6/20 Update: Foursquare surpasses 10,000,000 users. Original Post from 6/28/10: Foursquare now has 1.6 million users. That may not seem like very many compared to Facebook’s 465 million users, but Foursquare is only one year-old and growing quickly. Part social networking site, part smartphone App, Foursquare is a tool meant to be primary used on the go on your smartphone....

The Web is going mobile. Faster than anyone thought. Smartphones are transforming the Internet and how individuals access the Web. One in five Americans now access the mobile Web daily. Some through Apps. Others through mobile Web browsers. This means nonprofits and their web communication strategies need to transform as well. One of the most – if not the...

In January 2010, I was quoted by Association & Nonprofit BizNow for saying: “ envisions a mobile app with a GuideStar database of nonprofits that would make it possible for people to donate to any organization at any time. A receipt would automatically be e-mailed along with a customized thank you letter. At year’s end, givers could print out...

First there was 10 Nonprofit Text Alert Campaigns. Then 10 Nonprofit Mobile Websites. Now 10 Free Nonprofit iPhone Apps. I thought it was important to lay the foundation of group texting and mobile websites for nonprofits before moving into examining how nonprofits are using iPhone Apps: 1. National Public Radio :: DownloadApp Name: NPR News Updated: March 4, 2010...

“A survey of 200 charity and foundation professionals revealed that nonprofits are finding it difficult to determine how valuable social media tools are for their organizations. Seventy-nine percent said they hadn’t found ways to do so.” – Chronicle of Philanthropy, November 12, 2009 For those 79% of nonprofits out there, I have listed 10 social media metrics below that...

June 7 Update :: As mentioned in the post below, I started sensing that a mobile website may be a better investment for nonprofits than an iPhone/iTouch App early in 2010. Some new data reinforces that idea: comScore: Browser Continues to be More Popular than Applications for Accessing Mobile Web CNET: Google Android surpases iPhone in the U.S. Pew:...

If your nonprofit is experimenting with text-to-give, text alerts and/or smartphone Apps (or planning to), then launching a mobile website is something your organization should seriously consider. If not an entire site, then at the very least your organization should create select web pages that are designed to be easily read on mobile devices. Here are four reasons why:...

Not to be confused with Text-to-Give campaigns (Text HAITI to 90999 to donate $10 to the Red Cross), group texting campaigns are when individuals opt-in to be alerted of news or calls to action via text message. They can opt-in by sending a Keyword (NONPROFITORGS) to a Short Code (41411), or through a subscribe page/widget on a nonprofit’s website....

While there are a good number of tech-savvy hipsters out there that understand terms like “Static Web”, “Dynamic Content”, “User-Generated”, “Cloud Computing”, and “Semantic Web”, the majority of nonprofits don’t talk or understand such tech speak. So, to simply for the nonprofit masses, I present and frame very simple definitions and interpretations of Web 1.0, Web 2.0 and Web...

FourSquare is definitely starting to catch on with enterprising techie folks that love to be early adopters. That’s a good a sign. Most check-ins revolve around restaurants and cafes, but below are five simple ways you (and the nonprofit techies) can also use FourSquare to promote the nonprofits and causes your care about: 1) Add Nonprofit Venues Adding a...

Part social networking site, part smartphone App, Foursquare is a tool meant to be primary used on the go on your smartphone. Quite simply, you “Check-in” to places while physically at the location and offer “Tips” and send out “Shouts”. Cafes, bars, and live music venues are its primary focus, but nonprofits are also adding themselves as “Venues” to...

A few weeks ago I was at a fundraising event that had a silent auction. So many fabulous items had been donated, but unfortunately bidders could only pay in cash or by check. I haven’t had more than $5 in my pocket for years and I can’t even remember the last time I carried a checkbook with me. So,...

As the Web goes mobile, so does social media… and so should your nonprofit. If there is one thing I have learned over ten years of using the Internet for fundraising and social change, those nonprofits that can embrace change quickly, empower their visionaries, and adopt new Web trends, reap the benefits of being early adopters. The Web and...