Google

Google this week released its annual Zeitgeist report, which tallies the 10 most popular and fastest-rising searches in a wide range of categories. To come up with the fastest-rising terms, it compared searches this year to those in 2010.

“Donate to Japan,” “Red Cross Japan,” and “Japan relief” were the three fastest-rising charitable searches in the United States this year.

Blackbaud announced new enhancements to Blackbaud NetCommunity, its comprehensive Internet marketing solution that integrates with The Raiser's Edge for website management, online community-building, and e-mail marketing.

Blackbaud has partnered with Janrain, a leader in social identity solutions, to offer customers easy access to robust and reliable social sign-on functionality. The recently released version also features mobile-ready features, integrated multichannel reporting, a website integration gallery, and embedded how-to videos.

Google’s philanthropy arm has given Boston educational nonprofit Citizen Schools $3.25 million to help low-income middle school students across the country continue learning after the afternoon school bell rings.

Locally, the grant will help Citizen Schools’ afterschool program at the Edwards Middle School in Charlestown, Orchard Gardens K-8 School in Roxbury, Dever McCormack K-8 School in Dorchester and the Irving Middle School in Roslindale.

The African Media Initiative has announced a competition designed to promote digital experimentation and innovation that strengthens news organizations on the continent. The African News Innovation Challenge will award seed grants ranging from $12,500 up to $100,000. In the first phase of the competition, African journalists and publishers will be asked to identify pressing issues facing their industry, followed by a call for applications in February 2012. Winners will be chosen through a competitive judging process, and projects will be showcased at international media gatherings.

Until this summer, Compassion International had a Web site in need of a makeover. The Christian aid charity hadn’t redesigned the site since 2003.

Thanks to an update in June, the number of visits to the site has grown by 25 percent, traffic from search engines has risen 28 percent, and page views have increased 9 percent. The number of people who visit every section of the site has increased as much as 350 percent on some pages, and the average donation made by each visitor has increased by 55 percent.

Nonprofits are finally getting their opportunity to create a presence on Google’s new social network.

Until Monday, only individuals were allowed to create pages on the Google+ network, which went public this summer with great fanfare. But now nonprofits and businesses will also be able to, according to Google’s official announcement.

Volunteer experience has long been a secondary consideration in people’s career portfolios. It was seen as good for the soul, maybe, beneficial to a cause, but not something that led to a better job. Volunteer work got a line at the bottom of a résumé, near hobbies.

That has started to change, with more nonprofit organizations trying to take better advantage of skilled volunteers, and more employers saying they look at volunteer work in evaluating job candidates.

When Ellen West, director of global communications and public affairs at Google, accompanied a friend to a 2010 fundraising event at Ghetto Film School in New York, she decided to do much more than write a check. At Ms. West’s urging, Google later gave the nonprofit, which teaches New York City teenagers to become filmmakers and storytellers, a $500,000 donation.

Ten ways you can gather feedback, before your next event, while your event is still taking place and after it's all over.

Recent tweets from folks you should be following.