After 10 Years, Federal Money for Technology in Education

A national trust to funnel federal funds into programs to help schools, libraries, and museums tap into emerging digital technologies will be introduced Monday after nearly a decade in the making. The National Center for Research in Advanced Information and Digital Technologies grew out of a 2001 recommendation by Lawrence K. Grossman, a former network-news executive, and Newton N. Minow, former chairman of the Federal Communications Commission. It could begin distributing grants by fall.

Full text article by Elizabeth Jensen is available via The New York Times, 1/24/10.

Carnegie Foundation Calls for 'Radical Transformation' of Nursing Education

Nursing-education programs need to undergo sweeping change to remedy a severe shortage of nurses and stop producing undergraduates who are poorly prepared to deal with profound changes in science, technology, and the nature of their work, according to the results of a national study released Wednesday by the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching.
Full text article by Peter Schmidt is available via The Chronicle of Higher Education, 1/6/10.

$250 million initiative for science, math teachers planned

President Obama on Wednesday announced a $250-million effort paid for in large part by the technology giant Intel to improve science and math instruction nationwide. The Santa Clara, Calif., computer-chip maker and its foundation are committing $200-million in cash and in-kind support over 10 years to expand teacher-training and other programs for instruction in science, technology, engineering, and math, or STEM. The new project effectively doubles the size of the philanthropic campaign for STEM education the president began in November.

Full text article by Nick Anderson is available via The Washington Post, 1/6/10.

Community Colleges Get Gift of Millions for Online Education

While Congress is still weighing legislation that could put $500-million into the development of open, online courses, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation has stepped up to the plate. The charity is giving $12.9-million to advance technology at community colleges, improving virtual learning environments for both students and teachers.

Full text article by Josh Fischman is available via The Chronicle of Higher Education, 12/3/09.

Tech-career jolt of $4.5 million bound for nonprofit

The Washington-area branch of the national technology-training organization Year Up will get $4.5-million from a group of local philanthropic investors to expand its programs to prepare low-income students for tech careers. Year Up hopes to double the size of its Northern Virginia operation by 2013. The group helps 18- to 24-year-olds get college-level information-technology training and internships at area corporations.

Full text article by Susan Kinzie is available via The Washington Post, 11/9/09.

Schmidt ’76 donates $25 million for technology fund

Google’s chief executive, Eric Schmidt, has committed $25-million to establish a technology-innovation fund at his alma mater, Princeton University. The Eric and Wendy Schmidt Transformative Technology Fund will primarily provide support to professors to research new technologies or acquire innovative equipment that could have a major impact on the development of a particular field.

Full-text post by Andrew Sartorius is available via The Daily Princetonian, 10/14/09.

Donate by Text Message

Add philanthropy to the growing list of applications for mobile phones. One of the newest and most interesting innovations to combine philanthropy and technology is mobile giving.

Mobile phone users can text a word such as HOPE (American Cancer Society), RIGHTS (Amnesty International), BED (Malaria No More), MEALS (Food Lifeline) or many others to a designated short code and contribute $5 or $10 to a cause. The Bellevue-based Mobile Giving Foundation acts as a clearinghouse for donations, helping non-profits set up codes and settling the billing between carriers and charities. The charges appear on donors' cell phone bills.

Full-text article by Kristi Heim is available via The Seattle Times, 7.27.09.

Automation Drives Philanthropy's Performance

Faced with tight donations and variable costs, DonorsChoose.org must manage every dollar we spend in order to deliver for our customers, provide the accountability demanded by our philanthropic marketplace, and fuel our plans for rapid, yet sustainable growth. For us, meeting these needs requires leveraging technology-based solutions.

Full-text article by Charles Best is available via Baseline, 7.7.09.

Mobile Money and Other Technology Made for Philanthropy

As members of NetHope continue their annual meeting in Redmond this week, it's fascinating to look at how the landscape of technology has moved from responding to crises to creating solutions tailor-made for development itself.

Full-text blog post by Kristi Heim is available via The Seattle Times,5.20.09.

Children’s Hospital Boston’s Philanthropic Tween Website Nabs Eight National Awards

Just three months after Children’s Hospital Boston launched Generation Cures , an innovative online philanthropic community for tweens, the site has been honored with eight prestigious national awards. The awards recognize the site’s kid-friendly content and interactive design, and demonstrate the much needed difference Generation Cures is making by empowering kids to positively impact each other and the world.

Full-text press release is available via Business Wire, 2.18.09.

Smartphones Offer New Frontier for Business, Philanthropy

Cisco, Yahoo! and MySpace are among the companies rolling out versions of their communications and social-networking services tailored for smartphones. Meanwhile, the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation has announced the creation of Mobile Money for the Unbanked, a system that lets users in impoverished nations access banking services via cell phones.

More information is available via:
Computerworld, 2.17.09
InformationWeek, 2.17.09
Wall Street Journal, 2.18.09

Free Report: Twitter Jump Start - The Twitter Guide for Small Non-Profits

This Twitter Guide includes details on:

* Choosing a user-name and photo that will engage other Twitter users
* How to create a Twitter Profile that will make folks want to learn more about your non-profit
* How to find Twitter users that already support your cause
* How to find new donors who are already sold on your non-profit
* How to turn those supporters into raving fans
* How to automatically post any news regarding your non-profit
* How to make sure that folks visit your website and stay interested
* 10 Twitter tips to increase online donations (plus 1 bonus)
* Survey results on Twitter use from hundreds of non-profits

The report is available via CorporateDollar.org, 11.2008.

Video A Key Element In Healthcare Fundraising

Hospitals nationwide have been increasing their activity in technology-driven development and spending on fundraising in general, according to Julie Lane, managing director of the Philanthropy Leadership Council of The Advisory Board Company (ABC), a membership association of 2,600 hospitals, health systems and universities.

Full-text article by Tom Pope is available via The NonProfit Times, 4.15.08.