Google has just announced that on Wednesday, June 11, the Google for Non-Profits Group will become a fully open discussion group. Since the group was started a few months ago, it was only used for the rare announcement from Google regarding the Google for Non-Profits launch and this most recent announcement. Now members will be able to post their own messages and have a dialogue with others in the nonprofit community. Even though the group is not yet an open forum, you can still join the more than 4000 others who have already joined by visiting the Google for Non-Profits Group page and clicking “Join the Group” in the right column. Of course, a free Google account is required to join.

Google has said that all registered members of the group will receive an email on Wednesday “that includes a community charter with guidelines for taking advantage of the discussion.” Google will be working closely from volunteer members of the nonprofit community to assist with implementation of the group.

Google for NonProfits on YouTube

Google’s other big announcement was their recent launch of a new YouTube channel called Google for Nonprofits.  The first video on the new channel was Google 101 Implementation, a video created by the Ann Arbor, MI team how the Ann Arbor Friends of CASA has used Google tools to create a website, create documents and accept donations.  Google has added three favorite videos for a total of four videos in the channel.  Hopefully there will be additional videos added to this resource.

[Editor's Note: On this blog I use the spelling nonprofit while Google uses non-profit.  However, the YouTube channel is spelled without the "-".  That is the reason for the spelling inconsistency in this post.]

[PhotoCredit:Jurvetson]

The answer is a resounding, YES!  With unlimited words, free images, free or inexpensive advertising and thousands of daily readers, why wouldn’t you try Craigslist?  But if you’re not a regular Craigslist user, you might have heard a few myths about advertising there.  So before you use Craigslist, let me destroy a few employment ad myths about advertising there.

1)  Craigslist is only available in a few major cities like New York and San Francisco.  For many years this was true, but today Craigslist is operating in 450 cities in over 50 countries.  In the United States, Craigslist provides classified advertising in all 50 states.  Just visit Craigslist.org and click on the area where you want to advertise.

2)  Craigslist job ads are only good if you are seeking entry level employees.  This myth is perpetuated by the simplicity of the Craigslist website.  But don’t be fooled in believing that an ultra basic, non-graphical website means professionals and executives don’t read their ads.  In fact, more and more executives are starting their job searches with local Craigslist advertising.

3)  Since Craigslist started charging a fee to place job ads, there really is no cost savings.  Well, this is a loaded myth in many ways.  To begin with, Craigslist does not charge for advertising in most locations (only some major cities) and even then the fee is minimal (usually $25).  Also, employment advertising isn’t about saving money, it’s about finding the right person without busting the bank.  Even the $75 fee charged in San Francisco is far better than the hundreds it would cost for a major newpaper ad.  Also, read about the “gigs” category later in this post.

4)  With all of the Get Rich Quick type ads in the job section, no one will really take our employment ad seriously.  One of the reasons Craigslist began charging for advertising in some areas was to minimize the scams and Get Rich Quick advertising.  But the ads still appear.  Nonetheless, Craigslist is still proving to be a great source of leads for employers.  Don’t let the ads scare you off; they haven’t scared off the qualified job seekers.

5)  Craigslist ads are listed in order of when they are first posted.  That means our ad will soon be lost and get no response.  Let me address this myth from personal experience.  About five months ago I placed a small employment ad on Craigslist in the Sacramento, California region looking for a bilingual clerical worker.  I received more than 130 replies with more than 25 of those coming a full month after the ad was posted.  Write a good ad and feel confident that job seekers will find it through Craigslist’s search feature.  There is even a search function for finding only nonprofit jobs.

6)  Job advertising is the only way to find employees on Craig’s list.  Not exactly.  Since most of us understand that networking is the best way to find great employees, we must not forget the Craigslist forums.  But don’t just post an ad in the forums, get involved in the dialogue.  The Craigslist forums are not regionally specific, but there is a location indicator next to the first post in a thread.

If you’re just looking for someone to work on a short term project or an intern, try advertising in the gigs category. This category is free for any one-time work project.  If you’re looking for a band to play at your fundraiser or a painter for your new offices, start looking on Craigslist.

So the next time you need to fill an important vacancy, start your search on Craigslist.  And when you find the right person to fill the job, be sure to thank Craig Newmark for starting this amazing venture more than a decade ago.

[PhotoCredit:acloudman]

EBay calls their special nonprofit program Giving Works. In the past eight years, more than $100 million has been raised for nonprofit organizations through eBay listings. There are two ways that eBay helps nonprofits raise money through their online auctions:

1) The nonprofit organization can sell items on eBay through direct selling. Direct selling means just that, the nonprofit sells directly to the buyer. The transaction is handled like any other eBay auction and the nonprofit keeps the proceeds, minus the typical eBay fees. This is a great way to benefit from in-kind donations that you can not use in your organization.

So, you’re probably wondering how this is helpful to nonprofits since anyone can sell on eBay. The advantage is that nonprofits registered with the eBay partner, MissionFish, will receive a special ribbon icon next to the title of the auction and additional visibility through a unique search function just for eBay Giving Works auctions. More about MissionFish later in this article.

2) Others can sell items and have all or some of the purchase price donated to your organization. This is called community selling. Community selling is a great way to get your volunteers and supporters to donate without writing a check. They simply sell unwanted items on eBay and direct a portion of the sale (10-100%) to your nonprofit. MissionFish collects and disburses the donations, provides online tracking, and sends tax receipts to the donor.

Nonprofit organizations can promote their community selling listings with a Giving Works home page in the featured nonprofit section of eBay. In order to be listed in the eBay nonprofit section, you must first have a home page on MissionFish. For more information on establishing a home page listing on eBay, visit the eBay Community Selling page.

Okay, so what exactly is MissionFish? MissionFish is a service under the Points of Light Foundation, a nonprofit dedicated to helping engage people in volunteer community service. Since 2003, MissionFish has partnered with eBay to promote and operate the Giving Works program to support charitable donations through eBay selling. MissionFish provides a way to verify and register nonprofits for the Giving Works program and manages most of the details of the community selling service. MissionFish is supported through a small fee taken from each community selling donation made.

TechSoup.org – TechSoup.org offers nonprofits a one-stop resource for technology needs by providing free information, resources, and support. In addition to online information and resources, they offer a product philanthropy service called TechSoup Stock.

NTEN.org – NTen.org is a “membership organization of nonprofit technology professionals”. Services include wsebinars, conferences, local clubs, blog (free), newsletter, online groups, job posting and discounts on select software (only a couple titles).

NPower.org – NPower.org is “a national network of local nonprofit organizations that provide high-quality, unbiased, affordable and appropriate technology assistance to other organizations.” Their website offers articles, links and tools to help nonprofits manage technology. They also provide assistance with IT assessments and finding local IT resources. The Center for Nonprofit Management in L.A. is a California affiliate of NPower.

TechAtlas.org – Npower’s online IT assessment and planning tool, TechAtlas is available for free to nonprofits. You enter information into TechAtlas and take a brief survey (total time is 10-15 minutes). Then TechAltas will generate a detailed report of recommended tech improvement activities. There are also planning, budget, staffing and fundraising tools.

Idealware.org – Idealware.org “provides candid Consumer-Reports-style reviews and articles about software of interest to nonprofits, centralized into a website.” At the time of this article, they provide online seminars at a cost of $40 to participate or $20 for video recording. The website also has a blog.

NPTechnology – Of course, we had to add our own site to this list of resources.