:
Resolution Run 2008 5K Run, Walk or Roll on New Year's Day. Race begins at 10:00 am in downtown Nashville on Demonbreun St. between 3rd and 4th Ave. So. Race day registration and packet pick-up begins at 8:30 am at Hall of Fame Park next to the Hilton Hotel at Demonbreun & 5th.

Additional Information:
Race Day Registration - Individual $25.00 Family of 3 - $65.00 5K Certified Course # TN03018DJR Course includes downtown Nashville, the Titan's Stadium and the Shelby St. Pedestrian Bridge. Start and finish will be on Demonbreun St. adjacent to Hilton Park and the Country Music Hall of Fame.

Prices:
5K Run/Walk/Roll - Individual - $20.00
5K Run/Walk/Roll - Family of 3 - $50.00

Download Race Registration Form

Download High School/College Team Registration Form

Download Sponsorship Information

Download Course map

Download Brochure

Council of Foundations Disaster Preparedness and Recovery Plan

here.

Blogs a Radical Tool for Disability Community

<ed.note>A decade or so after the interweb becomes popular with the public it is discovered by "Big Advocacy". Let's see how long before they "discover" other centralizing data tools like community enabling content management, wikis and standardized financial metadata, taxonomies, etc. ( vs. "recommendations and principles" ) for NGO/NPO data interoperability purposes... A boy can dream. Of course, that's not to say that the corporate world "gets" this "meaningful data over a distributed, digital enterprise" approach, either. You oughtta ask yourself: "If it is true that 96% of firms fail within ten years, what are the 4 percent doing differently?"</ed.note>

"Expanding Africa’s Broadband Capacity", Connect Africa Summit in Kigali, 29-30 October 2007

Where: Kigali, Rwanda

Why: The main goal of the Summit is to help bring connectivity to Africa and promote "Connect Africa", a new partnership that seeks to expand the information and communication technology infrastructure of the continent, especially Internet broadband.

Who: Some 500 participants are expected to attend the Connect Africa Summit. Participants include the patrons of the initiative, Rwanda’s President Paul Kagame and Ghana’s President John Kufuor, who is also the African Union Chairman. High-level participants include International Telecommunication Union Secretary-General Hamadoun Touré; President of the African Development Bank Donald Kaberuka; and Intel Corporation Chairman Craig Barrett, who is also the Chair of the UN Global Alliance for ICT and Development. Robert Zoellick, President of the World Bank Group, will make a contribution by video link. The Presidents of several African nations are expected to participate.

The event will bring together political leaders, including Ministers and Heads of State, CEOs and senior executives of global and African IT companies, leaders from civil society and heads of international and regional development banks. Industry leaders including Cisco, GSM Association, Ericsson, Huawei, British Telecom, Qualcomm, NTT DoCoMo, Neustar, Safaricom, Nokia-Siemens and Microsoft will attend and announce new initiatives to help bring connectivity to Africa.

The Summit sessions are designed for television to encourage interactive participation and key sessions will be moderated by Stephen Cole, a renowned TV anchor with Al Jazeera International. The event’s press conferences will be webcast live, and time slots for telephone interviews with prominent participants will be allocated for those journalists who cannot attend.

The event is organized by the International Telecommunication Union, the African Union, the World Bank Group and the Global Alliance for ICT and Development, in partnership with the African Development Bank, the African Telecommunication Union, the UN Economic Commission for Africa, and the Global Digital Solidarity Fund.

For further information, click here or contact:

Sanjay Acharya
Chief, Media Relations and Public Information
ITU
Tel: +41 22 730 5046
Mobile: +41 79 249 4861
Fax: +41 22 730 5939
E-mail

Contact: in New York Enrica Murmura, Tel: +1 212 963-5913, E-mail murmura@un.org; in Washington, DC Henny Rahardja, Tel. +1 202 473 4857, E-mail HRahardja@worldbank.org; in Tunis, Emmanuel K. Ngwainmbi, Tel: +216 71 10 26 27, E-mail e.ngwainmbi@afdb.org.

About ITU

Venture Capital Consolidates

<ed.note>"One of my major themes ... is that once one buys the premise of the distributed, digital enterprise there is really only one business domain – data. Every distinction people perceive is imposed by legal contrivance, legacy tradition and personal interest." My wife now knows this Doddsism by its shorthand, the "One Big Database Rule" -- to wit, given a particular sector's sufficient adoption of IT, it will consolidate. This is why, as an overgeneralization, NPOs/NGOs persist in "hating" the adoption of industry-wide data standards, etc. -- it threatens their practice of hiring folks trying to make it out of bad situations -- since these folks perform tasks which are often the easiest to automate. It also threatens the salaries of around 1.5 million executive directors in the US alone ( who, more often then you might think, are fairly well compensated ) .

At the opposite end of the spectrum, Subcontract.com, an hr-xml demo site, is one of my favorite portents of the "Rule" as it affects IT professional staffing. Subcontract listed 6,103 vendor members before it went dark. That's six thousand global vendor selling essentially the same professional staffing services and supporting executives, boards of directors, facilities, etc. for a sector which is essentially "one big database" of automated job and candidate matching ( which is what hr-xml standards strive to enable ). The actual bottleneck in this process is the refusal of the service purchaser to adopt extensively detailed, standardized ( hr-xml flavored ) job descriptions; I refer to the difficulties caused in IT by the persistant refusal of purchasers to adopt streamling technologies as the business case for the need for a "Microsoft Certified Client" designation ( or insert your favorite vendor alliance program token here ) so that IT vendors industry-wide can know who the most efficient onboarding clients are without having to relive the SOP nightmares.

In parallel, the speed which often occurs with open source software development is, in part, because it eliminates the unnecessary corporate hierarchy, retaining only its online "code repository" function ( cvs, subversion, etc. ). A wiki full of task assignments, agreed upon deliverables and dates, and an occasional conference call or face to face -- and Robert's your Relative. If you haven't had a chance to listen thru other related implications of the "Rule" in the Tofflers' latest, "Revolutionary Wealth," I'd strongly advise you to do so...soon.</ed.note>

Matthew McCall on AlwaysOn Points to OVP's Charting the Course

So, we focus on a different metric. We look at the number of firms that have made a new investment in the last 12 months. To us, if you have not found at least one new deal in that time, there is a high probability you have indeed been "shaken-out" and are simply playing out the cards in their hand.

In 2000, there were 1156 different venture firms that made at least one new deal. In 2006, there were only 597. This is more like a 50% drop, not just 15%! We think that is the big, so far unwritten, story. The US venture industry has been cut in half. That certainly qualifies as a major shake-out.

