John Kenyon - Nonprofit Technology Educator & Strategist

Find HIV Testing Locations via Text Message and More - National HIV Testing Day June 27th

I think the folks at AIDS.gov site are doing a fantastic job using technology tools such as text messaging, widgets and a Twitter hashtag* to promote awareness of National HIV Testing Day on June 27th. Some of you may have seen Jennie Anderson, a Consultant at John Snow, Inc. who serves as the Communications Director for AIDS.gov at NTC 2009 when she presented with me at my Effective Online Communcations session.

Before I tell you about what Jenny and her team are doing, let me say: 

Everyone should get tested - I do - and this is a great reminder. 

Now to the story - 

Jenny recently sent out messages to her contacts informing them of the campaign, their story initiative blog series and video widget. She included links and a request to include the widget on your site if you thought it was appropriate. The site then provides some facts and encourages participation. See the main landing page here. 

During June, AIDS. gov is inviting people to share their stories about what getting an HIV test meant to them on the AIDS.gov blog. They also are highlighting HIV testing storytelling campaigns from organzations such as the National Association of People Living with AIDS , POZ , Southern AIDS Living Quilt , The Positive Project and others.

Options for action include:

You can find your local HIV testing location by sending a text message with your zip code to "KNOWIT" (566948) or visiting www.HIVtest.org>

 

This video can be shared and placed on a blog or website by anyone who wants to help promote testing.

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The site also provides a hashtag* to use on twitter - #NHTD09 - so that people who are twitering about NHTD events and information can include it in their tweets or others can tag photos, blog posts, etc. They also wisely include an invitation to follow AIDS.gov on Twitter for other updates. 

I think Jenny and her team have done a great job with providing engaging content, ways to engage in a dialog and tools to help people spread the word - both online and offline. 

Support their efforts - find your nearest location and get tested.

*hashtag: A tag is a non-hierarchical keyword or term assigned to a piece of information (such as an internet bookmark, digital image, or computer file). This kind of metadata helps describe an item and allows it to be found again by browsing or searching. Tags are chosen informally and personally by the item's creator or by its viewer, depending on the system. Tagging was popularized by websites associated with Web 2.0 and is an important feature of many Web 2.0 services.

- Wikipedia (click here for full Tag posting)

Salesforce Being Inappropriately Recommended for Smaller Nonprofits

I recently had a chance to see the new Salesforce.com nonprofit "skin" and it is an improvement over the previous version.

I used Salesforce several years ago when I was employed at Groundspring.org. I appreciate the power and flexibility of the product. I also applaud the donation of this tool to nonprofits (though no one knows for how long it will remain free, especially if salesforce.com is bought by another company).

For organizations who have the internal technology capacity, comfort and certain needs, salesforce can be a great fit. 

What I am talking about here is not the tool itself, but that too frequently I am seeing it being recommended to small and medium sized nonprofits (for me those are orgs under $2 million budget) for whom it is completely inappropriate. I feel this is a disservice to the nonprofit community and specifically the nonprofit technology community.

For most small nonprofits, there is a huge learning curve to get up to speed with the product in any meaningful way. If an organization has never used an integrated data system, it can be overwhelming for staff. Configuration of the software beyond the basics can be incredibly complex - it is not something most small organizations have the capacity to handle well without spending considerable amounts on consulting.

If you have experience with a tool or your organization decides to focus on one tool as a primary solution, that does not mean it is right for all of your clients. It hurts the nonprofit technology community when nonprofits put their trust in organizations and individuals who recommend a tool that isn't appropriate for their client.

More than once I have heard about a nonprofit support organization that seems particularly prone to this behavior. Let’s hope it doesn’t continue - knock on wood.

Do the work that we know is necessary:

    * DEFINE and articulate the organization's data management needs

    * COMPARE needs against tools to find the closest fit

    * DECIDE based on the org's comfort, skills, resources and capacity

    * Choose a tool based on data - not your skill set

Related Resources:

Idealware’s Reports on Data Management and CRM systems

TechSoup's Learning Center: Databases

Robert Weiner’s Database Selection and Management Resources

CEO Sleepout to Help the Homeless

One of my favorite Australian CEO's Lisa Harvey of Energetica, is participating in the St. Vincent de Paul Society's CEO Sleepout to "raise awareness, raise money and rise to the challenge of homelessness".

CEO's from around Australia are going to be sleeping outside in Sydney's Luna Park on June 18th. More information is available on the CEO Sleepout website.

Not only do I thik it is a great thing she are doing, it is an interesting concept for nonprofits to consider about bringing the realities of homelessness - and other areas of focus - "home" to people in a concrete fashion.

Lisa has already raised AU$370, please consider joining me in supporting her in this event. Here is the link to Lisa's individual giving page on the site:

Lisa's Page