TECHdotMN: News about Minnesota Startups

This past Friday,  hundreds from across the Minnesota nonprofit spectrum gathered at the Hyatt Regency in downtown Minneapolis for the 5th annual Nonprofit Technology & Communications Conference.

Presented by the Minnesota Council of Nonprofits (MCN) & MAP for Nonprofits, the event is a full day experience dedicated to the convergence of nonprofits and technology.

30 breakout sessions, a keynote by John Moe from American Public Media’s Marketplace Tech Report, various vendor exhibits, and ample networking made for an abundance of timely, high value content and instruction available from various industry practitioners who operate in technology industry and/or the nonprofit sector.

While the overarching emphasis was on website design, content strategy, and online engagement — more technical tracks covered mobile, cloud, database, QR, and WordPress.

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Earlier today, five local nonprofit organizations were honored with Dot.Org Nonprofit Mission and Excellence Awards for using technology and communications in inspiring, effective and creative ways.

The recipients were announced in front of a crowd of over 500 at the Hyatt Regency in downtown Minneapolis where the 5th annual Nonprofit Technology and Communications Conference was held.  Presented by the Minnesota Council of Nonprofits (MCN) & MAP for Nonprofits, the theme of this years ‘Nonprofit State Fair’ was eSTRATEGY in an iWorld, with an emphasis on designing the right digital strategy for audience engagement.

The experience involved a full day of technical programming, including: 29 breakout sessions, a keynote by Amy Sample Ward from NPtech, various vendor exhibits and focused “learning labs”.  The result was an abundance of timely, high value content and instruction available from various industry practitioners whom either operate exclusively in in the nonprofit sector or alongside various social organizations.

The Dot.Org Awards are specifically for Minnesota nonprofits on the cutting edge of new technologies and communications, including:

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Via News Release

“ADC Foundation announced today that it will make a round of strategic grants totaling $3.75 million to five community partners in the Twin Cities and Juarez, Mexico. Each grant will be $750,000. The Foundation’s grants will be used to promote transformative change in engineering education programs and effective use of computing and communications technologies to better serve disadvantaged populations.

ADC Telecommunications, Inc., parent company of the ADC Foundation, was recently purchased by Tyco Electronics Ltd. (NYSE: TEL). As part of the acquisition-related merger process, the ADC Foundation will make this final round of grants to five key organizations the ADC Foundation has partnered with in the past:  Community Technology Empowerment Project, Fondo Unido de Chihuahua (Juarez, Mexico), MAP for Nonprofits, Minnesota High Tech Foundation and U of M College of Science and Engineering.”

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When comparing philosophy of competition between capitalistic/for profit business and the nonprofit sector, collaboration is a defining element. Rarely does there exist small businesses and corporations (within the same respective space) sharing trade secrets and other resources.  On the other hand, nonprofits and social enterprises alike are flourishing with a new found capacity to conspire for good.

MAP TechWorks is a new Web tool — created by nonprofit catalyst MAP for Nonprofits — through which nonprofit practitioners can tell their technology stories and share tips and advice. It’s but one example of how the Minnesota nonprofit community has torn down the barriers of information transfer and begun to create a new trend of coming together for the bigger picture. “We can give a voice to organizations who are experts at what they do, and through those voices others are able to learn and make expedited progress for the causes that they’re dedicated to.” says MAP for Nonprofits IT Manager,  Rick Birmingham.

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Yesterday, an estimated 700 people from across the Minnesota Nonprofit spectrum gathered at the Hyatt Regency in downtown Minneapolis for the 4th annual Nonprofit Technology & Communications Conference, presented by the Minnesota Council of Nonprofits (MCN) & MAP for Nonprofits.  This years theme, Remix*Refresh*Reload, was an experience full of technical programming, including: 28 breakout sessions spread ocross three phases of the day, a keynote by Katya Andresen, various vendor exhibits and focused “learning labs”.  The result was an abundance of relevant, high value content and instruction available from various industry practitioners whom either operate exclusively in in the nonprofit sector or alongside various social organizations.  While much of the emphasis was on website design/content strategy, social communications, (virtual) community development and fundraising -  some of the more niche topics covered mobile, cloud, GIS/mapping, and open data.

Honored at this event were seven groups using technology and communications in inspiring, effective and creative ways. The 2010 Dot.org winners are:
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Instead of a shortage of ideas and content for my column, the challenge has been is paring and prioritizing. That which is time sensitive is bound to surface first, so here are two bits of info that you should be aware of:

Do you know any non profits that are using technology in ways which are unique or cutting edge?  How about organizations that are leveraging social communication tools to effectively spread their message, achieve measurable results, or solve problems for supporters and clients?  If so, why not nominate them for the 2010 Dot.Org Awards?

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