New FOSS certification for non profit sector

Chris Bailey, UK ICT Hub FOSS in the VCS project, writes:

As part of the work for the UK ICT Hub's FOSS in the Voluntary and Community Sector (VCS) project we are developing a new certification for FOSS use by not for profits, Free and Open Source Knowledge (FOSK). We are doing this in partnership with the Linux Professional Institute

(LPI) whose certification for Linux system administrators has world wide recognition.

We want to fill an important gap by developing a non-technical certification for anyone who is "responsible for recommending and/or choosing FOSS solutions for an organization". Though the new certification is initially being designed for the UK VCS there are plans for it to be beta tested in the USA and Germany too as a step towards establishing it internationally. A FOSK certified individual will have an understanding of the Linux and FOSS environments and knowledge of the solutions available in the FOSS world together with an understanding of the issues involved in their implementation in the VCS.

We are now in the final stages of recruiting 12 Subject Matter Experts (SME) internationally who have been chosen for having a good cross section of skills and knowledge concerning FOSS use in the not for profit sector. This SME team will begin work early next week.

Interestingly it will have a majority of women on it. We think this can be a certification that will get away from the "male geek" image FOSS often still has in some quarters and encourage more women to take part in FOSS development (the figures are awfully low at the moment).

The syllabus for the certification will form the basis for FOSS trainings for the UK VCS early next year. Accessibility issues concerning FOSS use will be an important part of both the certification and the trainings.

Details of the new certification and a timeline for it's development are now in a wiki at:

https://group.lpi.org/publicwiki/bin/view/Examdev/FOSK

We want to involve the widest number of people from the not for profit sector in developing the certification, so we very much welcome comments and suggestions through the wiki at all stages of development of the certification, which we plan to launch on January 1st, 2008.

Registration on the wiki is open to all.

ChurchInfo

Rob Mitchell ( http://nakedchurch.wordpress.com ) writes:

I'm helping to do documentation on the ChurchInfo project. It's still early in its development and needs some other functionalities, but it's a great start. I wrote a doc on installing ChurchInfo on an Ubuntu LAMP server from bare metal to using the app, including the installation of some support tools. This is a PDF available on the ChurchInfo web site.

ChurchInfo has some really neat functionality -- basically it allows you to enter families, individuals, and organize them into groups and add roles. You can upload photos for families and individuals, and it ties in with GoogleMaps API to show geographic coordinates. You can create groups and organize people therein.

Another plus is that the database schema is extensible from within the application. Michael Wilt, who wrote ChurchInfo, is from a church polity that has basically active and inactive members, and that's the default. In my tradition (Presbyterian) we have several classes of members: communicant, non-communicant, baptized, non-baptized (these last are the kids of member families), active and inactive, and the ChurchInfo interface allows you to add new membership classifications as you desire.

Similarly there are a couple of group classifications built in, but you can add new types of groups and roles to suit your own organizational structure, and this can grow over time as you dictate.

ChurchInfo is 100% open source -- it uses PHP middleware to sit between the Apache server and the MySQL database back end. You can install it on Windows if you must, but it's ideally suited for Linux.

If you don't want to use an in-house server, it is straightforward to install on your ISP, provided it's got PHP and MySQL available.

I recommend having PHPMyAdmin as a support tool. This will allow you an easy-to-use method of doing database backups (with PHPMyAdmin you can download the database to a text file already in SQL query format, that will re-create the database schema and populate it.)

The financial portion of Churchinfo allows you to track pledges and contributions, and will print out a report or output to a delimited text file. The latter is probably preferable, as it will allow you to customize a document in your spreadsheet program. I don't remember if it allows you to designate funds to different accounts or campaigns, one of the functions I'd like to see.

Future enhancements should include a calendar module (there are presently hooks to work with WebCalendar, a PHP project) and an event scheduler, which should include a facility/resource scheduler as well. If you have a good email/workgroup package already that should suffice for you and doesn't need to be part of your church management system, though being able to tie groups and members and roles together with schedules is helpful.

Bottom line, ChurchInfo is a pretty good little package. It still lacks some of the functionalities of the big commercial packages, but for a free app, it rocks. ...Please consider giving it a try -- it will cost you nothing. It's not a full-featured Swiss Army Knife like some commercial packages, but if all you need are the awl, corkscrew, and a couple of regular cutting blades, it just might work for you.

Managing Virtual Distance - Driving Business Transformation through Distributed Work, November 14-16, 2007

The Disneyland Hotel • Anaheim, CA

THE One, THE Only Conference Focused on Strategies, Teams, Tools & Beyond in the Virtual Workplace
ANNOUNCING INAUGURAL CONFERENCE ON MANAGING VIRTUAL DISTANCE

• IDENTIFY, MANAGE & MEASURE virtual distance
• Break through language barriers & manage MULTI-CULTURAL ENVIRONMENTS
• Harness virtual KNOWLEDGE MANAGEMENT
• Believe the unbelievable & witness the power of VIRTUAL WORLDS technology
• Transform business norms & cause cultural shifts in the way people work through SOCIAL NETWORKING
• Implement new millennium strategies that change the way we think about INNOVATION in a corporate context
• Manage, Train & Measure Productivity of the REMOTE EMPLOYEE
• Identify SECURITY CHALLENGES introduced by the transition into Web 2.0 and Web 3.0

To Register:
E-mail register@iirusa.com
Call 888.670.8200
Fax 941.365.2507 
Visit http://www.iirusa.com/virtual

The New World of Work
Daniel W. Rasmus
Director of Information Work Vision – MICROSOFT

Virtual Distance Under High-Stress
Honorable Jerry MacArthur Hultin
President – POLYTECHNIC UNIVERSITY & FORMER UNDER SECRETARY OF THE U.S. NAVY

Global Projects vs. Traditional Projects
Karan Sorensen
Chief Information Officer – JOHNSON & JOHNSON PHARMACEUTICAL R&D

Legal Issues & IP Protection
Michael S. Mensik
Partner – BAKER & MCKENZIE

Virtual Worlds Technology
Philip Rosedale
Founder & CEO – LINDEN LABS

Secrets of High-Performance Distributed Teams
Cynthia C. Froggatt
Author of “Work Naked: Eight Essential Principles for Peak Performance in the Virtual Workplace”

Leadership in the Digital Age
Charles H. House
Executive Director – STANFORD UNIVERSITY, MEDIA X LAB

A Perspective From Corporate Resources
Ann Bamesberger
Vice President of Open Work Services – SUN MICROSYSTEMS

More here.

