[DDN] Free Drupal CMS (and other tools) for nonprofits

[Dave Chakrabarti]

Hi fellow DDNers,

It's been a while since I posted (my apologies) since I've been  
fairly swamped with my new position at Grassroots.org.

I thought I'd send a note to let you know what we've been working on.  
Grassroots.org is developing a nonprofit toolbox that will include a  
growing number of technology tools for every nonprofit, everywhere in  
the world, for free...but we need you to take five minutes and vote  
for the project, if you think it's cool :) I'd also welcome any and  
all feedback on the project...what tools would you like to see in the  
toolbox? What would be pointless? Which tools are a real pain for you  
guys to host on your own?

Some of our planned tools will be Drupal-based, and others will  
include EGroupware, Democracy In Action's Salsa platform (integrated  
with Drupal, for online Moveon.org-style campaigns), free first-year  
domain registrations, and free telephone consulting on topics like  
search engine optimization for nonprofits. Partners include MAIN.org,  
the Chicago Technology Cooperative, and Democracy in Action, along  
with a couple of for-profits.

Of course, a lot of this stuff is free already (Drupal, Salsa, and  
EGroupware are all open source, for example). So why aren't more  
organizations using them? We think that if offer them to  
organizations, hosted for free, with a comprehensive support and  
training system (including screencasts and guides), it'll make a huge  
difference in how nonprofits engage the internet. It seems like a  
small thing, but most organizations *really* need a screencast on  
"how to create a Drupal page" or "how to name your new page  
intelligently" ...not "how to install and upgrade your uber-powerful  
tech platform". And I mean really "hosted" by the way...not as a  
subdomain or as part of another site, but a true hosted nonprofit CMS  
site, with a unique domain name, minus the geek stuff.

And I really meant the "anywhere in the world" bit, too...this isn't  
a US-only venture.

We're up for the NetSquared innovation fund that Michael Maranda  
posted about earlier...it's a somewhat unique system where the  
community votes for projects they like. If you think this project  
pitch sounds useful, it would help us a ton if you could visit http:// 
www.netsquared.org/projects/vote and register / vote. Registration  
takes five minutes (seriously, it's a Drupal site), and votes are due  
this Saturday, April 14th.

And of course, all comments and feedback are welcome. Feel free to  
hit me on list if it's a discussion relevant to the community, or off- 
list otherwise.

  Thanks!

     Dave.

------------------------
Dave Chakrabarti
Director of Programs
Grassroots.org