As 2007 winds down, PTP is busy gearing up for 2008.  Here’s what we’ve got cooking for 2008 – follow the links for more details and information on how to register.

Two TechCamps for 2008 – June and September!  The June TechCamp will be held in Minnesota and will be offered in English.  The September TechCamp will be offered in Spanish – location TBD.

Community Organizing and Technology Institute – COaTI – is our core training program.  In years past, we’ve run COaTI with cohorts of 15 organizations going through 3 sessions over a 9 month cycle.  In 2008, we’re unplugging COaTI by opening enrollment and easing our requirements for attendance at all sessions.  The first COaTI session will be held in March and will cover technology assessment, planning, and database systems.  Session two will be held in May and will cover online communications, graphics tools, and training.  Location: TBD.

Basic Voter Data Skills – we hear there’s an election happening in 2008.  We also hear that a lot of you folks are planning on using the election as a way to talk to voters about your issues and build your membership base.  Of course, talking is easy – tracking who is and isn’t a voter, who you’ve registered, and who you’ve contacted takes a bit more work and some voter data.

That’s where the Basic Voter Data Skills training comes in – if you’re the accidental tech person at your organization who will be wrestling with voter data in 2008, this training is for you.  Please note that this isn’t basic database training – we assume that you already have a level of comfort using your organization’s database, designing and running queries, and generating reports.  If you’re looking for basic database skills, check out PTP’s TechCamp.

PTP charges tuition for our programs.  This year, in an effort to help more organizations make the most of training funds, we may be able to offer partial scholarships for community-led organizations who fit within our mission and with whom we share a funder.

We’ll be officially opening these programs in early January.  We expect them to fill fast, so if you’re interested, fill out our Training Interest Form and let us know which trainings you’d be interested in attending. 

We’ve had a lot of questions about TechCamp from folks who weren’t sure if it was the right training for them. If you’re not sure if TechCamp is right for you answer the following questions to find out:

1. I wish I knew how to search the internet for research. True or False?
2. I’d like to learn about opening up my computer and replacing RAM, a hard drive, or video card. True or False?
3. I don’t understand how to use the Windows operating system: I have problems organizing my files or creating and working with files and folders. True or False?
4. I save everything on my desktop. It is so covered I have trouble finding things. True or False?
5. I am unsure if my computer is adequately protected from viruses and spyware. True or False?
6. I want to learn more about working with Microsoft Word. True or False?
7. I’m not totally clear on the difference between rows, columns and cells in Microsoft Excel and have an easy time working with spreadsheets. True or False?
8. I have problems managing my email. True or False?
9. I want to include graphics in my documents and fliers, but don’t know how. True or False?

If you answered True to 3 or more questions, TechCamp is probably a good fit for you. For more information on TechCamp and to register, head over to our TechCamp information page.

Maybe you should be.  TechCamp is PTP’s three day basic tech skills training for community organizers.  TechCamp covers basic technology skills at a very basic level, and is designed to help build the skills of the least tech-savvy folks in your organization.

I know technology is one priority amongst many, so let me give you an example of how uneven tech skills can reduce your organization’s effectiveness:

Your database is a critical part of turnout for every event that you do.  Your process involves inviting people to attend the event, reminding them about the event and confirming their attendance, and finally recording their attendance at the event itself.  Every step of the way, you update that person’s record in your database so that you can quickly and easily get a snapshot of how you’re doing on your turnout goals.  No problem, right?

So what about the organizer who doesn’t have good computer skills and avoids using the database?

Whether it’s using your database, creating fliers for a meeting, or any other regular task you expect your staff to do, I’ll bet that there is at least one person at your organization whose lack of technical skills prevents them from completing all of their work.  Since we’re all under-resourced organizations and because we don’t want to penalize people for not knowing technology, we shift duties to work around these skill gaps, but we do so to the detriment of staff and the organization.  You wouldn’t hire an accountant who couldn’t add, or an organizer who refused to use the phone.  Your organization’s technology is no different.  For your investment in technology to really live up to its potential, you have to build your organization’s capacity to use technology at all levels. 