Survey on Adoption of Open Source Software in Non-profit Organisations

This online survey is being conducted for research at Napier University in Edinburgh. The aim of the survey is to investigate the factors influencing the adoption of open source software in non-profit organisations. Open source software is free software which can be downloaded from the Internet, often written by volunteers. It is made available with the source code (the original text form of the program) so that anyone can modify it for their own purposes. Examples include the Linux operating system and the Apache web server. In some areas open source software dominates – Apache has around 80% of the web server market for example. In other areas open source software has had less impact and commercial products still dominate, for instance word processing.

You do not need to be a user of open source software to take part in this survey – there are general questions on software use and views on software issues. Your views are valuable whether or not you use open source software: this will give a balanced view of the factors affecting decisions on whether or not to use open source software.

Your answers will be treated confidentially and will not be passed on to anyone else, and the name of your organisation will not appear in the results. Data will only be used for research purposes. Any questions you cannot answer, leave. This is not a test, the aim is to get your opinions, just answer as many questions as you can.

If you have any queries about this survey, please contact Guoli Zhang, email: g.zhang@napier.ac.uk or napier2020@yahoo.co.uk

eAdvocacy Jamboree July 17-20 Oakland, California

Aspiration invites you to join us July 17-20 for this year's eAdvocacy Jamboree, taking place at Preservation Park in Oakland, California.  The Jamboree will be a creative, interactive opportunity to discuss and learn about what others are doing with online campaigning and advocacy tools. We'll bring online campaigners and organizers together with developers of eAdvocacy tools and platforms for a fast-paced and far-reaching peer-to-peer skillsharing event. The participant-driven agenda will feature rich dialog and fun learning sessions.

The main event will run July 18-20, with a pre-day of eAdvocacy trainings on July 17 for those wanting to ramp up their eAdvocacy skills.

You can Register Now! And please let others know about the Jamboree! Complete details are at http://aspirationtech.org/events/eadvocacyjamboree.

The current agenda is online, and we welcome feedback and additions! We're continuing to expand the format this year, and will have several interleaved tracks:
Training Fest: A full day of in-depth trainings will be offered on Tuesday the 17th, before the main Jamboree, on a range of topics including eAdvocacy 101, Web 2.0 Tools and Tactics, eAdvocacy Best Practices, Strategic Blogging, Intro and Advanced Sessions on Democracy in Action, Drupal, CiviCRM, Non-Profit Soapbox, and Joomla.

Interactive Track: participants will be able to workshop their current campaigns with facilitators and other participants, participate in peer web site reviews, brainstorm new campaign ideas, and engage in skillshares on any topic they want to discuss. Spectators will be few and far between!

Strategy Track - Tools, Tactics and Best Practices: eOrganizers and eAdvocacy practitioners from a broad base of causes and sectors will talk about what they've got in their toolboxes and the tactics and strategies they're currently employing. Sessions will consider the challenges of messaging and maintaining supporter bases across campaigns. A particular focus will be on developing best practices in eCampaiging process and engagement models. Participants will also how they're using emerging web 2.0 and other technologies to augment their eAdvocacy efforts. User/Developer sessions will allow stakeholders across the eAdvocacy landscape to discuss how we can all work together more effectively.

Developer Track - Open Source eAdvocacy Platforms: Where are we, what's new, and how will it all interoperate? We'll continue the dialog from past AdvocacyDev convergences and look for more opportunities to write tools that make life easier for campaigners and organizers. Latest releases of all relevant platforms will be demo'd and compared, and participants will be invited to drink from the fountain of cool technology Koolaid.

eAdvocacy Capacity Track - Addressing the Challenge: The most consistently vexing problem in the eAdvocacy space is how to develop more capacity. Campaigns and causes go wanting for able staff and consultants who could help them craft and execute appropriate online campaigns and strategies. This track will map what's already being done in terms of training and documentation, while opening up the floor for discussion on how better to scale eAdvocacy communities of practice and pool various documentation resources.

As always, your input will dramatically shape what happens at the event, and we actively encourage you to let us know about sessions you'd like to see on the agenda.

For more information, contact eadvocacy@aspirationtech.org or call 1.415.839.6456.

Event partners working with Aspiration to design the agenda and sessions include Blue Oxen Associates, Caltha.pl (Warsaw, Poland), Change.org, CiviCRM, CivicSpace, DemocracyInAction, Drupal, Joomla!, MobileVoter, New Organizing Institute, Non-Profit Soapbox/PICnet, Protest.net, and Radical Designs. More partners are being added, and we welcome more involvement!

Please let us know of questions, and we hope to see you there!

Allen Gunn
Executive Director, Aspiration
+1.415.216.7252
www.aspirationtech.org
Aspiration
"Better Tools for a Better World"

Let's Talk: How Open APIs Can Change How Nonprofits Manage Data

Nonprofits are challenged by managing their data effectively on a daily basis. This is hampering their work, making processes redundant and cumbersome, and adding precious time and costs to their operations – money and time better spent on services and programs.

APIs provide ways to more easily share data between applications. Open APIs also have the potential to bring data together in ways that create new ways of displaying information – such as bringing fundraising data to a content management system or blog, or by coupling geographic data with maps from Google.

In this paper, NTEN

• Explains what open APIs are conceptually
• Describes the technology behind APIs looks
• Gives several concrete examples of how APIs are used
• Delves into some issues to think about as you consider using these technologies in your organization

Tides Foundation Pizzigati Prize

Katrin Verclas writes:

NTENnies, Riders, and any and all open source developers!

Good deeds do get rewarded. 

If you know someone who’s been toiling in the open source vineyards, developing software that’s really helping a nonprofit succeed, check out the Tides Foundation Pizzigati Prize, a $10,000 annual award for outstanding contributions to software in the public interest.

The application deadline for this year’s prize: August 1. Find out more — and apply online — at www.pizzigatiprize.org.

Disclosure: I am on the advisory committee.

One special note: Last year’s inaugural Pizzigati Prize competition drew nominations from a variety of nationally recognizable open source talents. But you don’t have to have done work for a top-tier national nonprofit to be considered for Pizzigati Prize honors.

“We’re looking for people whose software is making a difference,” says Jason Sanders, the Tides Foundation philanthropic advisor who coordinates the Pizzigati Prize, “and that difference can be in any sized community.”

Indeed.  So apply, forward, spread the word. 

Thanks, and have a great weekend!

