Software/Technology

Is your nonprofit organization throwing too much money at technology — money that could be put to better use helping accomplish your mission?

Hewlett-Packard is reshaping its policies on giving away money to nonprofit causes. Now the company will not just give away money. It will also donate the expertise of its employees to build solutions for nonprofits.

The change in policy makes sense, as the value of HP’s technology expertise could be far more useful, in conjunction with a donation, than just writing checks to charities, said Paul Ellingstad, a director in the office of global social innovation at HP, in an interview.

Banks are to adopt a system that allows people to make a small donation to charity whenever they withdraw cash.

If you don’t think Congress should have extended the Bush-era tax cuts this month, why not donate your own tax savings to charity? That’s an idea that three professors are promoting on a new Web site called Give It Back for Jobs.

The site, which helps people calculate their own tax cut under the deal that President Obama struck with House Republicans, was created by Jacob Hacker, a professor of political science, and Daniel Markovits, a professor of law, at Yale University; and Robert Hockett, a professor of law at Cornell University.

WPP, the world’s largest communications services group, announces that it has agreed to acquire all the assets of privately held Blue State Digital, LLC (BSD) in the United States and the United Kingdom through WPP Digital, the digital investment and operating arm of WPP. Blue State Digital is a full-service digital agency specializing in advocacy, membership and fundraising campaigns for nonprofits, educational and cultural institutions, political campaigns and corporate brands.

This year the Whitney Museum of American Art offers devotees a respite from licking envelopes and stamps. The non-profit museum’s new donation videogame, Clickistan, asks online visitors to score points and advance levels—before asking their appreciation.

Clickistan is a witty and sometimes biting respite from instant-gratification Flash and Facebook games. On the last screen, players can choose to donate as little as $5 and as much as $10,000. (The more goal-oriented can also skip all of the levels to make their online donation.)

Virtually all of the nation’s nonprofit organizations consider information technology important or critical to their operations, a new study shows, but sizable numbers still rely on outdated equipment and need more computers. The survey, conducted by the Johns Hopkins Nonprofit Listening Post Project, found that nearly all of the 443 organizations that responded said that information technology was “moderately important” or “critical” to carrying out their business activities, including accounting, finance, fund raising, and delivering services.

When she arrived at St. John’s Bread and Life, Ms. Ruiz was given a swipe card. She sat at a computer and used a touch screen to select her own menu. As she made her choices, the system subtracted points from an allotment of 200 for the month (healthy items count for fewer points). A volunteer said she could pick everything up within a few minutes.

That's precisely what Anthony Butler, executive director of St. John’s Bread and Life, was thinking when he put the system into effect in 2008.

The Salvation Army is tapping into the power of the mobile device this holiday season with the launch of a new iPhone® application to help strengthen fundraising for the organization’s iconic Red Kettle Campaign. Developed by Charity Dynamics, the Online Red Kettle iPhone app empowers individuals to conduct personal fundraising campaigns on behalf of The Salvation Army, all from the convenience of their mobile devices.  

Blackbaud announced that Princess Margaret Hospital Foundation selected Blackbaud Friends Asking Friends® as the online and offline event management solution for its newest fundraising event, Road Hockey to Conquer Cancer. The Foundation, which supports Canada’s leading cancer research institution, Princess Margaret Hospital, is using Friends Asking Friends combined with an innovative social media campaign to expand its supporter base and raise money for cancer research.