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In This Issue:

• Letter from the President
• APPLY NOW for the 2010 Technology Innovation Award!
• UPCOMING EVENTS: NGO Connection Day!
• COMMUNITY: Salesforce DC Nonprofit User Group Meetings
• TECH TIP: Now Available! The 2009 IT Staffing and Spending Report from NTEN and The Nonprofit Times

Letter from the President

ImageMusing on Font…..

We have a running discussion here in our office about font types. We ARE a tech organization, after all, what did you expect?

We wonder—is one font better than another? Should we have a standard? One of our favorite clients had the tech team shaking their heads the other day because of a special font that had to be installed on all the machines to match the new corporate “look.” They just didn’t see why it was so important, but then, they are not designers.

I personally detest Times New Roman and like Arial as I think that it is so much cleaner and crisper looking. One of our staffers prefers larger type wherever possible so she won’t have to use her reading glasses. Our operations manager, who is very thrifty, pointed out a recent study by Printer.com that shows that different fonts require different amounts of ink to print. It turns out that Century Gothic uses the least. Other ink-friendly fonts which followed were Ecofont, Times New Roman, Calibri, Verdana, Arial, and Sans Serif, followed by Trebuchet, Tahoma and Franklin Gothic Medium.

Environmentally, the best thing to do is not to print at all. And, if you must print, do it in draft mode. Use both sides of a page and do a print preview to make sure you're not printing pages with useless text such as a copyright line.

Here is to a happy spring…and the font of your choice!

Best,

Julie

Continue reading.

APPLY NOW for the 2010 Technology Innovation Award!

ImageNPower Greater DC Region and Accenture are again partnering to present the 6th annual Technology Innovation Awards (TIA) to nonprofits in the Greater DC area whose innovative use of technology enables them to more effectively fulfill their missions.

The award application process will open Thursday, April 15, 2010 and close Friday, June 11, 2010.

Award applications will be judged by a panel of tech execs from the local business communities.

Applications will be divided and judged based on each nonprofit’s annual operating budget category. Specifically, judges will choose:

  • One (1) winner with an annual operating budget of $500,000 - $2,000,000; and
  • One (1) winner with an annual operating budget of over $2,000,000.

Organizations that submitted applications in prior years are encouraged to apply again.

Finalists will be selected in September 2010 and are invited to deliver a live presentation to the Technology Innovation Awards Judging Panel. The winners will be announced at the Technology Awards Luncheon on November 4, 2010.

Two winning nonprofits will each receive an NPower technology assessment that includes a survey of the state of your organization’s technology including your hardware, software, connectivity, security policies, and level of staff technology. We will then provide you a written summary with specific recommendations for improvement. The presenting sponsor, Accenture, is underwriting NPower’s consulting services. Winners will also receive either an Apple iPad or a Dell laptop, as well as Microsoft software through NPower Great DC Region’s affiliation with the Microsoft NPower Network. The software delivery is administered by TechSoup and includes Windows and Office products.

To learn more about the Awards and get tips on how to apply, register for a webinar:


Past award winners are:

2009: Horton’s Kids, Primary Care Coalition of Montgomery County
2008: Peace X Peace, Elizabeth Glaser Pediatric AIDS Foundation
2007: RAINN (Rape, Abuse & Incest National Network)
2006: DC LEARNs
2005: Higher Achievement

For online information about the 2010 TIA, click here!

To apply, click the link below!

Questions can be directed to Amy Greene at amy@npowergdcr.org or 202.234.9670.

CLICK HERE TO APPLY FOR THE TIA!

UPCOMING EVENTS: NGO Connection Day!

ImageYou're invited to the NGO Connection Day on April 21,2010!


Register now for the NGO Connection Day!

As part of its efforts to strengthen nonprofit organizations through information technology, Microsoft is partnering with NPower Greater DC Region, The Not for Profit Solution Center (a network of Microsoft Dynamics partners), and The Nonprofit Roundtable of Greater Washington to present NGO Connection Day – a nonprofit summit.

Please join us for this lively and interactive event which will include presentations from industry leaders, peer panel discussions and opportunities for networking and sharing best practices. There is no fee to attend but registration is required.

Participants will leave the day with:

  • A sneak-peek of technology trends from Microsoft and other technology solutions for nonprofits.
  • Ideas to help leadership pursue strategic goals when resources are limited.
  • Practical steps that can be taken to move along the path when planning strategic technology adoption.
  • New contacts and partnerships among conference participants.

Recommended attendees: Executive Director, CFO/Controller, CIO/IT director. Due to the limited seating, we ask that you register no more than two (2) persons per organization.

Seating is limited so register ASAP!

To register for this great event, click on the link below and follow the directions under "Registration Process."

Click here to register and see a copy of the full agenda.

COMMUNITY: Salesforce DC Nonprofit User Group Meetings

ImageIf you use Salesforce.com or are interested in learning more about how it can be used by nonprofits, consider attending a webinar or meeting put together by the DC Nonprofit User Group!

The next two in-person meetings are planned for:


The location will be at the Enough Project (part of the Center for American Progress):
1225 I Street NW, Suite 307
Washington, DC 20005
(NE corner of 13th and I Street)

Click here for more info on Salesforce User Groups and to sign up for the DC User Group List!

TECH TIP: Now Available! The 2009 IT Staffing and Spending Report from NTEN and The Nonprofit Times

ImageNTEN and The NonProfit Times have joined forces once again to create the 2009 Nonprofit IT Staffing and Spending Survey. This survey can help you get a current, in-depth understanding of the state of nonprofit staffing (including info such as the current market pay range for nonprofit employees) and how your organization may compare to the greater nonprofit community in terms of IT spending. Holly Ross, Executive Director of NTEN describes the Survey as covering the following issues (and more):

  • Are nonprofits paying to train their IT staffs?
  • Is anyone out there actually planning?
  • What are the decisions and practices that define a technology "leader"?
  • Is there any correlation between budget, IT spending, staff size, or organizational size and tech leadership?

Knowing where your organization stands in the greater context of current nonprofit technology trends--and knowing how successful organizations are using technology--can be immensely useful when you are working hard to make the best use of technology and staff to increase your organization's effectiveness.

To help your organization by taking a close look at the context of what similar organizations are doing in today's technological landscape, just click on the link below to download the 2009 IT Staffing and Spending Report for free.

Download the report for free!

email: newsletter@npowergdcr.org
phone: (202) 234-9670
web: www.npowergdcr.org

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