So take a minute to think about your staff, think about the people who can’t do particular tasks with technology and who could use some extra help and training.  Now take a look at what we’re offering at TechCamp (http://www.progressivetech.org/Program/Training/TechCamp_description.htm) and if there’s a match between their needs and our offering, sign them up.

Questions?  Feel free to get in touch with us with any questions you have:  info@progressivetech.org or 866.298.6463 or 612.724.2600

Raising Funds for Technology
A Brief Guide to Prepare and Position Your Organization to Raise Funds for Technology

Technology’s mounting importance means raising funds for technology is crucial for the very survival and success of your organization. The good news is that appropriate technology will give you results. Results that will not only be satisfying for your mission and your constituency but for your funders too! In other words it’s well worth it to spend time and resources to get appropriate technology because it will strengthen and significantly transform your work.

If you are either:
1) struggling with technology
2) been unsuccessful in getting technology for your organization
3) have no clue and are terrified about how and where to get funds for technology
4) conflicted about how acquiring technology ranks in importance in your work,
this guide is especially for you. The following Ten Tech Fundraising Commandments will hopefully be a useful guide to help you position yourselves to successfully raise funds for technology.

TEN TECH FUNDRAISING COMMANDMENTS

Know Thy Needs
Looking at your technology needs gives you an opportunity to evaluate your organization’s struggles with technology and to make a clear and intentional analysis of how to revolutionize your work and your capabilities. Once you understand that technology has the potential to significantly raise the scale and scope of your work, one then turns to look at the areas in which the organization have been struggling the most. Administration? Communication? Training? Outreach and mobilization? What kind of technology is needed to curb your frustrations and ineffectiveness in those areas?

Tell a Frank Story of Your History with Technology – intimidated by the mention of databases?
Is checking email a terrifying idea for you? Describing your organization’s previous struggles and successes with technology positions you to be able to articulate how technology will empower and strengthen your organization. Similar to all other fundraising, explaining your work in a compelling and genuine fashion is of utmost importance. If you have difficulty mobilizing your base for a protest or a forum because of an unreliable database, cite it without reservation.

Request Technology Most Relevant To Your Work - Laptops or GIS?
It’s not how sophisticated the request it, but how important it is in transforming your work. A fax machine might be more important for an organizer to maintain communications in their work rather than the latest cell phone. How does your request directly go to support your work? Is the request well thought out? These are the sort of questions funders will be interested in.

Have a Clear and Concise Project Plan
Having the appropriate technology is just a piece of the puzzle in your project objective. It’s essential that you paint a full picture of how your technology will be in concert with other resources to achieve your objectives, e.g. how your human resources, volunteer or hired technical assistance personnel, to use technology to improve your work. Have realistic and detailed objectives for your tech needs; i.e. describing exactly what technologies you need for your projects.

Request Technology from your Existing Funders: I.e. Incorporate Technology into Existing Grant Proposals
All funders would be pleased that a lot more can be achieved with each dollar given out. Since technology provides the possibility of making your work more effective, your current funders are likely to have a vested interest in improving the effectiveness of your work by helping you acquire new technologies.

Planning Makes it Possible to Raise Funds in a Short Time Period for Unbudgeted Technology Programs
Having a clearly articulated plan that shows how technology is integrated into your organization’s work puts you in a good position to be able to access funds for unbudgeted programming - especially for trainings. For useful details on how to fundraise in a short time period please consult Kim Klein and Stephanie Roth’s “8 Ways to Raise $2,500 (or more) in 10 Days (or less, sometimes)” http://www.grassrootsfundraising.org/howto/v22_n5_art03.pdf

Research Technology Funding Sources
Researching new avenues for technology funding is also important. In-kind technology sources still exist and are important to pursue. Also cheap technology resources for non-profits, such as TechSoup, are useful to consider. They can significantly cut costs.
Technology Know-How is As Crucial as Having the Technology Itself
Targeted training is needed for you to benefit from the technology already on hand and technology that you seek to acquire. Having a plan for learning how to optimally utilize technology dramatically strengthens your technology grant seeking potential.
Have a Credible Process to Evaluate the Impact of Technology on Your Work
An often overlooked factor is having a reasonable way of measuring the impact of technology on your work. Technology requests are made even stronger if you can show how you can measure (not necessarily quantify) your results. It will also be important for you to use in future fundraising efforts

