Attendees of the Academy will be able to:

• Articulate the value of technology in their organization for themselves, funders, and other key stakeholders.
• View technology as integral to every department in their organizations.
• Recognize options for funding IT projects in their organizations.
• Staff technology effectively.
• Manage the organizational change that technology can produce.

Topics include:

• Future of IT in Nonprofits / Presented by Edward Granger-Happ
• IT Planning and Implementation / Presented by Steve Heye & John Merritt
• Introduction to IT and Systems / Presented by Andy Wolber
• Information Management Systems / Presented by Laura Quinn
• Effective Internet Presence / Presented by Katya Andresen
• Evaluation: Technology ROI / Presented by Beth Kanter
• The Human Side of Technology / Presented by James Weinberg
• Weekly Ask the Experts sessions including Charlene Li, Founder of Altimeter Group and Auther of Open Leadership

The Academy is being offered through the generous support of Microsoft and will run from September 29 – November 22.

Learn more about the Academy and guidelines for application here and if you qualify and are interested apply here!

Don’t miss out – the deadline for applications is  Friday, July 30th.  Applicants will be notified of their status by August 6, 2010.

One of the best sessions I attended was where Beth Kanter and Allison Fine (among the gurus of nonprofit technology) presented their upcoming book, The Networked Nonprofit (due out in June, but you can preorder here).  These two women completely understand the future of nonprofit organizations in the digital age, and I could listen to their wisdom, humor and case studies for days.

One element from their presentation keeps knocking around in my head, the idea of three stages of organizational development in this networked era.

1. Fortress – an organization where there are insiders and outsiders, and the two rarely meet or interact;
2. Transactional – an organization that is engaged with their community, but with the sole focus of transactions, such as getting people to sign up for an event or make a donation;
3. Transparent – an organization that fully engages and empowers their community to accomplished shared goals.

I love the simplicity of these three stages, and the acknowledgment that getting on social media platforms is not the ultimate goal. Plenty of people are promoting events on Facebook and measuring success by the number of tushes in the seats.  But the real paths to accomplishing our mission and goals, and the more accurate measurements of success go far beyond this.  They also require a leap of faith, and the ability to take that first leap.

Remember the first time you climbed to the top of a high dive as a kid, your heart beating so hard you thought it would leap out of your chest, and that moment when you finally hurled yourself into the air?  It’s the same moment really.  And remember when you went back again and again and again to do it over and over?  Yeah, it’s like that too.

So tell us — what stage are you at?  What do you need to move from one stage to the next?  Where do you see examples of “transparent” organizations or activities?

But as I think about mobile fundraising campaigns, etc. I remain somewhat skeptical.  Let me revise that: I feel that the technology is still “in the way”, and as Clay Shirky said this morning, “the tools don’t get socially interesting until they get technologically boring.”  Mobile technology just isn’t boring yet, but it is moving from awkward to interesting.

My conference session evaluation via SMS, on my iPhone

NTEN has engaged Mobile Commons to set up a text message based evaluation system for this conference. That’s right, you TEXT your rating and comments, rather than writing it on paper.  Less paper, easier to compile the data, super convenient.  I was at first confused how it would work, but then I just went for it — texted the session number NTC189 to the short code they gave us 68966. Half a second later the first questions popped up. I entered my rating and hit send.  The next question. IT WAS SO SIMPLE and satisfying. Success.  I do expect that it will take some time before the masses are comfortable with such uses of mobile, but the future will be here shortly, and thus it’s useful for us to learn what the early adopters are doing, and start to dip our toes in the water.

Other examples shared here have been integrated with video, advocacy campaigns, fundraising and more.  What’s the lesson?  Though you may not be using mobile campaigns now, it is the future, and thus you should be collecting your constituents cell phone numbers now. They will come in handy a few months or years down the road.

Clay Shirky and Holly Ross (Executive Director of NTEN) at 09NTC

I’m at the Nonprofit Technology Network (NTEN) conference, commonly known as NTC (or this year, 09NTC).  It is a phenomenal gathering of the brightest nonprofit folks who are using or interested in technology, from databases to mobile and everything in between.

