Software/Technology

Blackbaud announced that its flagship fundraising solution, The Raiser’s Edge®, has been honored with its third User Satisfaction Award in the 2010 Donor and Member Management Solution Software Survey conducted by Campbell Rinker. During June and July, more than 2,800 users of nonprofit software and online solutions for donor and member management, mass communications, and fundraising were surveyed online. The survey gathers information on user satisfaction, pricing preferences, purchasing habits, and organizational scope.

Microsoft is vastly expanding its efforts to prevent governments from using software piracy inquiries as a pretext to suppress dissent. It plans to provide free software licenses to more than 500,000 advocacy groups, independent media outlets and other nonprofit organizations in 12 countries with tightly controlled governments, including Russia and China. With the new program in place, authorities in these countries would have no legal basis for accusing these groups of installing pirated Microsoft software.

Causes, a for-profit company that lets Facebook Inc.'s users give money to charities, raised $9 million in new funding and began selling gift cards in supermarkets as it tries to bring more philanthropy to the Web.

Causes' Facebook application connects 119 million people to a range of charities, making it easy to donate small amounts.

Blackbaud announced its inclusion on Software Magazine’s Software 500 ranking of the world’s largest software and service providers, now in its 28th year.

Blackbaud ranked 121, with 2009 software and services revenue of $302.6 million and corporate revenue of $309.3 million. The ranking positioned Blackbaud as the largest provider of nonprofit software on the Software 500 list.

The Internal Revenue Service has released an online widget that charities, donors, and volunteers can place on their Web or social-networking sites "to help spread the word about the one-time filing relief for small organizations at risk of losing their tax-exempt status."

The IRS announced in July that small groups in danger of losing their exemptions because they have failed to file required informational tax returns (called Forms 990-N or e-Postcards) can preserve their charitable status by filing returns by October 15, 2010.

The Seattle Foundation started a new program on Wednesday to provide access to its data, research and evaluations of almost 700 local nonprofit groups in and around the city and King County. Such information was previously available only to clients who maintained giving accounts, known as donor-advised funds, but is now available through the foundations Web site free to anyone. We know that when we can engage our donors with this information and help them understand the local context of an issue and give them information we have from site visits and other interaction with nonprofits, they give more,

LATE last month, tens of thousands of runners who are registered for this year’s New York City Marathon got an e-mail from Mary Wittenberg, the president and chief executive of New York Road Runners.

She implored the runners to join a social networking Web site that Mr. Norton and three partners started in May that she says has the potential to revolutionize charitable giving. It’s called Crowdrise.com.

Microsoft has announced the expansion of Elevate America, a community initiative that aims to provide twenty-first century technology skills to people in need of employment.

Through the initiative, the software giant will provide $4 million in cash and $6 million in software and technology skills-training support over the next two years to organizations working to develop scalable programs that respond to the skills-training needs of people across the country.

SAN FRANCISCO, Aug. 26 /PRNewswire/ -- The Salesforce.com Foundation, the global leader in integrating philanthropy and business, today announced its 2010 Technology Innovation grant recipients, representing organizations from around the world working on issues ranging from poverty to human trafficking to helping at risk children. The Technology Innovation grants are awarded to visionary nonprofit organizations who are customizing their use of salesforce.com's technology to support their and others' abilities to implement their social change missions. This year's 15 recipients received a total of $240,000 and access to a dedicated salesforce.com employee volunteer to share their expertise and best practices

Blackbaud announced the launch of BlackbaudTV, a new resource for the nonprofit community, with videos featuring nonprofit news, technology tools and tips, philanthropy in action, Blackbaud customers, partners, and events.

Blackbaud is holding the BlackbaudTV Inspire Contest to encourage nonprofit professionals to submit videos in response to the question, “How do you inspire supporters to take action?” The two winners receive free registrations to the 2010 Blackbaud’s Conference for Nonprofits – North America.