Katrin

--
Katrin Verclas
Executive Director
NTEN: The Nonprofit Technology Network
www.nten.org

katrin@nten.org
415 397 9000 ext 302 (new number!)
413 687 9877 mobile
skype: katrinskaya

Because People who Change the World need the Tools to do it.
Become a member now:  www.nten.org/join

Chris Bailey, East of England, on the use and funding of Free and Open Source Software (FOSS) in the UK Voluntary and Community Sector

here.

NPOs Wearing SOX [ was: SUN Shine ]

<ed.note>I found this article about Sarbanes-Oxley's application to NPOs via one of Deborah Elizabeth Finn's Forums. That's right, folks, I told you the pressure for the application of these kind of disclosure regulation to NPOs [ in this case, their agent ] was likely coming. [1][2] Ironically, businesses in the for-profit sector are pushing back on these regs. If only there was a technology which could be utilized for basic disclosure challenges -- say, xbrl -- or as it is known by its nifty marketing name - "interactive data".</ed.note>

People First of TN & TN Microboards Association Microconference

<ed.note>Lorre Leon Mendelson wrote recently: "I am so glad you asked what microboards are!! Microboards began in Canada and were started in Tennessee by our Executive Director, Ruthie Beckwith, Ph.D. in 2000. A microboard is formed around an individual with a disability allowing the person to direct their own services with the support of family and allies on their board of directors. I am enclosing a recent article written about us by the Amputee Coalition of America and the website address for the TMA. ...Please feel free to contact Ruthie Beckwith at 615/812-4171 for more information."</ed.note>

Flyer

Schedule

WHO: People with disabilities, family members and friends, allies and interested others in microboards and self-determination

WHEN: Friday-Sunday March 16, 17, 18, 2007

WHERE: Holiday Inn, Murfreesboro, TN

WHAT: Conference for people interested in self-determination, microboards, home ownership, fundraising, College of Direct Supports, community activities and more!

HOW: To register and learn more about the conference, contact Leanne Boyce, (615) 898-0075 or PFTENNMURF@aol.com.

Contacts: Leanne Boyce, Director of People First of TN at (615) 898-0075 or PFTENNMURF@aol.com
Dr. Ruthie Beckwith, Executive Director of the TN Microboards Association at 615/812-4171 or empfanatic@aol.com

Nonprofit Sector Non-Self-Regulation

<ed.note>Still no mention of xml or xbrl or universal charts of account. The appearance of transparency without the power of it. No apples to apples peer comparisons to determine which programs are efficient or wasteful. According to ModernHealthcare: "An Internal Revenue Service inquiry into not-for-profits’ executive compensation found widespread disclosure errors and raised “considerable concern” about loans to directors, officers and key employees, according to a summary of the findings. Of the roughly 1,200 tax-exempt organizations initially surveyed by IRS, including hospitals and health systems, more than 30% were required to amend annual IRS filings, the Form 990. The initiative, under way since 2004, included a second wave of closer examinations for 782 tax-exempt organizations, which resulted in proposed penalties totaling more than $21 million against 40 individuals or not-for-profit subsidiaries for excessive compensation or failure to properly report pay, largely among private foundations. Of the second raft of examinations, 10% remain open."</ed.note>

On 2/28/07, Panel on the Nonprofit Sector <info@nonprofitpanel.org> wrote:

Read the second draft of the principles on self-regulation.

We are pleased to report that the Panel has posted on its website the second draft of the principles for effective practices developed by its Advisory Committee on Self-Regulation. It is now seeking comments on the second draft from a broad audience.

Nearly a year ago, the Panel on the Nonprofit Sector appointed a special Advisory Committee on Self-Regulation to assist in developing recommendations for strengthening the self-regulation of charitable organizations. Last month the Panel called for comments on the initial draft of the principles, which the Advisory Committee created after examining more than 50 self-regulation and accreditation systems that monitor different types of charitable organizations. Members of the nonprofit community responded with more than 125 comments, and the committee and the Panel utilized them extensively as they revised the principles.

Because of the value of the those earlier suggestions, the committee now invites you and others in our community to comment on the second draft of the principles, which are posted on the Panel's website. The committee will be considering all comments submitted by March 30, 2007, before making its final recommendations to the Panel. The Panel will consider the committee's proposals and issue its report on strengthening self-regulation in the nonprofit community in late Spring 2007.

We look forward to hearing from the many voices in the field commited to improving practice in the nonprofit community.

Sincerely,
Diana Aviv
Executive Director, Panel on the Nonprofit Sector
President and CEO, Independent Sector
Panel on the Nonprofit Sector, 1200 Eighteenth Street, NW, Suite 200
Washington, DC 20036 | 202-467-6120 phone | 202-467-6101 fax
www.NonprofitPanel.org

Megacommunity and Malaria

podcast, transcript, video here.

2007 Nonprofit Software Development Summit

The 2007 Nonprofit Software Development Summit will be a first-of-its-kind convening to bring together the range of developers, technologists, managers, eRiders, integrators, users and other practitioners who self-identify under the umbrella of "nonprofit software development". The event will provide an opportunity both to gather as a community and to take stock of the field, while building connections and capacity.

Event partners working with Aspiration to design the agenda and sessions include Blue Oxen Associates, Brattleboro Technology Collective, CivicSpace, CiviCRM, DotOrganize, Drupal, Floatleft, Full Throttle, Fund for the City of New York, Idealware, Nonprofit Open Source Initiative (NOSI), ONE/Northwest, OpenID, PICnet, Project Zero, Radical Designs, Salesforce.com Foundation and Zac Mutrux Consulting. More partners are being added every day, and we welcome your involvement in the planning!

The Summit will be hosted in the Oakland, California from February 21st to 23rd, 2007. Additional code sprints and collaborations will be scheduled in the 2 days following the event.

The Summit will have as its primary goals the following:

* To convene and strengthen connections between the networks of stakeholders in the nonprofit software spectrum, providing a fun and creative environment for celebrating successes and leadership in the field.

* To share skills and knowledge in a highly collaborative, peer-to-peer fashion.

* To map and discuss what is available and what is missing across the nonprofit software landscape in specific software "verticals", and to posit solutions for addressing the gaps.

* To offer a point of entry for software developers interested in offering their skills to nonprofit sector.

The agenda will take a concrete and hands-on approach to topics and challenges, focusing on transferring skills and process knowledge in interactive and fun ways. Panels and slideware will be in short supply, supplanted by participant-driven collaborations and small-group formats.

Complete details including a preliminary agenda and background can be found at

http://aspirationtech.org/events/devsummit, and you are welcome to add your agenda thoughts to the event wiki at http://devsummit.aspirationtech.org

Three Massachusetts Communities Chosen To Be Test Cases For Digital Health Records

March 29, 2005 By Marianne Kolbasuk McGee, InformationWeek

Backed by $50 million from a health insurer, the multiyear project will test whether digital health records can cut errors and costs in the real world.