Discuss Technology with Your Organizational Peers
Most organizations learn about technology through self-research and from connecting with their peers. Consequently it is imperative to be a part of practical knowledge-sharing networks that allows you to share information about effective technologies. A peer-to-peer learning approach allows you to benefit from the wisdom of other organizations technological experience and strengthens your ability to plan for and choose the right technology.

As you transition into the New Year, why not start the year by resolving to have a better relationship with technology?

Seems reasonable, right? New year, fresh start, why not bury the hatchet with your database or let go of the grudge against Word that you nurtured through the cold dark days of 2006?

How? If you resolve to follow just one of these simple rules, your life with technology will be better in the New Year. Follow all of them and you’ll be . . . well, you’ll be a lot happier.

Rule 1: I resolve to make sure my computer files are adequately backed up.

Rule 2: I resolve to make sure my computer files are organized in a way that works - for me and my organization.

Rule 3: I resolve to spend an extra hour every other week thinking and planning for better integration of technology into my work.

Rule 4: I resolve to look for answers to my technology questions, instead of taking the long way or doing without.

Rule 5: I resolve to read PTP’s Community Organizing Resource Network, and share it with my co-workers and friends.

Need more detail on those resolutions? Here you go: Continue reading “Resolve to have a Better Relationship with Technology in 2007″

Have you ever stared at this screen:

the cursor blinking at you, the deadline for the memo/grant proposal/evaluation/whatever approaching fast and just couldn’t get the words to come out?

Maybe you got up and walked around, maybe you checked your email, maybe you did one of the million and one things we all find to do when we’re under a deadline and can’t seem to get the words to come up.

Maybe you thought the problem was that you had writer’s block - maybe you have trouble getting started. And maybe, just maybe, the problem was the program you were staring at.
Continue reading “Writer’s Block? try this:”

If you’ve ever received an email with graphics or fancy formatting, you’ve received an HTML email. In fact, if you’re reading this through PTP’s email newsletter, you’re reading an HTML email. Whether you love HTML email or hate it (and many people hate it), chances are good that your organization is considering using it as part of your online engagement strategy.

What you should know is that though HTML email does provide the ability to use graphics and formatting in your messages, not every email program is going to display it the same way. In fact, some email programs might not display your message at all, depending on both the program in question and the user settings. Given that, we thought it would helpful to direct you to an excellent article from the folks over at Campaign Monitor on how to test HTML email messages to make sure they “work” for everyone – or at least as close to everyone as you can get.

How to test HTML Emails from the Campaign Monitor Blog

It was a busy grants round! More than three hundred organizations submitted information forms, of which 228 were invited to make a grant proposal. We had to decline some very good organizations whose mission differed from the focus of our organizing technology grants round. We received 180 grant proposals requesting a total of $1.7 million. We had $100,000 for this grants program and fourteen groups were funded. Here’s a list of the grantees with links to their proposals.

We intend to offer more grants in 2007 if we are able to raise the funds. If you would like to be included in new announcements, complete an organization information form so that we have your contact information in our database.

This screencast was prompted by a question at TechCamp that we didn’t have time to address. View the screencast on how to layer images and text in PowerPoint here.

The screencast is a Flash file, and its about 3 MB in size which means that it could take some time to load. We’re working on reducing that file size and will update this page when we do.

A lot of folks are pretty down on the utility of the internet, and they may have a point. But while there’s a great deal of stuff on the internet that isn’t all that useful, every now and then, we see something that we think is useful enough to share with you. Periodically, we’ll have a section in CORN to share resources that we think might be interesting or useful to you. Feel free to send us your suggestions for links and resources to add to this list:
Continue reading “Interesting and Useful links from PTP”