ten online tools for busy nonprofit leaders
DESCRIPTION
Do you wish you were “working smarter, not harder”? In this session we’ll demo ten free or low cost tools that will help you be more productive when doing day-to-day tasks. We will look at tools that will help you with activities such as tracking tasks, hosting virtual meetings, organizing notes, making quick videos and creating online forms, and more. You don’t have to be a tech whiz to participate! This session is ideal for anyone who is looking to be more efficient in their work and wants to learn about the tools that are available. All the tools are very user-friendly and can be set up without IT expertise. Presented at the Futures Conference by Jane Zhang and Tierney Smith, October 3 2013TRANSCRIPT
TEN O
NLINE T
OOLS F
OR
BUSY NONPR
OFIT
LEADERS
J AN
E ZH
AN
G &
TI E
RN
E Y SM
I TH
T E CH
S OU
P CA
NA
DA
ABOUT TECHSOUP CANADA
Is my org eligible?
a) Does your business number end in RR0001?
b) Do you have a Letters Patent from Industry Canada?
c) Are you incorporated as a not-for-profit corporation with your province?
d) Are you a library?
You may be eligible to get donations of…
DONATIONS PROGRAM
KEEP IN TOUCH
@jzhang99@tierneys
@techsoupcanadafacebook.com/techsoupcanadatechsoupcanada.ca/community/blogyoutube.com/techsoupcanadaslideshare.net/techsoupcanada
TOOLS THAT MAKE IT EASY TO…
W O R K W I T H O T H E R S
1. Schedule meetings
2. Host online meetings
3. Get feedback on documents
4. Get input
E N G A G E Y O U R S U P P O R T E R S
8. Stay social
9. Email large groups
10.Make quick videos
S TAY S A N E & W O R K O N T H E G O
5. Track ideas
6. Track tasks
7. Track
expenses
WORK W
ITH O
THERS
SCHEDULE MEETINGS
Problem:
• Every time you try to schedule a meeting you have to send 1,000 emails back and forth to find a time that works
• More people in the meeting means more emails and more confusion
DOODLE
DOODLE
S P E C S
Cost: free
Platforms: online
Mobile: somewhat mobile-friendly website
T H I N G S I T W I L L L E T Y O U D O
• Suggest meeting times and find out when others are available
• Let others see your calendar and book meetings with you
SCHEDULE MEETINGS
Other ideas:
• http://www.smashingapps.com/2011/07/14/five-simply-effortless-tools-for-meeting-and-scheduling.html
HOST ONLINE MEETINGS
Problem:
• You need to meet with people who aren’t physically close by
• Travel is expensive and time consuming
GOTOMEETING
GOTOMEETING
S P E C S
Cost: $46/year for qualified orgs
https://www.techsoupcanada.ca/en/citrix/product/gotomeeting-1-year-subscription-access-to-discounted-rates
Platforms: Windows, Mac(Note that Mac version has a
few less features)
Mobile: apps for iPhone and Android
T H I N G S I T W I L L L E T Y O U D O
• Host online meetings of 25 people
• Invitees can join via phone or computer headset
• Share your screen
HOST ONLINE MEETINGS
Other ideas:
• Skype (free, up to 10 people)
• Google+ Hangout (free, up to 10 people, includes video calling)
• TeamViewer (free for personal use, up to 25 people)
• ReadyTalk (donated, up to 15 people)https://www.techsoupcanada.ca/en/readytalk/product/readytalk-audio-and-web-conferencing-one-year-subscription
GET FEEDBACK ON DOCUMENTS
Problem:
• When you have a document you want feedback on, you email it to several people
• They respond by editing and updating the version number, or by using Track Changes
• You have to make sure all the changes get incorporated properly
• Discussions about the document result in long, unwieldy email threads
GOOGLE DOCS
GOOGLE DOCS
S P E C S
Cost: free(paid if using Google Apps for
Business)
Platforms: online
Mobile: app for Android, mobile-friendly viewing on all platforms, edit Docs on iPhone
T H I N G S I T W I L L L E T Y O U D O
• Multiple document editors at the same time
• Have discussions threads in the comments
• Go back to a previous version at any time
GET FEEDBACK ON DOCUMENTS
Other ideas:
• http://www.techsoupcanada.ca/en/community/blog/jane-vs-tierney/challenge-3-document-collaboration
GET INPUT
Problem:
• Getting input or information from others – whether inside or outside your organization – can be a manual process
• E.g. maybe you ask people to email you feedback on a question – now you have a bunch of responses scattered across your emails
GOOGLE FORMS
GOOGLE FORMS
S P E C S
Cost: free(paid if using Google Apps
for Business)
Platforms: online
Mobile: app for Android, mobile-friendly
T H I N G S I T W I L L L E T Y O U D O
• Quickly create a form with different types of questions
• Submissions are automatically added to a Google Spreadsheet
• Embed your form on a website
GET INPUT
Other ideas:
• Survey tools e.g. Survey Monkey
• http://www.techsoupcanada.ca/en/learning_centre/articles/online_survey_tools
• Polling tools e.g. Poll Daddy
• http://www.platformation.ca/polling-and-voting.html
STAY
SANE &
WORK O
N THE G
O
TRACK IDEAS
Problem:
• You have all these great ideas and pieces of info and it’s all on pieces of paper or you forget
• How to keep track of all this in an easy, organized way?