Three Massachusetts communities have been chosen as pilot sites for an electronic-health-record project that could serve as the model for statewide adoption of digitized medical-record systems.

... Within each community, health-care providers--including acute-care hospitals or group hospitals, physician practices, long-term care facilities, nursing and home health-care agencies, and community health centers--will implement interoperable E-health records systems.

Online Technology for Social Change: From Struggle to Strategy

By conducting surveys and interviews over a nine-month period, the dotOrganize team has charted the state of online technology in the social change sector.

This report compiles insights from more than 400 social change groups, technology providers, and nonprofit technology capacity builders, examining the needs of organizers working to utilize new technologies, and offering recommendations for how to meet those needs more effectively.

While organizers have begun to harness some of the Web’s amazing power over the past five years, our research shows that they are still struggling in their effort to make use of new and emerging technologies.

They’re excited about the possibilities, but are unable to take advantage of them. Regardless of size and financial situation, they feel strapped for time, money, and know-how. They feel that their software lacks the features they need, that they lack the training and support to use the software, and they’re frustrated by the lack of integration between tools.

As a sector, we can make this situation better.

This report investigates ways to respond to these obstacles with enduring, community-driven solutions.

UK Nonprofit Ubuntu Linux Test

As part of the East of England Free and Open Source Software (FOSS) in the Voluntary and Community Sector (VCS) project, funded by the UK government's ChangeUp programme, 10 desktop computers using Ubuntu Linux were distributed to non profit organisations in the East of England Region for testing and evaluation. The resulting feedback by the organisations involved has now been published online and is available on the project's website at http://foss.ciac.org.uk .

The East of England FOSS project was last week awarded the first "Open Technology Gold Award for the VCS" by the national FOSS in the VCS project. The award was presented by Nicola Thompson, Head of the National ICT Hub for the VCS at the ICT Hub East of England Regional Conference.

Chris Bailey
East of England FOSS in the VCS project

Plone Conference 2006 Sessions Announced: Strong Focus on Nonprofits

One of the cool things that happens when a nonprofit technology assistance provider organizes a major open-source software conference is that the conference sessions tend to become extremely relevant to nonprofits. That's why I'm really pleased to announce the full slate of Plone Conference 2006 sessions to the world this week!

Online registration is $250 -- a $50 discount (Early Bird pricing ends this Friday, August 25th!)

We've got a ton of sessions by and for nonprofits -- because Plone is one of the most powerful, user-friendly website management platforms out there, and nonprofits of all sizes are flocking to it.

Some of the highlights for nonprofits include:

*    What Makes Plone Different And Better
*    Graduating from Spaghetti to Sushi: Plone for PHPers
*    Why Plone?  Confessions of an NGO
*    Plone in 100 Hours or Less
*    Open Sourcing Activism: The Open Planning Project and Plone
*    Own your Plone: Creating Plone Visual Themes
*    Creating and Managing Multilingual Websites with LinguaPlone
*    Plinkit: A Case Study on Deploying Plone for Public Libraries
*    Using Plone for Environmental Information Sharing and Collaboration
*    Viva le Plogs (Plone blogs)
*    Plone at the UN
*    Plone and Accessibility
*    Case study panel: Plone and education
*    Case study panel: Plone and nonprofits
*    Case study panel: Plone and scientific organizations

best,
jon stahl jon at onenw.org

Data Integration: The Next Technology Challenge for Nonprofits

The following article by Marshall Mayer, which first appeared on TechSoup in March 2002 as ebase 2.0 was being released, outlines the strategic framework for the next generation of community relationship management software for nonprofit organizations.

Most nonprofits, when the amount of time and money they spend is accounted for, dedicate most of their resources to relationship building, communicating with their constituencies to build communities of interest. Yet twenty years after the advent of the personal computer, and several years after the internet boom, most nonprofits have not introduced technology effectively to help them build a community of constituents.

A major result is that nonprofits are less effective at their number one job, building quality relationships. They cannot communicate with their supporters in ways that other organizations do. Nonprofit constituents, who are also customers and citizens, now expect interactive and personalized content to keep them engaged. Unless nonprofits adapt technology to meet their needs, they risk losing their voice as their constituents pay attention to more effective communications strategies in the never-ending and ever-escalating battle for human attention.

Having said that, the more technology is incorporated by a nonprofit organization, the less likely the organization is effective at developing quality relationships with its constituencies.

This may sound like an argument against technology, and certainly there are a number of nonprofits that firmly believe technology gets in the way of relationship building. Smaller organizations often do not need sophisticated technology, but will as they grow and their relationship building needs to scale accordingly. What is needed is an approach that puts technology in service of a nonprofit's mission, technology to create community.

Vanderbilt awards Executive MBA sponsorship

<ed.note>I applaud Vanderbilt and the Center for Nonprofit Management for empowering Robyn Minton to help the consituency Minton serves but I gotta wonder whether applying the 70 grand toward building a Dspace and making the curriculum free to every Nashville NPO exec wouldn't have been a more strategic use of very limited funds at a time of drastically growing pressure on the community safety net.</ed.note>

Social Source Commons

The ultimate goal of the Social Source Commons (SSC) is to create a "knowledge commons" that maps the NPO/NGO software space and makes sense of the collective expertise related to that software. It aims to provide those who need information on NPO/NGO software access to lists of what's available, with each list item linked to relevant documentation, localization tools, services and events, user reviews and a place to request the tools and features they can't find. It is envisioned to catalyze a network of shared resources and contributors rather than simply building a single comprehensive web site or database, connecting the rich but relatively unlinked array of NPO/NGO-focused software information resources that already exist and builds upon it.

Bill Hobbs has Great News [Update: was "Bill Hobbs has Dismal News"]

<ed.note>O.k. I have to stop picking on Bill Hobbs now for not picking up on the theme of xml-based government disclosure since he recently posted this which pointed me to this and this. Thanks, Bill!</ed.note>

[ Update: This is from an earlier version of the same rant: ]

<ed.note>Bill Hobbs has a post on government disclosure (or nondisclosure) here.

The National Governors Association needs to develop a universal chart of accounts for all the states which can provide the foundation for "apples to apples" comparisons of state budgets. These should be expressed in the xml interactive data technology known as extensible business reporting language (xbrl). The Urban League has developed such a beast for nonprofits but nonprofits seek disclosure as quickly as states do ;-) Wouldn't it be cool if you had to prove your org's societal worth before you get the fed tax exemption -- but I digress...

