IT Standardization is a strategy for minimizing IT costs within an organization by keeping hardware and software as consistent as possible and reducing the number of tools you have that address the same basic need. It may take the form of ensuring that every computer has the same operating system, or of purchasing hardware in bulk so that every PC in your office is the same make and model. Standardization often goes hand in hand with centralization, the process of giving your IT department more control over purchases of hardware and software, and more control over what staff members are allowed to do with their office computers.
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Grants To You - Low cost Grant Writing Workshop in Saratoga  (Updated: 8/14/08)
A local group that conducts Grant Writing training.

To utilize the untapped talent and availability of seniors, students and other motivated, computer literate citizens to help THEIR FAVORITE NON-PROFIT AGENCY in their never ending quest for funds by assisting them in grant writing and research.
I wanted to pass along information on the upcoming Grants To You class coming up again next month:

September 5: 4-8pm
September 6: 9-4pm
Skidmore College, Harder Hall
$30 for class materials
Register online at Saratoga site below.

Saratoga Site
National Site


Selecting and Managing IT Vendors  (Added: 7/16/08)
A 10-step guide for finding and working with vendors TechSoup

Unless you know how to build computers from scratch and write your own software, it's likely that you’ll have to talk with IT vendors sooner or later. Nonprofits have a lot of leverage when it comes to building and managing vendor relationships, but we don’t always know how to exercise our power. Getting the best service and the best price takes some thought and planning.
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Free Money or How to Raise Donations and Not Cost Your Constituents a Penny!   (Added: 6/12/08)
Tips for using online Search and Purchasing to Raise Money

With dire news about economy coming out every day, we're hearing from nonprofits that GoodShop and GoodSearch are more important to them than ever before.

To that end, we've got some great ideas about how to support your favorite cause this Father's Day and as you head into the summer!

Lastly, we're excited to report that more than 60,000 nonprofits and schools are now participating in GoodSearch and GoodShop and 100 new organizations still continue to register daily!
GoodSearch Site
GoodShop Site


Non-Profits Email for Free   (Added: 5/16/08)
from Vertical Response

Promote Your Non-Profit Freely, For Free!
Need to develop a dialog with donors, patrons, alumni or members? At VerticalResponse, we are inspired by the work you do, so we want to make it easier. Now you can save your donors' dollars for other crucial projects, so that you can stretch that shoestring to achieve even more.

What you get
VerticalResponse for Non-Profits is a program that enables Non-Profit Organizations (NPOs) to effectively communicate with their supporters via email. Once accepted into the program, NPOs will be able to leverage VerticalResponse’s email marketing to send up to 10,000 emails per month. All for free!
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Local Recycling   (Added: 3/17/08)
Local Recycling of Electronics and Computer Hardware in Watervliet NY

Most electronic consumers in the United States do not realize the effects that e-waste has on our environment once these products reach the end of their working life. Today most companies, organizations and households put electronics out with regular garbage for dumping in the local landfill. However the same people will also take time to collect tin cans or newspapers for the local recycler to process. Why one and not the other? Most people just don’t know.

Under the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA) from the EPA: Televisions, monitors, computers, computer peripherals, audio and stereo equipment, VCRs, DVD players, video cameras, telephones, fax and copying machines, cellular phones, wireless devices, and video game consoles are primary examples of "electronics".

Some components of these electronic devices contain constituents that if improperly handled could be harmful to the environment. Certain components contain small amounts of regulated heavy metals, including lead, silver, barium, cadmium and mercury. Many of these metals can be recovered and recycled by de-manufacturing and recycling of electronic devices.

Learn about this topic:
More Information


Short-term Assignments for Tech Volunteers   (Added: 3/7/08)
from Coyote Communications

There are a variety of ways for mission-based organizations (nonprofits, non-governmental organizations/NGOs, schools, etc.) to involve volunteers to help with short-term projects relating to computers and the Internet, and short-term assignments are what are sought after most by potential "tech" volunteers. But there is a disconnect: most organizations have trouble identifying such short-term projects.

This article covers a list of short-term projects for "tech" volunteers that was brainstormed by myself and by members of TechSoup's Volunteers and Technology online discussion group in 2005, and have been added to by me over the years. These one-time, short-term assignments might takes days, weeks or just a couple of months to complete. But the each have a definite start date and end date, and do not require a volunteer to make an ongoing commitment to the organization.

Learn about this topic:
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Technology Triage: Keeping Mission-Critical Systems Running   (Added: 2/6/08)
You can do some technology planning in bite-sized pieces, but there are limits. This article in collaboration with TechSoup describes a pragmatic approach to managing your IT resources.

Here's how technology projects work: plan, implement, support, plan, implement, support. Ad infinitum.
Sure, that's the best practice. And those three words stand for a heck of a lot. They stand for technology asset inventory, needs assessment, and gap analysis. They stand for testing, quality assurance, and bug fixes. They stand for troubleshooting, adding new users, reconfiguring workstations, and updating software. And they stand for doing it all over again.

So what happens when your printer is broken? Or when two users have been having a problem getting onto the Internet since 2007? What happens when you know your technology isn't working as well as it could for your staff, for your mission, for your constituency? Do you always have to start at zero and work your way through a file cabinet full of best practices?

No! Get some pointers on Technology Triage in this article.
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TechSoup Stock
Resources to help your nonprofit solve its technology problems from TechSoup

TechSoup Stock is an online product donation service that connects nonprofits with technology product donations from more than twenty leading providers. All products are available either for donation, or for prices that are deeply discounted just for nonprofits.

We currently serve U.S. 501(c)(3) nonprofits, Canadian nonprofits and charitable organizations, and libraries.
Information on the TechSoup Stock Program


Quickie Technology Assessment

This is a Basic Technology Assessment site....you answer the questions and then review the recommendations.

The site is part of the TechAtlas program developed by NPower. This is a good introduction to the full-blown TechAtlas assessment application. Easy and quick...give it a try!
Basic Technology Assessment


What are some key nonprofit Internet and technology resources? Take a look at: Resources