Non-Profit Tech Blog

In the course of reading research material for CRM technology, I have come across blogs by nonprofit tech vendors. They’re of varying quality and candor about the position of their company within the market. I think a lot of nptech folks tend to dismiss corporate blogs (I happen to agree for the most part) but there are some blogs out there that not only happen to discuss the personal but also seem to be very cognizant of their place in the industry and how they serve their clients.

Generally speaking, I would have to say that the smaller the company, the more that company’s blog stands out. It implies to me that an entrepreneurial ethos is still alive and kicking in those companies. One thing I do think that impedes the growth of all these blogs has to end: they don’t post enough. Frequency in posts is usually how people judge whether or not there is someone behind the helm of the blog and he or she isn’t asleep. Judging by some of the blogs that aren’t on the list, they’re definitely sleepwalking their way through Web Marketing 2.0.

Those of you looking to get on the next version of this list may want to either increase the personal nature of the blog or divulge more details or better yet, create more resources to be shared by tech workers on your blog.

Here’s a short countdown of the blogs I find enjoyable and worth reading i.e., not full of press-release type material:

Honorable Mention

A remarkably candid blog, this blog discusses industry developments and has talked a lot about Kintera and its subsequent purchase by Blackbaud.

#5

This is run by Steve Maclaughlin who is Director of Internet Solutions at Blackbaud. I guess it’s fitting that Steve has the best Blackbaud blog out there. Blackbaud has a ton of blogs nowadays but they tend to be the epitome of a corporate blog full of marketing speak and “user tips”. However, the Connections blog from Blackbaud is actually worth reading as it is perhaps the only place where you can get a sense of open platform/API efforts within the Blackbaud core (not eTapestry or Kintera).

#4

The CEO of Mpower Open, Randy McCabe, runs this blog and answers comments. He even posts a list of the books he’s reading. I wish more CRM CEOs would blog but we’ll get to the best example of CEO-blogging in a bit.

#3

This blog is run by Jon Biedermann who is a sometime commenter to this blog. In a way, I’m sad this blog doesn’t even have its own title. I think it has a heckuva lot of potential. Jon actually took the time to make a non-Donorperfect specific YouTube video answering nonprofit questions about whether or not they should have a CRM. One thing: Jon — try using lavaliere mics to improve sound quality. I think it’s good for the nptech community to recognize altruistic attempts like this by CRM vendors.

#2

This one is written by Gregory McHale, CEO & Founder of good2gether.You get to watch a nonprofit tech vendor start itself up on this blog. It’s both a smart marketing move and a template for would-be nonprofit tech entrepreneurs. Best post is “I was on the Acela with Wonder Woman!”

#1
Digging In
It’s something to know about Mission Research that they get mentioned twice in this list. This blog is run by Charlie Crystle, the founder of Mission Research. It’s an actual honest-to-goodness personal blog, full of personal asides and revelations about Charlie Crystle’s intellectual life. It’s way more personal than this blog and for that, I think I’m learning lessons on how to blog about nonprofit technology from Charlie Crystle. You learn that Charlie is a Democrat which in and of itself is a huge revelation as most nonprofit software executives stay away from overt political stances. I definitely didn’t know Charlie was willing to put up a million dollars to run for Senator in Pennsylvania. You go on with your bad self Charlie!