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Corey Pudhorodsky joined Convio in 2007 as a Services Engineer. Helping nonprofit organizations utilize new technology has been a driving force in the Corey’s professional and personal life. After graduating from Virginia Tech with a BA in Communications, he worked for several nonprofit organizations in advocacy, grant placement, and fundraising roles. For eight years, Corey worked with Donor2 fundraising software and before leaving served as the Manager of Professional Services. He led a technical team in data conversions, implementations, and designing custom utilities and services for nonprofit organizations nationwide. In 2005, Corey created and began publishing the 501c3Cast, an audio podcast for nonprofit professionals and volunteers. He is responsible for all aspects of production and promotion and is proud of the assistance the podcast gives individuals in the sector. Corey has a deep understanding of the business operations and technical needs of nonprofit organizations and is an active member in many of the “nptech” communities and forums. |
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Help Idealist.org so it will be there for us in the future
I am willing to bet just about anyone that has worked in the nonprofit sector for a notable amount of time has benefited from the work of Idealist.org. Just glance over their Resources Page and you'll find a massive number of sections including:
![]() Even if you have gotten assistance from Idealist.org before, perhaps I mentioned a new item or topic that your didn't already know about. Every time I come back to their site, I find something new. Idealist.org doesn't just aggregate existing information and resources, they also produce new content and research for those working in the nonprofit sector. The site is a project of Action Without Borders, a nonprofit founded in 1995 with a rich history of helping people share resources and information. I hope that they will be able to continue to enrich our community which is why I am writing about Idealist.org today.
In an appeal to the community late last week, the org's founder Ami Dar, wrote:
What a shame it would be if a resource that has helped so many organizations find passionate employees and so many talented individuals find meaningful jobs was no longer available? Both parties need a common place to post and find opportunities and Idealist.org has been that place for years. To ensure that resource is available for future job posters and seekers in the nonprofit sector, we must support Idealist.org now. You can make a donation and read the full letter from Ami at the following link: http://www.idealist.org/donate. Pass it on to your friends, coworkers, and other organizations. Tweet it, Post it, Digg it, and donate.
Chicken Meetups, Solar Panels, and Yelp: 3 tools for fighting Climate Change For a couple of years my wife and I have had a wacky idea: chickens in the backyard. I joke with people that I’ve always wanted a pet bird and she loves fresh eggs so it made sense. We loved what we read about how chickens could compliment backyard gardens by consuming kitchen scraps and producing rich compost. The idea of knowing where our food came from also appeals to us. Most people agree that backyard gardens allow people to shrink their carbon footprint with a more local and sustainable food source too.
It was an Austin Meetup.com online community and monthly meetings that allowed us to stop dreaming about chickens and actually jump into building a coop and adopting seven pullets (young hens). In learning about different breeds, feed, chick coop styles, predator control, and general care for chickens I also learned some valuable lessons in social networking and online organization:
Along with chickens, we have also hoped to own a home where we could install solar panels to reduce our reliance on energy off the grid. Turns out local resources were also helpful for us on this front too. After visiting a friend’s house who recently installed panels on his garage, we learned that Austin Energy and a federal refund program made solar panels a much more affordable endeavor than we expected. We received free quotes from several local companies and now have 24 panels on the back roof of our house which should cover between 60-80% of our energy consumption throughout the year. There are some great resources online for those interested in learning more about solar energy and if it would be a viable solution for your home. Check out Mother Earth magazine’s Renewable Energy page. The National Renewable Energy Lab publishes a lot of information about current research and methods of converting the sunlight into electricity. As for the companies implementing systems, I worked with a company in Austin called Green City Solar and found them to be very helpful and they took the time to educate us about the system. Finally I believe that Yelp.com is helping me fight global climate change also. Yelp, you ask? The restaurant, bar, and services review site? Yep, Yelp. Here’s why: Yelp has fundamentally changed how I search and discover the restaurants and bars where I socialize and get together with others. With Yelp I’m able to find local establishments within walking or bike-riding range no matter where I am. I can be very targeted with my visits and planned activities for an evening. I no longer need to cruise across town to find a restaurant that is strongly recommended by others, Yelp helps me find the ones that are right in my neighborhood. If I’m meeting someone in another part of town or another city, Yelp helps us find the best place that serves food we can be sure we’ll both be interested in. No more hopping around between establishments until we find one that looks good. If you have an iPhone, discovering local venues is even easier with the augmented reality “monocle” view which overlays names and ratings over the camera view of the iPhone as you hold it up. It’s amazing, I encourage you to give it a try and find a local restaurant or pub to support. There you have it, this Blog Action Day, I declare I am fighting global climate change with chickens, solar, and Yelp. Grow and raise food in your backyard, consume less, adopt sustainable energy solutions, and get on your bike and peddle to support local establishments. Maybe a stretch by some standards, but I’m also taking a lot of the more conventional approaches, and every little bit helps. Happy Blog Action Day and please do your part to raise awareness of global climate change. Mozilla Community Changing more than just your Web Browser When most people hear the word Mozilla, they think of the popular open source browser, Firefox and the plug-ins that help many of us to do our daily work on the web. The Mozilla community includes a diverse international crowd of developers and supporters working to make the web better. This September 14-21, 2009, tech lovers and specialists are coming together to improve local communities all over the world in support of Mozilla Service Week. At Convio, we think that’s a pretty cool thing which is why we are encouraging our employees, partners, and clients to participate in Mozilla Service week also!