EVERNOTE
EVERNOTE
S P E C S
Cost: free(upgrade to get more space
& collaboration features)
Platforms: online, Windows, Mac
Mobile: app available on all platforms
T H I N G S I T W I L L L E T Y O U D O
• Create text, picture and audio notes
• Tag your notes to make it easy to find them
• Access your notes from anywhere
TRACK IDEAS
Other ideas:
• Mindmapping is great if you are a visual person
• http://spyrestudios.com/15-great-mindmapping-tools-and-apps/
TRACK TASKS
Problem:
• You have so many tasks to do that you forget about some of them and they slip through the cracks
• You aren’t sure what your team is working on
• You’re working with an outside consultant and aren’t sure what they are working on
TRELLO
TRELLO
S P E C S
Cost: free
Platforms: online
Mobile: app for Android and iPhone
T H I N G S I T W I L L L E T Y O U D O
• Make “cards” for each task
• Organize cards into lists
• Create a group board and assign tasks
TRACK TASKS
Other ideas:
• http://www.tripwiremagazine.com/2010/03/35-very-useful-online-tools-for-improving-your-project-management-and-team-collaboration.html
• Asana:
TRACK EXPENSES
Problem:
• Tracking and categorizing all your expenses is tedious and time-consuming
• You don’t have an easy way to find out where you’re spending your money and how far along you are with your budget, without talking to your accountant
• You track your expenses in a spreadsheet, which works but is unwieldy
MINT.COM
MINT.COM
S P E C S
Cost: free
Platforms: online
Mobile: app for Android, iPhone and iPad
T H I N G S I T W I L L L E T Y O U D O
• Connect to your credit card to pull in your transactions
• Categorize your expenses
• View graphs of your spending over time
TRACK EXPENSES
Other ideas:
• http://www.computerworld.com/s/article/9231406/10_smartphone_apps_that_can_help_track_your_expenses
ENGAGE YOUR
SUPPORT
ERS
STAY SOCIALLY CONNECTED ONLINE
Problem:
• You want to be social online, but it takes too much time
• You are having difficulty staying on top of multiple social media accounts
HOOTSUITE
HOOTSUITE
S P E C S
Cost: free for up to 5 profiles
Paid plans start at $9/month
20% discount for qualified charities
Platforms: online
Mobile: app available for iPhone, iPad & Android
T H I N G S I T W I L L L E T Y O U D O
• View feeds from all your accounts in one place
• Schedule social media posts
• Track how many people click on your links
• Basic analytics
STAY SOCIALLY CONNECTED ONLINE
Other ideas:
• Tweetdeck – free and great for Twitter
• Postling – small monthly cost, incorporates more channels than most tools
• Buffer – free version, great for scheduling posts
EMAIL LARGE GROUPS
Problem:
• You want to send out a newsletter, or let your supporters know about a big announcement
• If you send the email in Outlook, you can only send to so many people at a time
• Also, you risk getting blacklisted as a spammer
• Also, you have no idea whether anyone actually read your email
MAILCHIMP
MAILCHIMP
S P E C S
Cost: free for < 2,000 subscribers
(above that, 15% discount for nonprofits)
Platforms: online
Mobile: app available for iPhone and Android
T H I N G S I T W I L L L E T Y O U D O
• Allow supporters to subscribe online
• Create & send professional-looking emails
• Find out how many people opened & clicked on your email
EMAIL LARGE GROUPS
Other ideas:
• http://www.techsoupcanada.ca/en/community/blog/jane-vs-tierney/challenge-1-newsletters
MAKE QUICK VIDEOS
Problem:
• You have some great pictures from your program or an event
• You want to put them together into a short video, but you don’t have any video editing programs, or any experience
ANIMOTO
ANIMOTO
S P E C S
Cost: free($3/month for longer
videos & more features)
Platforms: online
Mobile: app for iPhone and Android
T H I N G S I T W I L L L E T Y O U D O
• Create short videos that combine photos and text
• Choose music & style for your video
MAKE QUICK VIDEOS
Other ideas:
• http://www.techsoupcanada.ca/en/learning_centre/articles/a_few_good_tools_video_editing
• https://www.techsoupcanada.ca/en/community/blog/adobe-alternatives-free-video-editing-resources-to-get-the-job-done
• Great video tutorials for nonprofits: http://letsdabble.com/tutorials
• Smilebox (photo slideshows) - http://www.smilebox.com/index.html
ORGANIZATION SOFTWARE
Software to consider for your organization:
• Constituent Relationship Management (e.g. Sumac, Salesforce, CiviCRM)
• Back office software (e.g. Google Apps, Office 365)
• File sharing (e.g. Google Drive, Skydrive Pro, Box.net)
• Project management (e.g. Smartsheet, Asana, Basecamp, Trello)
QUESTIONS?
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