My friend and colleague Johanna Bates recently wrote a great post for the NTEN blog previewing the upcoming breakout session that she, I, Tracy Kronzak and Jessie Lee will be giving at the 2017 Nonprofit Technology Conference: Let’s Talk Accidental & Intentional Nonprofit Tech Careers. The recent planning phone call we had for that session made me think back to my own winding career into nonprofit technology, which I thought might be fun to document and share. Buckle up, things are about to … [Read more...] about My Own Accidental Techie/Nonprofit Career Path Story
Insights
The End of My Romance with Facebook
Why I'm writing this post First off, I want to say that this is not one of those "I quit Facebook and here's why you should too" posts. This is a post about a personal decision to leave that particular social network, not because I feel the need to justify the decision or encourage other people to leave it, but because so many people have asked "why?" Coming to the decision to quit I joined Facebook in 2008. At first, I only checked it periodically, and it was lots of fun seeing friends' posts … [Read more...] about The End of My Romance with Facebook
Making Time for Giving Thanks
Dear Reader, I wanted to take a moment to let you know that I'm taking a brief vacation from blogging (just a week) in order to celebrate Thanksgiving. I struggled with whether or not I should just (to quote my best friend's 10 year old daughter) "suck it up, buttercup" and find time to schedule some posts, but you know what? Maybe you could all use a break from reading emails, tweets, IMs and blog posts too. I hope you'll take some time to unplug during the holiday and spend that time with … [Read more...] about Making Time for Giving Thanks
Give Pittsburgh Magazine Article on How Pittsburgh Nonprofits are Using Technology
Pittsburgh Magazine has just launched a new magazine called Give Pittsburgh (not to be confused with the fundraising event Pittsburgh Gives). Rachel Weaver Labar wrote an excellent article called "Giving in Pittsburgh, Simplified" for the first edition that focuses on how nonprofits in Pittsburgh are using technology to reach donors, volunteers and constituents. Rachel interviewed me for the article and while I gave her some ideas for local orgs to feature, I also couldn't resist the … [Read more...] about Give Pittsburgh Magazine Article on How Pittsburgh Nonprofits are Using Technology
5 Tips for Self-Care After a Big Event
Nonprofit organizations frequently hold large events: galas, golf outings, conferences, etc. If you're like me, one of the folks who are responsible for managing such events, you know there is a certain amount of stress involved with getting these things off the ground. I just finished up with our annual TechNow Conference and am still in the middle of reading Beth Kanter and Aliza Sherman's new book, The Happy Healthy Nonprofit, so thought it might be useful to reflect on how I take care of … [Read more...] about 5 Tips for Self-Care After a Big Event
Letting Go of the Past to Move Forward in Your Nonprofit Career
During my commute, I'm currently listening to the audiobook version of Steve Chandler's "The Hands-Off Manager." One of the metaphors from the book resonated strongly with me and I'd like to share it with you. Chandler talks about how managers (and people in general) have a tendency to cling to the past. Rehashing mistakes, beating ourselves and others up for things that happened in the past and retaining stress from past events. He uses this illustration. Pretend you're going on a trip and … [Read more...] about Letting Go of the Past to Move Forward in Your Nonprofit Career