SEC Chairman Cox is pushing for xbrl-based corporate disclosure ( same general intent as Sarbox ) and the UK taxing authority will mandate it by March 2010. If anyone needs help just contact xml.gov or Eric Cohen at PWC. [ Update: Newt's signed on to the SEC's initiative. ]

It's strange that the one thing the two main political parties agree on is that the citizenry doesn't deserve to see the real numbers in a manner which allows them to see the underlying context. [ Update: Open Letter to Tenn Gubs: Before the election will you sign a legally binding contract committing you to creating a state budget which will be expressed in extensible markup language and will show the state accounts at close of business daily and be made available on the state web site? ]</ed.note>

[ Update: This is an even earlier version of the same rant: ]

<ed.note>Except for seeing politicians as economic factors which have to be accounted for re: healthcare I'm not really a political blogger. Bill Hobbs is reporting on the current street theater of the Tennessee Legislature as they try to keep reporters occupied with the blog disclosure red herring -- blog disclosure being a good thing imho -- but in a thread I continue to post in Bill's comments -- but strangely never gets picked up as a main topic -- is that the tool of true political disclosure is: ta da -- xbrl!

Yes, I know you're tired of hearing about it and yes I'm the most politically cynical person alive but we're still morally required to go thru the motions, aren't we? Every concerned voter should be able to see the logic in a "Show me the money" approach -- my fear is that voters are only concerned about getting theirs, a sort of hush money republic -- a hushmocracy, if you will. So here's the latest comment posted -- more or less (o.k. a tad bit more -- the last thought's new):

"It occurs to me that folks might not get why xbrl is so important to disclosure. Simply put, extensible business reporting markup language is a tool that is an xml based way of reporting budgets (among other things), to the line item, if desired. It's gaining global adoption but adoption lags here in the US -- I don't know why -- does anyone working on Wall Street have any suggestions? Oh and Bill -- since it's an xml based technology it can be programmatically produced and posted to a blog (say by a politician) near real-time. Now there are pdf-to-xml conversion houses out there so if politicians want to publish full budgets in pdf that can be dealt with, too. But if transparency is the goal -- as opposed to rhetorizing about transparency -- I say vote for xbrl! Here's a faq for folks who want to learn more http://xbrl.edgar-online.com/x/faqs/ I think the NGA.org ought to come up with xbrl budgets for all 50 state so that we can compare programs for efficacy and efficiency."

</ed.note>

NPOs should [still] adopt xbrl

<ed.note>Repost from May 2004 prompted by David Perera's, "Samuel Mok: Government Should Adopt XBRL", Federal Computer Week, today. I think Sage has inherited all the NP XBRL work product but it's Google-cached here. Interest in it went the way of OPX -- Open Philanthropy Exchange. [Update: Both Panel on the Nonprofit Sector Convened by Independent Sector - Final and Panel on the Nonprofit Sector Convened by Independent Sector - Supplement lack any mention of xbrl or xml generally. THIS IS AN EXAMPLE OF HOW TO SPIN YOUR PR TO SAY YOU'RE PROVIDING TRANSPARENCY WITHOUT ACTUALLY DOING SO. SHOULD THERE BE AN NPO SEC?]</ed.note>

Medical Banking Project Selects ECLIPSE For Cooperative Open-source Medical Banking Architecture & Technology Reference Architecture Initiative

Franklin, TN (February 21, 2006) -- The Medical Banking Project joined the Eclipse Foundation as an Associate Member to build out its C.O.M.B.A.T. reference architecture using the Eclipse Open Healthcare Framework (OHF). The OHF is the reference implementation platform for the Healthcare Services Specifications Project, supported by Health Level Seven (HL7) and the Object Management Group (OMG). MBProject will architect and build out medical banking functions using the platform.

"Eclipse offers a world class platform with a solid user base," said John Casillas, founder of MBProject. MBProject is focused on combating rising costs in healthcare by enabling banks to link consumers, providers, health plans, RHIOs, employers and others.  The Eclipse OHF will reduce the time necessary to build a reference implementation for this purpose." The effort includes new 'mbXML' profiles that banks could use to do things like present personal healthcare records via online portals or support real time settlement of claims.

"Eclipse is an excellent open source environment," said John Hardin, CIO of Kentucky-based MAPHIN.net and Chair of the Planning and Design Subcommittee for MBProject. "We are monitoring all of the standards harmonization mechanisms in the marketplace while linking our project to a state-of-the-art platform."

"We are looking forward to working with the Medical Banking Project.  They have extensive knowledge and experience in healthcare, financial organizations and large employers," said Mike Milinkovich, Executive Director of the Eclipse Foundation.  He was referring to organizations like Disney, ABAN AMRO, PNC Bank, Mellon, Wachovia, US Bank, Fiserv, United Healthcare and many others who have joined MBProject.

"Eclipse OHF is active in HSSP and will ensure that the standards we produce are not shelfware," said Ken Rubin, one of the co-chairs of the HSSP effort. "Commitments to these open solutions, such as the Medical Banking Project is making, are essential if the healthcare industry is going to realize the vision of reliable, secure, open interoperability. We are excited to have them aboard."

To centralize development activity MBProject selected Edifecs, Inc., a leading provider of transaction interoperability solutions. "Edifecs will help us to test and certify our transactions for HIPAA compliance and work through versioning of the system," said Hardin, a former GM e-commerce consultant. "We're very excited to be a member of MBProject and participate in the deployment of the community portal," said Herb Larsen, Senior Vice President of Sales and Marketing for Seattle, WA-based Edifecs. "Our solutions support leading firms around the world and we look forward to furthering our support for medical banking stakeholders, as well."

The C.O.M.B.A.T. Initiative (which stands for "Cooperative Open-source Medical Banking Architecture and Technology") was announced in July 2005 and since has attracted a global following.  Further updates will be made at MBProject's 4th National Medical Banking Institute in Nashville, TN, starting on February 22, where leaders will convene to discuss how medical banking models can transform claims processing, adoption of personal healthcare records, coordination of community healthcare and other areas. Proceedings will be captured in a "Medical Banking Road Map for America, Version 2" and delivered to government agencies.

Penguin Days in Seattle, Saturday, March 25th

9am to 5pm, in downtown Seattle, Organized by Aspiration and Picnet, local partners and YOU!

