Avatars representing survivors, caregivers, their families and the millions of passionate supporters engaged in fighting cancer worldwide will take center stage virtually, July 19-20, when the American Cancer Society conducts its fourth annual Relay For Life® event in the Second Life virtual world.

Here at TechSoup, we want to help you tell your organization's story in a creative, compelling way. Product donations like Microsoft Expression Design (new to TechSoup), Adobe Creative Suite, and Flickr help your organization find creative, compelling ways to broadcast your message. But can artistic design ever get in the way of an organization's goals?

Get ready for TechSoup’s special one-day event later this month by signing up for a free NOZA webinar happening July 9. Hear how nonprofits like yours are using NOZA’s searchable database of charitable gifts and learn helpful tips on finding new donors who support your cause. Space is limited so register today.

You may not want to spend any more time on your computer than you have to, but the following online seminars will make it worth your while. The following is listing of some upcoming online seminars offered specifically for nonprofits in July. If you offer online seminars and would like to be included on this list, contact ols@techsoup.org for more information.

Mission Critical: Databases/Constituent Relationship Management, hosted by NTEN
Wednesday, July 2 • 11:00 a.m. PST

Convio, a popular online advocacy toolset used by many nonprofit advocacy groups, recently announced that they will be releasing a donor database code-named Akido, on the SalesForce.com platform. This will be a separate product from their online Constituent Relationship Management suite — you don't have to be a Convio CRM client to use the database. They also say it's not simply a new template for SalesForce, but a product built from the ground up.

Better late than never, so the saying goes. This "live discussion" with author and social marketing guru Seth Godin was posted by The Chronicle of Philanthropy a couple of weeks back.

The outcome of the conversation between Seth and the varied nonprofit org participants revealed some true nuggets of wisdom on how nonprofits can better use marketing (both on- and offline) to harness new audiences and rejuvenate the existing ones.

The questions ranged from tips on nonprofits entering the world of social networking to using cell phones to send text messages about action campaigns. Godin has a fun, to-the-point style in fielding them with zingers like this:

The ultimate spam is cell phone spam. If you send me an unanticipated, impersonal, irrelevant ad on my cell phone, I will hate you forever. On the other hand, if I sign up, if I raise my hand, to hear from you with alerts, then it’s hugely effective.

You have to be vigilant that your team doesn’t cross the line. Just because it’s important to them doesn’t mean it’s important to me!

Blackbaud announced yesterday that it is acquiring Kintera in an all-cash purchase price of approximately $46.0 million. Via press release:

Convio, Sea Change Strategies, and Edge Research have published the results of a survey of over 3,000 donors from 23 major nonprofit organizations, followed by in-depth interviews. Their group's was to identify the online behaviors and preferences of individuals who donate a minimum of $1,000 dollars annually to a single cause. The major findings from the study (which can be viewed online in its entirety) include:

Major and mid-level donors are generous and online.

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Social network Care2.com has published an online calculator designed to help you measure the value of an online supporter. 

Below the calculator, you'll find a comparison chart so you can see how to stack up to other organizations like yours, as well as a discussion about the calendar and how it generates its data.

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On April 22 at 1:00 p.m. EST, Network for Good will present a FREE teleconference on My Donate Button Doesn't Work! A Rookie’s Guide to Online Fundraising & Marketing.

From Network for Good's Web site:

You’ve waited long enough. It’s time to take the plunge.  It’s time to start raising money online.

Getting started with any new piece of your fundraising and marketing mix causes some growing pains, and maybe even some frustration. We’re pleased to offer this call to get you over the hump of indecision and intimidation about whether to begin raising funds online. What you can expect:

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