For Organizations and Causes: For Individuals:
So Long and Thanks for All the Whales Posted by at Jul 28, 2009 12:26 AM CDT
Categories: Social Media Before I continue, let me admit that I am still a loyal Twitter user, advocate, and believer in its ability to help people and organizations share and connect. My first tweet was October 14, 2006, so I also have some stake in saying that I am not a fickle Twit who just gave Twitter a try and am now moving on or giving up. That said, I’ve taken pause in my unfettered enthusiasm because of several personal experiences and reflections that I’d like to share.
If you follow me on Twitter, you may already know that I was forced to take a Tweetcation because my account was suspended due to alleged suspicious activity. Daily requests to Twitter Support and appeals from my friends to the Twitter rep handling my case didn’t seem to help. Five days later when the issue was resolved, I was told that it appeared at some point my account sent out a link to a .cn domain that was part of a spam cloud that was hitting Twitter at the time. In just one day of posts in my feed reader of blogs and news outlets, I counted over 20 items about Twitter or apps that use their API (I realize the irony here). Some creative and useful tools are coming out of the Twitosphere, but frankly I’m concerned that innovation may be delayed by our obsession with a single technology. Twitter’s API is simple by design and the data communicated in each packet of information is limited. Hash tags waste valuable characters and linked urls are now often suspected of spam or worm attacks. Several people smarter than me have shared some reflections on the state of social media and social web that have also gotten me thinking. Michelle Murrain defriended more that 60% of her nptech friends on Facebook and she feels like it was a good move. Marshall Kirkpatrick’s post on the elusive promised of Web 3.0 is a must read. Both of their reflections have made me more mindful of the posts, connections, and streams that I introduce into my life. The best social media is about listening and relevantly responding to the feedback we are getting. As a whole, is this how we in the nonprofit and nptech Community are using Twitter? So while I’m confident that the greatest philanthropic successes using Twitter have yet to come, don’t disrespect all of the other wonders that grow around us in the social media landscape. My Kumbaya Moments: Like Summer Camp for NPTechies, the NTEN Conference Posted by at May 05, 2009 07:09 PM CDT
Categories: NPtech As I wrote this post on the flight back from my third NTEN Conference I know I felt similar to many of the other 1,600 “NPTechies” (Nonprofit Techies) who are leaving San Francisco. Our brains our packed with ideas and inspiration for how to do our jobs better, our social networks are a little richer because of the new relationships we have forged, and our hearts are full with the comradeship of being with so many people that share our passion and perspective for the role of technology in work promoting the social good. I know work in the nonprofit sector is serious and sometimes tough business. Good feelings and Facebook friends will not solely allow an organization to fulfill its goals or balance a budget, but in a time when technology staffs are particularly stressed, the NTEN Conference allows many of us an invaluable opportunity to recharge our spirits. So, allow me this chance to glow in the softer side of nonprofit technology and share some of my favorite moments of the 2009 NTEN Conference. This was the first year I was able to participate in the Day of Service, a pre-conference volunteer event allowing technologist from all over the country to contribute to the city that is hosting the conference by sharing their expertise with local nonprofit organizations. Some people work one-on-one with organizations consulting on anything from technology budgeting to online social media strategy. I joined a group project installing a mesh wireless network on Treasure Island, a community in San Francisco which is home to many low income families many of who were previously homeless. Cisco sponsored the project and provided the hardware for the network. The city coordinator summed it up best at the end of the project, “Because of the work we have done, kids in this community will no longer have an excuse for not being able to do their homework online.” When the conference formally kicked off on Monday morning, attendees were treated to a fantastic pre-recorded dance performance of Beyonce’s “Put a Ring on It” by NTEN’s Executive Director, Holly Ross. This treat was our reward for meeting the fundraising goal for the NTEN Conference sponsorship which allowed dozens of people to attend who would otherwise not been able to attend. I was additionally proud of Convio’s matching gift involvement in this effort. Holly’s commitment to NTEN was fully expressed in her dancing, matched perhaps only by her passionate and emotional thank you to the community during her closing remarks on the last day of the conference. We are all lucky to have her at the helm of NTEN. Another personal favorite moment of mine was co-presenting in the “Nonprofit Radio: How to use Podcasting to Engage Your Constituents and Build Your Brand” session with Chad Norman of the Baudcast. Presenting to an engaged, overflowing into the hallway crowd, Chad and I shared our experience and examples of how nonprofits can use and produce podcasts. As competitive as Convio and Blackbaud are in the marketplace, this session was just another example of the atmosphere of individual collaborative that permeates the NTEN Conference. If you’re curious to learn more about what we covered in this session, check out the amazing notes that Amy Sample Ward covered live and posted on her blog.
I call NTEN a summer camp for Nonprofit Techies because of how it uniquely calls people in our profession together. The only complaints I ever hear from attendees are that it ends too soon and there are just too many quality people and sessions to catch while it is occurring. We will continue our conversations online with @ Twitter replies and Facebook wall posts, in blogs, podcasts, and webinars. We will continue to innovate in our communities and organizations and we will all look forward to gathering around the campfire again next year in Atlanta, GA for NTC 2010! Photo Credits: SteveLavo (Flickr) |
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