Code, Camera, Action

Stories, software and strategies to help nonprofits do the social web
Eric Johnson
Eric Johnson

Startup thinking for the social sector.
Code for action.
Plus photography.
(And reading aloud.)

I'm the founder of el-studio.com, a web development firm that helps nonprofits and associations connect to the social web.

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If it's free, what's your plan B?

Monday’s news that Facebook acquired FriendFeed made a big splash in the (comparatively small) pool of FriendFeed users. According to the announcement, “FriendFeed.com will continue to operate normally for the time being.”...

The announcement got me thinking about contingency planning.

via casefoundation.org

We use FriendFeed and other free web services at the Case Foundation. My post this week looks at contingency planning for using free web services. Sometimes it's good to be reminded that free and forever seldom mix.

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Nonprofit service as software?

Lew Moorman is the CEO of Rackspace, a company that operates computer data centers for companies. Rackspace’s business, while touching racks and racks of servers, is concerned primarily with less glamorous things—electricity, for one, and air conditioning. You might think that Moorman leaves the software to his clients, which include lots of internet startups among the longer-established firms. Yet more and more, Lew says, Rackspace finds itself in the software business.

All of which got me thinking of how the trend toward software affects the nonprofit business.

via casefoundation.org

In my post for The Case Foundation this week I look at several nonprofits that find themselves in the software business. Should software be a core for your nonprofit, too?

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Crowdsourcing Philanthropy

A couple of months ago, we reported that Paul Buchheit, co-founder of FriendFeed and, before that, the engineer behind Google Mail, had inspired a discussion around the best use of $20k for the common good. Looks like that conversation has lead to something more concrete. Paul calls it collaborative charity.
via casefoundation.org

My post for the Case Foundation blog this week looks at Paul Bechheit's move toward an open philanthropy.

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Where are my people?

You’ve seen those nonprofit fundraising challenges, haven’t you? A funder or corporation puts up some funds—donation or matching grant money—and asks nonprofits and their supporters to compete for it. Maybe it’s a race of donations or votes, or perhaps memberships to a group on FaceBook. Our own Giving Challenge was an early example. Target is running one now, and there have been many in between.

If you’re connected with a nonprofit, I suspect your first thought on hearing news of one of these is “Wow, there’s money on the table. We could use some of that.” Then, especially if the competition is an online one, you may reach for the email list and crank up the copywriting.

Can we stop right there and engage in a bit of longer-term thinking?

via casefoundation.org

My post for the Case Foundation blog this week looks at nonprofit fundraising challenges, and how to set up an infrastructure to compete in them.

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Could a Y Combinator work for nonprofit startups?

The recent spate of competitions in the non profit sector has got me thinking of Paul Graham and partners’ Y Combinator—that inspired mix of venture capital and summer camp. Could the same approach work for nonprofits?
via casefoundation.org

My post for the Case Foundation blog this week looks at startup incubators. Could they work for nonprofits?

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