Making more creative use of the web
Search engines
Other popular search engines you might want to try are AltaVista
, Go2.com, Northern Light, Lycos, Ask.com, and Kartoo
A comprehensive listing with reviews of search engines is available at search engine watch
See the TechSoup report on Special Search Syntax to learn how to use symbols and Boolean Operators
Searchable web databases of nonprofit organisations:
Running your organisation
BSDP panel: http://bsdp.hsnet.nsw.gov.au/support_ServiceLinkSummary.aspx?docID=%2095
See this useful US guide to ASPs and nonprofits: http://www.compasspoint.org/enonprofit
Receiving news feeds (RSS)
An example of an easy-to-use free reader which can be embedded in the sidebar of your browser is Sage.
The Firefox web browser already has Sage installed
The BBC has a good simple description of RSS
Wikipedia entry on RSS
An example of how to use RSS feeds – from the ACTU site
Finding and downloading software
Alternatives to pay software e.g. openoffice.org is a free open source alternative to Microsoft’s Office suite.
Many Australian nonprofit organisations working in the human services area might be eligible for free Microsoft software under the Community Assistance Initiative. Check the guidelines.
The most popular reviews site for software on the internet is reviews.cnet.com. Most major computer magazines, e.g. pcworld.com also have a range of reviews on their websites.
Popular download sites for software include http://www.tucows.com and http://www.download.com.
A products that you can add onto MS Outlook: SSW Team Calendar
Banking online
For an extensive introduction to internet banking see: http://www.tecc.com.au/tecc/e-Series/default.asp?id=1
Online purchasing
Yellow Pages online, can be used to research suppliers and options
Searching for grant and funding opportunities
The following sites provide links to funding opportunities:
Grant programs run by the Department for Victorian Communities
OurCommunity’s independent portal for Australian nonprofits claims to be Australia's Premier Grants and Funding Resource
NSW funding programs, awards and scholarships includes all federal and local government funding opportunities for community programs.
Recruiting volunteers
Some articles on recruiting volunteers and developing volunteer job descriptions from ourcommunity.com.au
Volunteering Australia and OurCommunity and both have free volunteer posting services.
Online volunteering
An article on virtual volunteering from ourcommunity.com.au
Electronic client referral
The NSW government's ReferralLink designed for human services to refer clients: http://bsdp.hsnet.nsw.gov.au/
Customer relationship management
See useful TechSoup article on CRM: http://www.techsoup.org/howto/articlepage.cfm?ArticleId=553&cg=searchterms&sg=eCRM
The NSW government, with the NSW Council of Social Service, has developed a list of vetted and approved software developers that can provide a CMS suitable for nonprofits. See http://bsdp.hsnet.nsw.gov.au/
Building online communities
del.icio.us is a ‘social bookmarks manager’. It allows you to share your Favourites/Bookmarks with others, and to get access to theirs.
The following sites provide free software to experiment with virtual community-building:
PHP Open Source Bulletin Board package: phpBB
http://www.zoomerang.com Zoomerang offers customisable survey templates and a fee service is available for those who need more detailed analysis of survey results.
Yahoo Groups allow fully customisable open or closed groups to work through email lists, shared access to files, databases and calendars, as well as chat rooms.
A collaborative goal-setting network: http://www.43things.com
Tool for creating/supporting online communities: http://www.wikia.com/
AMP is a free content management systems suitable for activist web campaigns. It integrates basic web publishing with email list management.
Another software tool used to foster collaboration and coordination online is CivicSpace, a free distribution of the Drupal open source content management system.
GroupServer is an open source alternative to YahooGroups, a web and email application that enables people to share files and conversations in groups and communities online.
Continuous computing – the proliferation of cheap mobile gadgets, wireless internet access for everyone, a new web built for sharing and self-expression where computing means connecting: http://www.continuousblog.net/2005/07/social_machines.html