Penguin Day Seattle will bring together non-profit technology staff and open source software (OSS) developers for a day of learning and conversation. We'll demystify open source for nonprofits, frankly address the challenges of developing open source tools for non profits, and celebrate strengths and successes of open source in the nonprofit sector. Leading open source innovators, including One Northwest (Seattle) and FreeGeek (Portland) will share their stories and knowledge. If you are curious about open source software for your nonprofit organization, Penguin Days are for you! Register at www.penguinday.org .

Penguin Day Seattle feature a packed agenda of interactive workshops, round tables, and "speed geeks." Topics include:

* Introduction to Free and Open Source Software for Nonprofits
* Local resources and who's-who in the Seattle Free/Open Source community
* Helping techies and non-techies communicate
* Overview of Free and Open Source desktop applications
* e-Advocacy platforms
* The Economics of Open Source: How free is "free?"
* Selecting an Open Source operating system
* Migrating your organization to Free and Open Source software
* Creative Commons and Open Content
* Speed Geek (a lively tour of projects and tools)

Since 2004, Penguin Days have been held in Philadelphia, Portland, Oregon; London, England; Toronto, Canada, Chicago, San Francisco, New York, and Texas. Hundreds of nonprofit staff, programmers, and activists have attended Penguin Days. Penguin Days feature humorous "speed geeks" (modeled after speed-dating) to bring programmers and organizations together to change the world--one byte at a time.

What Are Others Saying About Penguin Days?

"Penguin Day was great - I had an excellent day - made new friends, put a lot of faces to email addresses, had a whole load of fun - and got introduced to some new applications and distributions! Thanks again to everyone who organised the day, ran sessions etc - it made my 4,500 mile trip worthwhile!"
Ian, from London, UK

"Penguin Days are a fantastic opportunity to get together with a wide variety of people and understand more about the issues that surround open source. Unlike a lot of conference/gatherings, the emphasis in these is on meeting people and making connections that you carry out of them room. And that works.
Marnie from San Francisco

"Now on to Penguin Day... Wow. For my part I was impressed by the international scope of the audience, folks from Great Britain, Canada, Kenya, Turkey, Ghana, Chicago and all points in between. The energy was great and the range of topics on the agenda meant there was something for everyone....suffice it to say Penguin Day set the mark against
which all other events will be measured in my mind."
John from Chicago

Healthcare Standards: Too Many, Too Few, Not interoperable [Updated Update]

Global standard for avian vaccines needed - expert

Dec 8, 2005 By Patricia Reaney

LONDON (Reuters) - International standards should be set for avian vaccines to combat the spread of the deadly H5N1 bird flu in chickens, a leading virologist said on Thursday.

Unlike influenza vaccines for humans which must contain a minimum amount of antigen to stimulate an immune response, no figure had been stipulated for avian vaccines, said Dr Robert Webster of St Jude's Children's Hospital in Memphis, Tennessee.

"We should at least establish a minimal level," he told a briefing during a meeting on emerging diseases in London.

"There are no international standards. There should be."

SocialSource 2005 - November 9, 2005 - London

A one-day event examining the potential of Free/Open Source Software (F/OSS) for the Voluntary/Non-profit sector will be taking place in London on Wednesday 9 November 2005. The day is designed as a meeting-point between those interested in Voluntary sector ICT, those wanting to find out more about Open Source, and those who may already be actively involved with Open Source projects. Full details can be found at http://www.socialsource.org.uk. The event is affiliated to the Penguin Days that have taken place in the US http://www.penguinday.org

A programme for the day is in place at http://www.socialsource.org.uk/pmwiki.php/EventNov05/EventProgramme, and features:
* introductions for those who have had no hands-on contact with Free/Open Source Software (F/OSS)
* case studies & details of projects going on within the sector using F/OSS tools
* demonstrations of Free/Open Source Software in action
* opportunities for discussion & the chance to meet others in the non-profit and technology communities.

WHO FOR?
All are welcome to attend, whether new to Open Source or already involved in projects, with key stakeholders envisaged as those:
* involved in the voluntary/non-profit sector with an interest in their organisations' effectiveness and/or technology (e.g. IT/Resource managers, funders...)
* supporting technology within organisations ("accidental techies", IT staff, circuit riders - the event takes place on the day after the London Circuit Rider Conference, trainers, support companies and consultants)
* already involved with Open Source technology via support or development - meet others in the sector, come and raise awareness, or find out more about the needs of the voluntary sector

We are also keen to attract people who have already applied Open Source solutions in a voluntary or community setting, and who would like to share their experiences. Please feel free to pass on this announcement to colleagues or networks who may be interested in attending.

WHERE?
The venue for the event is City Temple Conference Centre on Holborn Viaduct, London EC1A 2DE, (UK). Details of how to reach the venue can be found at http://www.socialsource.org.uk/pmwiki.php/EventNov05/EventLocation

INTERESTED IN ATTENDING?
The event will be *free to attend* thanks to the support of the UK ICT Hub. However, please send us a mail if you are intending to come, for us to get an idea of numbers for the day, especially as we're hoping to provide lunch (there's bound to be a gag in there about "free" & "lunch"...).

WHO IS ORGANISING?
The event has been put together by an informal group of volunteers - details at http://www.socialsource.org.uk/pmwiki.php/Main/OrganisingGroup, and is being supported by the UK Voluntary Sector ICT Hub (http://www.ictconsortium.org.uk).

NEED MORE INFORMATION?
Drop us a line via the wiki, or get in touch with one of the organisers, Adrian De Luca, via adrian.deluca at physics.org or +44 (0)7905 526 396.

WANT TO CONTACT SOCIALSOURCE OR STAY IN TOUCH?
All the event details are on SocialSource's wiki at http://www.socialsource.org.uk, where you can also send us a mail via http://www.socialsource.org.uk/pmwiki.php/Main/ContactUs and sign-up to an announcements list for further details of SocialSource's activities. Hope to see some of you on 9 November! Kind regards, Adrian De Luca (adrian.deluca @ physics.org -- +44 (0)7905 526 396) & the rest of the SocialSourcers

Pace of Giving Slows: Donors Scrutinize Charities

AccountingWEB.com - Sep-21-2005

Donations for Hurrican Katrina relief to the online giving site, Network for Good, have dropped 30-fold since September 1st, Katy Anderson , vice president of marketing told the Washington Post. “We’re already seeing that people’s interests are shifting, which is sad,” she said.

The American Red Cross has received nearly 80 percent of the $800 million contributed to Hurricane Katrina relief, according to the Chronicle of Philanthropy, which tracks post-disaster relief total, the Washington Post says, but the pace of giving has begun to slow. The Red Cross estimates that all of the money raised so far will meet only one-half of their needs.