Today’s keynote was Clay Shirky, author of Here Comes Everybody: The Power of Organizing Without Organizations.  His summary of the book in 5 words:  Coordinated Action Just Got Easier. (And the footnote: thus organizations have lost their monopoly on coordinating action, and therefore their role is changing.)  His entertaining and enlighting presentations (see many on YouTube) include many examples of the implications of social media and the opportunities it presents.

John Fitch's early steamboat design

One of the things I love most about his work are the illustrations of the major paradigm shift underway.  I find that beyond the tactical education about this or that tool, this understanding is key to the health and success of the Jewish community.   Today he gave the analogy of John Fitch’s invention of the steamboat.  When Fitch started, he took the boat as we all knew it — powered by men rowing oars — and added a steam engine.  Not particularly successful.  Using the old model and adding steam was not a recipe for success. However, when he changed the model, the steam engine added tremendous value.

The same is true of our organizations. Take the same top-down organization and add technology.  Doesn’t work.  Working in alignment with the new, and still evolving marketplace requires rethinking our models and questioning some very basic assumptions about marketing, communication, education, and community building.

Thanks to Chad Norman for the Clay Shirky and Holly Ross (Exec Dir of NTEN) photo, and for the quotes below from his talk:

“The loss of control you fear is already in the past.”
“We’re not good at thinking fast. We are good at feeling fast.”
“Tools don’t get socially interesting until they get technologically boring.”
“Once one person solves the problem once, the problem stays solved for everybody.”
“The intention of users has more impact than the intention of the designers.”
“Each of us is simultaneously an individual person and a global publisher.”
“Start small and good, then make it bigger.”
“We spend more time figuring out whether something is a good idea than we would have just trying it.”
“Don’t hire consultants. Hire your own 23-year-olds.”
[It doesn't work to] “Just take our organization and add some Internet.”
“It’s not just about delivering content to members, it’s about the convening power to help members discover each other.”
“Fail informatively – Fail like crazy.”

Want to hear what’s going on at 09NTC?  Check out the Twitter Stream #09NTC.

How are you re-aligning your work?  What are you noticing? What’s working, or not?

As a way to help the Darim community learn about and take advantage of NTEN, Darim and the Jewish Communal Service Association are partnering with NTEN to solicit your best stories. We want to know how you are using social media, and what the outcomes have been.  This contest is open through April 1.  On April 1 we will announce the winners.  Prizes include FREE REGISTRATION FOR THE NTEN CONFERENCE in San Francisco, April 26-28 (winner is responsible for transportation and hotel) – valued at $649; free one year membership with NTEN for your organization – valued up to $200; and a free private tutorial or consultation with Darim staff via phone or webinar – priceless!  (First place winner gets their pick).

Submit your story by posting it in the comments on this blog post by April 1 (or, if you prefer, you can email us). Please make sure to tell us who you are, your role, your organization, what tool you’re using, how you’ve used it, and what the outcomes have been (data, anecdotes and reflections are all welcome).

Let’s hear what you’ve got!

Implementing the technology in your organization isn’t like flicking a light switch. In his book Managing Transitions, William Bridges discusses how change is situational, but transition is psychological. It’s not just enough to launch a new web site — all stakeholders (staff, board, members, volunteers, etc.) need to move through the transition to maintain and use the new tool smoothly and effectively. Bridges gives many suggestions about how to do this, and recently Dahna Goldstein from PhilanTech has offered her own useful insights and advise on the NTEN blog:

“In our personal lives, we tend not to like change, particularly changes over which we feel we have no control. The same is true in organizational changes.

People may be concerned about how a new technology will affect their jobs or day-to-day work life, or may be worried about their ability to learn the new technology. The most important element in mitigating anxiety related to organizational changes is to understand that it exists.

Anxiety can also be mitigated through good communication, involvement and empowerment, creating opportunities for feedback, and allowing people to voice their anxiety in a safe way so that they know that the anxiety they feel about an impending change is understandable, normal, and manageable.”

She expands on the following points:

• Set a clear direction from the top.

• Tie tech changes to mission.

• Communicate early and often.

• Involve and empower staff.

• Tech changes need champions and influencers.

• Recognize that change causes anxiety, and work to mitigate it.

Check out her post to learn more. What have been your tricks to manage successful implementation of new tools? What have been the challenges? What have you learned?