US charities have begun to focus on accountability, in part because of concerns about misspent funds in the past. The Red Cross, for example was criticized for spending only a portion of the funds from the Liberty Fund, set up after September 11, to help the families of the victims, according to the Wall Street Journal. All of the money collected for Katrina will be spent for the hurricane victims, the Red Cross has announced.

Many charities including the Red Cross publish their specific disaster relief activities on their web sites. The Red Cross “does have procedures in place to account for spending on this and other disasters, but over the last two weeks we’ve given guidance to our chapters to focus on service delivery” rather than “counting beans”, Kara Bunte, spokeswoman for the Red Cross development, told the Washington Post.

Charities are also releasing data on how efficiently they distribute aid, according to the Wall Street Journal. Results vary, the Journal says, with the Red Cross reporting that it spends $6 to prepare and deliver each meal and the Salvation Army, a decentralized organization, reporting that it spends $3.

Charity watchdog groups like Charity Navigator and the Better Business Bureau Wise Giving Alliance provide donors with recommendations for charities and details on how money is being spent, the Journal reports. In addition, these groups provide donors with information that will help them to avoid scams.

The small amount of detail generally reported by charities results in part from the lack of governmental reporting requirements, according to charity watchdogs, the Washington Post reports.

“The market dictates what charities report and what they don’t . . . but the government demands nothing” beyond an annual informational return, said Trent Stamp, executive Director of Charity Navigator, according to the Post.

Charity Navigator rates organizations like the Red Cross according to criteria that include revenue growth and working capital. “At its most general level,” Charity Navigator says on their web site, “our rating system is relatively simple. We base our evaluations on the financial information each charity provides in its informational tax returns, or IRS Forms 990. We use that information to analyze a charity's financial performance in . . . key performance categories.” The broad areas of financial health that they base their ratings on are Organizational Capacity and Organizational Efficiency, their web site says.

Because the Salvation Army is exempt under Internal Revenue Code from filing Form 990 as a "church or convention or association of churches." Charity Navigator says that they “lack sufficient data to evaluate their financial health.”

Relief organizations will need to support Katrina victims for months and perhaps years according to the Burlington Free Press. Patrick Rooney, director of research at the Center on Philanthropy at Indiana University recommends that donors set up a giving plan. Setting up a plan forces the donor to “think hard about the kinds of charities that merit your support.”

Vehicles for planned giving can include the charitable remainder trust, the charitable lead trust and investing in charitable gift funds, Michael Kitces, financial planner for Pinnacle Advisory Group told the Free Press. These options can offer important tax and estate-planning benefits, Kitces said.

NTEN ICT and Humanitarian Relief Conference Monday, Oct 17 * Omni Shoreham * Washington, DC

Being prepared, launching your response, and creating sustainable change

From the Tsunami to Darfur to Afghanistan, humanitarian relief operations depend critically on the effective use of information and communications technologies (ICT). In both emergencies and ongoing relief efforts, humanitarian relief operations present enormous ICT challenges: working environments with non-existent or damaged communications and support infrastructure; the need to interoperate with other aid organizations and government agencies; and managing massive logistical problems and information flows. Successful relief operations that bring about sustainable change depend upon early preparation and planning.

This conference will bring together practitioners with hands-on experience and fresh ideas about the use of ICT to share "lessons learned" and innovations, to identify opportunities for collaboration, and to craft best practices. The conference will focus on ICT in all phases of relief operations: preparation and planning; emergency response; long-term relief; transition to self-sufficiency.

http://www.nten.org/conferences-ict-agenda Agenda

http://www.nten.org/conferences-ict Registration

People's Guide to the Telecommunications Act of 2006

Alliance for Community Media, Community Media Review - Summer 2005

We, THE PEOPLE, must work TOGETHER to write U.S. Media and Communications laws that serve the public interest as we move into our digital future.

The Telecommunications Act of 2006 must:

• Recognize public access to media & communications as a fundamental human right and the foundation of our democracy.
• Affirm the airwaves and public-rights-of-way as shared public resource to be used expressly for the "public convenience and necessity"
• Enforce the public interest principals of open access, ownership diversity, accountability, local control, and community reinvestment to support non-commercial media and communications.
• Apply equitably across all platforms: Phone, TV and Radio, Cable, Satellite & Broadband Services.

A Survey of Proposals for the Further Federal Regulation of Nonprofits

by the editors of The Nonprofit Quarterly

The U.S. Senate Finance Committee held hearings on June 22 and July 22 of 2004 to consider what might be wrong with the regulatory system for foundations and the nonprofit sector, meeting under the title “Charity Oversight and Reform: Keeping Bad Things from Happening to Good Charities.” Ranking Democratic Finance Committee member Max Baucus (D-Montana) set the tone when at the first hearing he stated: “It’s obvious from the abuses we see that there’s been no check on charities. Big money, tax free, and no oversight have created a cesspool in too many cases.”

The June 22nd hearing featured mystery witnesses testifying under the pseudonyms “Mr. House” and “Mr. Car” (as if these were protected mafia witnesses) with their voices and appearances obscured. “Mr. Car” testified about vehicle donation scams, and soon after the Finance Committee drafted legislation to reduce vehicle donation deductions to the sale amount realized by the charity (not the “Blue Book” value). The very quick action changing deductions for vehicles, starting January 1, 2005 is projected to save $3.5 billion for the treasury. It shows the Senate Finance Committee is ready to get Congress to act on charitable reform - at least when it increases revenue.

IRS Probes Nonprofit Sector

April 6, 2005 - AccountingWEB.com

Internal Revenue Service Commissioner Mark Everson has notified the Senate Finance Committee of his concerns about possible wide-scale evasion and abuse within the rapidly expanding nonprofit sector, the Washington Post reported.

"We can see that tax abuse is increasingly present in the sector," and unless the government takes effective steps to curb it, such organizations risk "the loss of the faith and support that the public has always given to this sector," Everson said in his letter, which laid out the abuses his agency has uncovered.

Everson said the problems found by the IRS extend across the sector, which has grown to include about 3 million entities that control $8 trillion in assets. Nonprofits extend beyond charities to include colleges and universities, many hospitals, pension plans, trade associations and think tanks, the Post reported.

Nonprofit Innovation Alliance calls for a "business-method patent-free zone"

Information exchange  @ philanthropyjournal.org

04.06.2005 -  Nonprofits ban together to fight for access to technology.

Several well-known nonprofits have joined the call for freer access to innovative technology for charities.

United Way of America, the American Diabetes Association, Network for Good and the Electronic Frontier Foundat